Another Long Awaited House project

Two summers ago, we finally stained our front porch and back deck.  12+ years after moving in, and a long time later than we'd intended to get around to that project.  Once done, DH wondered why in the world we'd waited so long (a question I'd been silently asking for years).

Last summer, we talked about another, somewhat related, house project.  Since this one involves being able to get to the base of the house, most of which is covered up by my perennials in the non-frozen months of the year, we decided it was more of a late fall or early spring project.  Either after the plants had been killed by frost, or before they got growing, so as to minimize stepping on and damaging them.

Well, fall came and went.  I have to admit, that it was a rather frustrating time, because DH got very few things from his "while I'm off work for hunting" list done.  Part of that was having K3 and Toad living with us for a large portion of November. Part of it was that DH ended up not having three consecutive weeks off of work like he'd planned (too many important things going on at work that he had to oversee).  And I think part of it was that he just felt like sitting and doing not much of anything rather than tackling these action items on his to-do list.

As the snow melted, and the ground thawed this spring, I took kind of an assertive stance on this one particular project. Mainly because I was just plain tired of things at home taking a back seat to crap at work that constantly came up and kept him busy.  But also because this was a simple enough project that after a little instruction, I could complete it without him. I would just need the pick up truck, and the use of some of his power tools.

That kind of spurred him into action, me talking about using his tools--I had learned to use most of them when we were building the house at this little place here, so he knew I would actually go through with this project with or without him. The tools would not keep me from it. Within a couple weeks of me first mentioning it (and only a few reminders), he decided that the time was right for tackling this one.

What was the project?  Installing lattice to hide the concrete foundation (and the visible cellar roof) under our wrap around front porch.  Mostly a beautification thing (which is why it wasn't priority when we built the house), but also functional as it will hopefully keep critters (raccoons, skunks,cats, naughty wandering chickens. . .) out from under the porch.  Also, on the south side of the house where the ground slopes, it creates an enclosed storage area that could potentially hold the grandkids outdoor toys in the winter.

First came measuring. Then came figuring materials. Then came the purchase: 8 sheets of wooden lattice and a gallon of stain.  Nothing that broke the bank.

Next was the selecting and ripping of four 2 x 6's from the pile of salvage lumber next to the barn.  That gave us eight 2 x 3's to use to attach the bottom of the lattice (the top would be attached to the fascia board on the front porch).  It was interesting to compare the outsides of these old boards to the freshly cut surface and see that while they looked not too impressive, really they are still very solid boards.

outer edge

cut edge

The Before pictures

North half of the front

South half of the front

South side

Installing the lattice went so amazingly quick, it was really hard to not say "Why has it taken so many years to actually do this??"  I'm pretty sure we did the entire length of the front and the south sides (19.5' plus 17', and 16') in less than an hour.  That included cutting angled pieces to enclose the sides of the front steps.

After that, it was up to me.  DH isn't fond of painting, nor staining.  Artwork is my specialty (along with cooking, gardening, animal care, etc.  You could say I have a lot of specialties. . .) 

I did the staining in three sessions; north front, south front, and the south side.  The weather was warm enough that I could wear a tank top each time, which allowed me to get a little bit of a tan, so my arms won't look so glaringly white when I'm wearing my (sleeveless) mother-of-the-bride dress at DD1's wedding this weekend. 

Mayhem supervising while I stain 

I love the way the house looks with the lattice.  There is a little fill dirt to be brought in on the south side to raise the grade to the bottom of the lattice there and I will most likely use that area as a new flower bed; several of my perennials are in need of thinning, so a new flower bed would be a welcome addition.  

We also need to make a door frame and install the final piece of lattice on the open east side under the porch, but those can wait until after the wedding.  I will probably also apply a second coat of stain this fall--after the flowers die back for the winter--to darken the color a little bit. The natural color of the lattice was lighter than the color of the wood on the porch railings and spindles, so they don't quite match yet.

Overall, though, I think the addition of the lattice has made a huge difference.  The house looks so much more polished and less never-quite-finished-the-job.  If there's one thing that drives me crazy, it's unfinished projects.