Farmhouse Renovation Week 7 (The porch and the Siding)

We finally have progress in terms of putting the house back together!  This week was exciting as it was full steam ahead in getting the outside complete.  In fact our contractor told us that the roof, porch and siding would all be done by this coming Friday.  Exciting, right?

The first big exciting change was that the siding started this week!  I don’t know why I thought that the siding would take a few days.  It will take 2 weeks.  I’ve learned more than I ever want to know about soffits and facias and j-trim.  It’s funny how much info I’ve learned that I never plan to use again for our own use.  We are living here forever.  That being said, I’ve been taking notes so that when the house is done I can go project by project and share everything I learned.  Right now, there’s just too much going on, and too many decisions still happening.

To give you a picture of the time length, this was what was done at the end of one day.  I love that the crew is doing an awesome job and are such perfectionists.  We’ll be adding a cap to all the windows that will be like the original next week.

At the end of day two, they put the attic vent in.  My dad had to go into the attic to make sure the cut didn’t go into some of the new wiring.  He stuck his head out and I made sure to snap the picture.  Ha!  We could not do this project without my dad and mom.

To start the week with the other crew, the door was put into the back as well as the windows.  Here’s a before picture of the back area.

The side of the house also got new windows.  I love how the crews that are working on our house really get what we’re trying to do.  The window trim was built out so that it’s the same size as the original window trim even though the windows are smaller.

So when the siding was put on, they all match in terms of trim.  The windows are smaller as they are in the laundry room and I need room for the washer and dryer below the window.

The other big project was the porch.  Here’s a before picture.

At first we were just going to rip off the boards, but everything ended up coming out.  You can see the rocks underneath the porch that made up the foundation of the original porch.  The porch we’re restoring is not the original despite the fact it was put on about 100 years ago.  Kinda crazy, right?  It’s amazing to me how they ever moved those huge rocks into place back then with just horses to help them.

As of today, the entire porch floor is back on.  We chose a deck wood that is tongue and groove.  We’ll never have to paint it.  It was super pricey, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.  The crew will be working on restoring the railings and the decorative porch skirting this coming week.  We’re keeping the railing as it’s original and we love it.

Other projects this week were replacing the roof in the bathroom, which was the other original porch.  It’s killing me not to keep that bead board at the top, but it’s just not possible with the lighting and vents we have to get in there for code.  Building code is hard when you’re working with an older home.

My personal big project this week was getting the plaster off the brick chimney in the upstairs hallway.  After seeing the results of the downstairs chimney I knew I wanted to do the upstairs chimney as well.  I’m still picking plaster out of my hair, but it was so worth it.

I already feel a sense of simplicity and calm when I’m up at the farm.  The pace just seems slower.  Neighbors stop by throughout the week to catch up and see the progress.  The Amish drive by while we’re outside waiting for the school bus.  It was a good week and I’m looking forward to more project completions this coming week.

Next week we hope to accomplish:

Completion of the porch details
Completion of the roof
Completion of the siding
Maybe start drywall

Have a great week!

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