new front stepsThere’ve been a lot of exciting additions to the house renovations since the last update, but I decided to start with the front steps, because after months and months of plywood steps, I’m so happy to have real steps again. There are even flowers that survived by the front porch, and today I planted a few things to fill in by the steps, hence the garden clogs in the photo.

Last time I ended with all the old part of my house just about to get painted the same color as the new section, and here’s a peek at the finished paint job which was beautifully done. I’d say the paint color looks slightly darker in the photo than it does on the walls, but you can get the idea.

There are also new steps by the back deck. Right now they look a bit lonely, but there will be raised beds for tomatoes on either side of these steps, running along the front of this south deck.

When you dig up about half of your back yard and add new rooms and a deck, it really screws up the sprinkling system, so putting in new sprinklers took a few days. Most exciting of all is the drip irrigation system for the tomato beds, something I’ve always wanted but never had in my old garden space.

There will be a cobblestone path leading from the deck steps to the garden. The part of the path on the left (not all dug out yet) joins the new cement sidewalk, and makes it so you can get to the backyard from that side of the house.

I’m using James Hardie siding on the outside of my house, but not much is done yet except the starting of the trim around the windows. (The three windows you see in this photo are the dining room windows you see on the left in the photo above with the new paint color.)

Finally, although the covered deck is not done, I decided I had to have my grill back! It’s in the middle of a mess of tools and patio furniture, but I can cook on it. This is the spot where the natural gas hook-up is, and eventually I’ll buy a new natural gas grill and sell this one, but I’m sure there will be some grilling on this old one for a few months before that happens.

I’m starting to feel like the end is in sight, although I’m guessing I have 4-6 more weeks of construction before everything is finished. And in case it’s not obvious, I am loving how my house is turning out! (If anyone is interested, you can see my whole set of House Renovations Photos on Flickr or use the label House Ronovations to see all the posts.)

counter customizable free hit

Share This: