While we were waiting for that project to start we met a contractor by chance one day through my co-worker Luis. I was talking about replacing our porch one Thursday because it was so rotten and bad. Luis said call Eduardo, I did and he started working on it that Saturday.....So began our project season.
Eduardo rebuilt our porch with the Trex Decking Wood - No staining or maintence for like 20 years....I love it....plus he did it in a weekend. This porch looks great, now the rest of the house looks like hell. Especially after Kristie kicked a big chunk of plaster out by the door knocking snow off her boots. So we decided to see what was underneath. It was old adobe brick, but it looked really bad. I asked Eduardo to replaster it. He said he'll see what he can do.
What a Job...exposed adobe brick to go with out new porch...The house looks like a little Pioneer home....or Jail...either way it looks great!!!
In the meantime our neighbors Bob and DawnAnn wanted to replace our fence. I wasn't excited about this but why not. It was the big trash day coming up so we destroyed it and were able to get all the old stuff hauled away. Along with the fence I chopped down a tree and dug out the stump, what a terrible job to have to do.
Kristie found a fence style we liked so we ordered the materials. There were many delays here with the sheet metal company so we had to wait.
Jose had started on the kitchen remodel two weeks later than planned. In the meantime the exposed brick on the front of our home was looking so good we asked Eduardo to quote painting the rest of the house. The price was too good to refuse. We got samples and asked for Votes from our neighbors. 4 and 7 pretty much tied. Clay or Copper Mountain. Hmmm. We went with Copper Mountain. I really hated it at first. It wasn't the copper mountain we had expected....more like pumpkin mountain. But after a week or so, the paint dulled a bit, which took the edge off. Now I really like it.
We were a little behind on planting the garden with all the projects, but it got in.
We got some house numbers made by Sugarpost, a local metal artist in South Salt Lake. They are way sweet. Shelldrake Font.
Kristie found a lighting idea on pinterest. We gathered up an old beam at George's Salvage yard, and found some antique insulators. I made this light fixture at the shop. I had no idea how expensive it is to buy lighting until I looked. Making our own was the way to go...plus it is custom and cool.
Our back door was painted red and looked ugly with the new paint. So we stripped, sanded and stained it Honey Pine. Looks way good now.
Jose was not very efficent, but he did very good work. His two week job stretched into more than 5 weeks. It sucks having to babysit an adult and ask them "what is going on, can you do the job you are paid to do". The hole got done just before we left for Michigan. It is good to have our kitchen back and a clean living space. Plus we were getting sick of hotdogs, grocery store sushi and convenience meals. What an incredible improvement, it has changed our whole hangout scenario and makes the house feel way bigger.
After we got back from Michigan I was burned out on the House. I want to enjoy my summer and it's half over. Always burning the candle at both ends. Bob and I started the fence. Bob is very particular on how things get done. He knows how to, and likes to do things the right way. If I was in charge it would have been done sooner, but very uneven and misaligned. The fence is built to the highest of standards, and will last about forever. Over time it will rust, which will make it look even cooler. It was worth doing it right.
While building the fence I found some water in our basement. Turns out we had a buried broken window that went there. I dug it out, repaired the gutters and roof so no more water would come in and called it good. Digging out the foundation is a project for next year.
Finally it is late August and we get to enjoy our garden and I can come home and have a beer. We rode the wave of motivation...a little too far I think, but we're happy with all the improvements. Nothing more for 2017. It's time to BBQ and Party and Relax and....do nothing.
