Tag Archives: projects

This is the part where I cringe…

July 31, 2024 Rivergirl 27 Comments

Along with all the other things that are being replaced on the porch? You can add the front door. It’s original to the house and has been leaking cold air in the winter ever since we moved in. It’s shifted, barely closes properly and requires me taping it shut every December so the wind doesn’t whistle its way in.

A new door is necessary but that doesn’t mean I want my husband in charge of its replacement. He’s the king of gerry rigging and that’s not going to fly here. I wanted to wait and have a contractor to do it… he says he needs to do it now before he installs the stone siding.

So this is where I get nervous.

Storm door removal?

Fine.

Protective glass covering the side panel removal?

Fine.

But then we moved indoors where the new floor was recently installed.

In order to replace a door you need rough opening measurements… and this means removing the moulding.

My husband’s track record with this task is not good.

But thankfully he managed the job without splintering anything.

I know he’s going to faint when we go door shopping because it will have to be a special order.

Ka-Ching.

This paycheck sucking project never ends.

🥴

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Easy is a relative term.

July 30, 2024 Rivergirl 13 Comments

We purchased a product for our front porch remodel called Versawrap. They’re PVC covers for wooden support poles that add a decorative element as well as eliminate the need for paint.

We discovered their easy to install claim was a misnomer when we wrapped our first pole… but when we moved along to the top and bottom moulding?

We realized it was an outright lie.

Easy my *ss.

There are teeny tiny dovetail inserts which hold the pieces together and trust me, they are not easy to seat.

I’m not exaggerating when I tell you it took us over an hour to place the first crown moulding section.

If three sides clicked? The fourth would not.

If four sides clicked? It wouldn’t stay in place.

Frustration was the word of the day.

Two sets of moulding for each pole.

Four poles.

This is not my idea of a good time.

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They were supposed to call.

July 28, 2024 Rivergirl 23 Comments

Our stone was delivered last week… on a miserably hot day.

Since we spent a fortune redoing our driveway last summer, we’ve been extra careful about turning the wheel too sharply when the temperature and the possibility of damaging it are high.

Which is why we told the company delivering the stone to be sure and call when they were on the way so my husband could be standing out there directing them to avoid damage. We insisted on it and made sure the order stipulated calling prior to arrival in BIG BOLD LETTERS.

We waited by the phone all morning, and naturally no one called. At the precise moment I was in the bathroom and my husband walked around to the backyard?

This.

A giant truck with two pallets of stone and a forklift not only backed into the driveway, but off it at the same time.

Needless to say the husband was not pleased.

The driveway was cracked and sunken in on one side.

Words were exchanged.

And the stone that was supposed to sit close to the house within easy reach of the project was redirected here.

Which is actually way over there.

My husband (being my husband), made the driver wait while he mowed that section of lawn.

After which two pallets of heavier than hell stone was plopped on a tar free surface.

The stone comes in 3 foot sections and my back is breaking just thinking about how many trips back and forth will have to be made to ferry it when needed.

🥴

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Slow progress is still progress…

July 26, 2024 Rivergirl 20 Comments

Half the new soffit is up and a support pole was placed.

Because I don’t want to be forced to paint them every few years, PVC column wraps were purchased, for a ridiculous $200 per.

Were they easy to wrap?

They were not.

Especially when the sun was mercilessly beating down.

Trying to escape the heat…

Cutting was done in the garage.

One pole wrapped but moulding not yet added, husband moved on to taping off the windows.

Progress is slow, but it’s progress.

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Off it comes.

July 22, 2024 Rivergirl 21 Comments

Now that the decking has been laid, it was time to strip the vinyl siding.

This isn’t as easy as it sounds when the people who put it on decades ago used nails as long as your arm.

Sometimes finesse is required…

Sometimes brute force.

After the siding was removed?

The soffit had to come down.

That was easier, but still awkward.

It’s amazing how much dirt gets up under there.

White on one side, brown on the other.

Soffit.

No soffit.

I have no idea what this is all about.

It’s not mold, just black spray paint.

🥴

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You may think I’m too hard on him… but.

July 20, 2024 Rivergirl 23 Comments

As you know, my husband takes on a lot of projects around our house.

A lot of projects he probably shouldn’t.

Yes, he saves us money we’d otherwise spend on contractors… but those savings come at a price.

Workmanship he would never accept from a contractor are commonplace. Like these unevenly matched boards I’m sure to stub a toe on.

Mitered corners?

Not his strong suit.

Gaps?

Yeah, we’ve got those too.

The composite decking is finished.

And while this end looks pretty good…

The other end was a total clusterf*ck.

I gasped when I went out there and saw how far off the edge was… thinking, surely he’s going to fix that.

But no.

That’s the finished product.

Close on the left, but not nearly close enough on the right.

This is what you get when you don’t hire a professional.

🥴

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So much thinking…

July 17, 2024 Rivergirl 18 Comments

Work has resumed on the front porch replacement and there’s a whole lotta thinking goin’ on.

( If you read that while humming Jerry Lee Lewis, you’re my people)

As I mentioned before, my husband is not a contractor. Not a builder by any means.

He’s never worked with composite decking before… and if you think it’s as simple as laying wooden deck boards you’d be wrong.

Our old deck had small wooden boards running vertically, from lawn to house. That’s what the frame was set up for. So of course my husband decided to run the new ones horizontally because it means less cutting and measuring.

And while he added a few more supports, he didn’t make them 16” on center like you’re supposed to. More on this mistake later…

And since he changed the plan, he now has to picture frame the boards which means mitered corners.

This has never been his strong suit and just one of the reasons why I wanted to wait for a professional to tackle this project.

🥴

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The one where His Lordship examines the progress.

July 14, 2024 Rivergirl 7 Comments

Lord Dudley Mountcatten is not happy with the constant remodeling noise, but his curiosity gene is strong enough to warrant a quick exploration of the project when my husband takes a break.

Checking out the missing siding.

Walking balance beam.

Attacking a clamp.

And looking in the window he usually looks out are all on the menu.

As is using the new pea gravel for a litter box.

Though we probably won’t share that part with my husband.

😉

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Progress?

June 23, 2024 Rivergirl 18 Comments

I haven’t written a front porch progress report lately because we had a good bit of rain and a few days of serious yard work that stalled construction temporarily.