Front Porch!!

The pieces to the completion of the exterior are starting to fall into place. The carpenters started construction of the front porch yesterday and got a ton of work done. It was quite a nice day yesterday for the guys to setup shop just off the porch and put this together.


This is where they ended the day yesterday. The entire structure of the porch is done, along with all of the decking, and the stringers are setup to put the treads and risers on today (assuming the rain stops). Now that the structure is officially set, we were able to ascertain that the ballisters (or spindles depending on who you ask) will work as 2x2x8's....thankfully. I spent a good amount of time on the phone Thurs and Friday trying to find 2x2x10's and was not able to find them. Apparently they just warp way too much past 8'. So, I will order those today for delivery early next week and we can put those on to finish up the deck. I am really interested to see how this is going to look when its done as most this design is not seen very often.



At this point we its impossible for me to not admit that I am a dork when it comes to certain things aesthetic, so I am just going to come out and say it: I love cement. I think its just an amazing product. I love the versatility and the way it comes together. I like the preparation process that is necessary to make sure the end result achieves the desired lasting power cement provides. More then anything else, cement looks awesome. Its just fun to watch it change as it cures and ages in the elements. I could dedicate an entire photo book to just images of curing cement.


The back yard is resembling a lumber yard right about now with all of the decking material along with the interior lumber, and the scrap pile. I had an idea in my head of what the job site would look like through the process and this is more what I was thinking. Whats funny is how short lived this makeshift lumber yard is going to be. By mid next week most of this will all be gone. The great part is it will all be in the finished deck, porch, and interior framing.



The siding has arrived. I am happy to have it on my property finally. Ever since we started this process we have planned on using Hardie Board for our house. Our good friend has been working for Hardie for years and we know it to be a sound product with many endearing qualities - most of which is the above mentioned ColorPlus Technology which assures us of at least 25 years of no maintenance on the paint. We chose a very light gray color that is borderline white. I think its going to look great with the black windows and custom black trim that I ordered. This process will start on Tuesday when the siding company arrives to start. In the course of one week this house is going to go from a complete mess on the outside to a buttoned up product. It should be a great transition....I am sure the neighbors are looking forward to it.