Almost done

Well not really. We have moved on to the last section of the siding. I am a little worried that we won't finish before winter, but as long as we get the insulation blown in and the house wrap up I'll be happy.

Oh yeah. I tiled our entry way with slate tiles that we found on sale at Lowe's

I can't wait...

We are almost done with the front side of our house. I think Dan will get done putting up siding this weekend and I'll finish with the painting next week. That is all.

Scallop Progress

I have been working away on the scallops that we have uncovered. They look really good, almost brand new. I have decided to paint the scallops a lighter shade of gray than the rest of the siding. I think it will look great when it is all done. We also got a great deal on a door lintel. I had found one I like online for about $110 plus shipping, but we decided to look at the preservation station on the off chance that they would have one for cheap. Which they did so we bought one for 10 bucks. It's OK a little beat up but we're going to make it work.

Insulation is done

Well it is done for the front side of the house. Lowes' blower is much messier than Menards but it is sooooo much easier to rent. Cheaper as well. So this last weekend we prepared the house to have it's insulation blown in. Sunday morning we were ready so we drove to Lowes to pick up stuff around 11. Therefore we didn't get started until after lunch. I had to go horseback riding at 2 so all we did was plug up the hoses before I left. I didn't get back until after dinner. We kinda sorta knew what we we doing and we got one wall done. Then on Monday we pushed to finish the rest before bed time. Lowes accidently only charged us 10% of the cost of the insulation instead of giving us the 10% discount. They also did not charge us for renting the machine. Therefore we were able to insulate the front side of the house for about $8 plus gas and electricity.

Awesome Original siding

So we have been slaving away...kinda. I have been spending a little less time working on siding but I have put everything else on the back burner for the last 2 months. My horse has finally recovered from cutting his leg, so I have been feeling bad about neglecting him for the entire beginning of the summer.


We have still made alot of progress. We have uncovered the front of the house and have discovered a gem. We are definitly keeping the top half original. This will also save us alot of time since installing siding on the second level is a slow process. Now I need to think of painting schemes for this new discovery. Unfortunaly the front stoop (sp?) will probably need to be removed. After investigating it, we don't believe that it is structurally sound. It also is not original to the house. I need to quickly decide what I'm going to do about it.

Back from Sweden

I have returned from my business trip to Germany and Sweden. I loved Sweden. It was gorgeous. Plus I look Swedish. I was even asked for directions in Stockholm by some Swedish guy. Anyway, Dan was busy while I was gone and finished another side. We had it ready for siding before I left. This was the first side that we blew in insulation. It was much easier than expected. This weekend we hope to start tearing off the old siding on the front of the house. Below are a few pictures of our progress. I am definitly falling behind on all the painting. I feel all scatter brained. I'm going to blame jet lag.

First Side Done

The first side is done. It has only taken us 6 weeks. I still need to caulk all the seams and paint a final coat on the siding and trim. I'll get that done next weekend.

I don't think we will be finishing the house this year but whatever we get done this year is less we have to do next year. I have alot of business trips this month so i don't think this will be a very productive month. I have a one week trip in Ohio and a two week trip in Germany and Sweden.

Oh well