THE END IS IN SIGHT

   Over on Warren Road we have been readying the house for market some time now.  Once the majority of our possessions were moved from one locale to the next, the house we enjoyed for so many years looked dingy and worn.  In  order to maximize our potential profit, many things needed to be done.

1. WINDOWS

We've known for some time that a few windows required replacing, but once all the curtains were removed the situation was more grave.  Seventeen windows needed upgrading.  UGH!  Because of the scarcity of dollars, we did it ourselves.

   One full day + 3 hard workers (Wallace, Donnie and myself) = 17 new windows installed

4 new windows in the living room bay

2.  PORCHES & DECK

Years ago I took down the railing on the front porch.  The original builder put a ranch style railing on our Victorian style house and it looked so wrong.  In order to sell the house a new rail must be installed to pass an inspection.  Fortunately, I got much experience building and installing rails and balusters on Hawthorne Avenue just a year ago.

front porch

                     

side stoop

                 
    

Michael levels and installs pickets on the back deck railing

...any excuse to use the reciprocating saw

3. FLOORS

A lot of living has gone on in our Warren Rd. home for nearly 26 years.  Thankfully hardwood floors can take a beating and survive.  All they needed was light sanding and a couple coats of new poly.

Wallace sands

   

and scrapes

                                    

Poly is applied and results are outstanding

What we discovered while completing this project ....

    ~The old windows had no insulation what-so-ever (consequently big heat and AC bills)

    ~It was not so difficult or pricey to upgrade windows as we had thought for so many years

    ~The house looks and functions much better than it did when we first bought it years ago
    ~Many hands make light work

    ~We have skills!

Had I known these past years how capable we are of tackling and accomplishing all this I would have done it long before now.


         

MAKING OURSELVES AT HOME

    So when will we all make the move to Hawthorne Ave?  The jury is still out.  We are currently half  way there.  Fifty percent of our furniture and 50% of our children have moved.  As we do this, we all are finding our spots.

Michael reads in the wicker swing

Billye tries out the glider

Socks rests in the back room

Or is the kitchen a better place to be underfoot?

ANOTHER PORCH PARTY

  Wicker swing up

Cooler full

 Fruit and cheese fresh

 Drinks poured

Friends present

Cheers!

Fine china, good silver, crowd of people....nice but unnecessary.

  

Comfortable surroundings, pleasant evening, party of three

......Miss Magnolia, Barney and Me !

(smile)

~Just one such gathering among several prior and many more to come

MY FRONT PORCH

    I am rather taken with the look and feel of my front porch on Hawthorne Avenue.  Looking at the white fan against the soothing blue of the ceiling and the whimsy of the leaf motif on the early gas (converted to electric by Kyle) fixture pleases me.

This is where I will be this Friday evening with a cool bottle of wine, some cheese, water crackers, and fresh fruit.  Friends, if you are in the neighborhood, stop by and visit.  There will be room on the wicker swing or in a rocker!

BEFORE AND AFTER: PORCH CEILING

 BEFORE

March 2011

AFTER

August 2012

IMPROMPTU FRONT PORCH PARTY

   It was Friday evening.  The weather was pleasant.  We felt like a having a porch party.

A quick trip to the neighborhood wine shop ...

Miss Magnolia tries "Mama's beer".....

                                                                   

and likes it !

Miss Magnolia loves a party and, apparently, hard cider too.

ANOTHER MAGNOLIA MOMENT

As on numerous other ocassions......Livin' the life Magnolia

BUILDING THE BALUSTRADE, PART 5

    As I write this post, the balustrade is complete.  (In fact, we finished it 5 days ago.)  It has been a long involved carpentry project which was more time consuming than originally anticipated.  In my opinion, it is the single most impressive project we've undertaken.  Check it out in it's entirety in these earlier posts (building posts,  in preparation, part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 ) .

Gathering installation tools

Centering the first baluster

Leveling the first baluster 

Gotta love the nail gun

12 down , 228 to go

A portion of the balustrade as seen through my bedroom window

A block is used as a spacer in order to level and insure equal distance between each baluster

Another block at the top lines up the balusters 

The power driver and brute strength are some of our best tools

Each top rail (part of a 3-part assembly) is cut to size

A curved portion of the post is removed for a custom and snug fit

The cap from the original post is incorporated into the final post on the north side of the house

Balusters, rails, trim are all attached and ready for the painters to caulk
and give the new balustrade its final coat of paint.

Satisfaction for a job well done.

* A photo of the completed balustrade to be revealed at a later post.

MY WEEKEND

     Despite spending 22 of the 48 weekend hours working on the porch this past weekend,  I simply adore my front porch on Hawthorne Avenue.  After a full day's work Saturday we enjoyed an evening on the porch during a thunderstorm.  Cold beer, hard cider, diet Coke, pizza and good company made it all the more pleasant.

    Picture the house with these colors....

Rockport Gray on the stucco

Magenta on the door

White trim

Cape Blue ceiling

Gunmetal Gray on the floor

Despite its state of disrepair, the porch suits Miss Magnolia just fine.

   

EVEN THE BEST LAID PLANS....

    This past weekend had been designated to 'build the balustrade'.  I made a special trip Friday to get  the lumber we required (2 trips actually because my car could not handle the full load in one trip).  As it turned out, the  building of the balustrade was postponed so that we could take full advantage of the hydraulic lift that is scheduled to be returned today.

    A week ago we spent removing the modern bead board and the buckling old bead board from approximately 35% of the porch ceiling.  Doing so unveiled an extremely poor support structure installed by the previous owner.  Before we could install the new bead board (milled to match the original) a new support had to be built.

Removing modern boards

Removing trim supporting buckling old boards

We discover the ceiling needs proper support

Building the supports

The lift comes in very handy

Having completed that and having taken delivery of the reproduction bead boards, we could spend this past weekend installing the ceiling.

Man with nail gun and lift.....enough said

Notching the wood to fit snuggly

Patching with new wood

How beautiful!