House in Progress...

Well, many of you are aware that I have been a bit distracted this year by a long list of home repairs and remodeling projects. Our house was built in 1939, and after its 70th birthday, we realized that we needed to take action to preserve this little gem. With many plans in the works, the first priority was a new roof. JP along with a few helpers decided to take on the majority of this task, stripping it down to the bones and re-decking with a fresh layer of plywood to bring it up to code. I spent days it seems in search for a unique roof that would not break the bank. Luckily, I found the diamond Cascade pattern design by Pabco that reminded me of the old cottage roofs I had seen on our travels to Europe. To make the task less daunting, JP rented an articulated boom which offered a way to save time, labor, back pain and the list goes on. Take a peek at some of the photos I took a few weeks back....


* Here's our house in the works with JP on the boom on clean-up debris duty. The front and side fascia trim boards had to be taken off and replaced due to water and vine damage. And the chimney is missing its top right now as we noticed upon closer inspection that it was about to cave in! Talk about a domino effect....... Will we ever be done?


* That's me, hovering over our roof! The Genie Boom we rented from RSC Equipment Rental allowed us to travel 45 feet up into the air. Talk about a bird's eye view!


* Here, you can see the various layers of our roof over the years, from old asphalt T-lock, to shake to strip sheathing.


* Here's my handyman, JP ~ jack of all trades!


* The guys below are taking measurements for the new layer of plywood decking. Off in the distance, you can see the new roof on our garage and part of our back roof...
Oh, and that's my cute little garden shed that JP built from scratch, off in the distance!


* Front image of the roof in progress with the front porch roof overhang ripped off. Try to imagine the front door bumped out 4 feet and framed with windows. That's on the to-do list, and I want an arched front door too... (just to make things more complicated according to JP!)


* Here, from the backside, JP maneuvers toward the roof in the boom basket rigged with 4 trash cans. This clever idea helped with the debris clean-up. I know we've been the side-show for the neighbors! Hahah!

Well, that's it for this post. The roof is done, but there's much more to go! We will be building out a front porch vestibule later this summer, and residing the house is next on the to-do list along with a new sewer line and major foundation work. Check back later for more photos in progress. After that's all done, maybe we can chip away at the landscaping! That's the fun part........

~ Johanna