Remodeling at Home
During the summer of 2004, we did some considerable remodeling at home. It consisted of two major projects. The first project was a total rebuild on the deck on the back of the house. The original deck was demolished, and a new, larger screened-in porch was built in its place. The other project was a replacement of flooring in three downstairs rooms, plus up the stairs and in the upstairs hallway.
I photographed the progress on these two projects periodically throughout the duration of the work. That turned out to be seven different occasions. I’ve grouped the photos by day, so that you can see the remodel as it happened.
– July 19, 2004 –
On July 19, the contractor for the deck had brought in their equipment (note the ladders in the yard), but that was about it. Mom had prepared for the work on this particular day by removing all of our junk from the deck, as well as unbolting the large umbrella, which served as a makeshift covering over the deck.
Before the work started, we had ivy growing around the bottom of the deck, the area was very much open air, and the deck had stepping stones leading to it.
We planted the ivy in 1992, and over the course of the twelve years that it grew around the deck, it definitely was prolific, as it ultimately crept over the boards on the top.
The grill is located in the other corner, where many fine hamburgers and other foods have been cooked. The grill would be moved by the contractor.
Meanwhile, all the deck furnishings and plants were moved off the deck to the back of the backyard, well away from the work that was to go on.
– July 20, 2004 –
Demolition! The contractor totally took out everything that was going to get taken out in one day. The siding was removed from most of the back of the house (my sister described being awakened by this work). The boards were all removed from the old deck. Holes were dug for new posts. The ivy was ripped out. If it could be removed, it did on this day, with the exception of the light on the deck. That stayed for a while longer.
The only thing left was the framework for the old deck. This was incorporated into the new structure.
This is one of the holes dug all around the deck for the new posts to go into. Those things made the land quite treacherous, since they were DEEP. My fear was of accidentally stepping into one and breaking a leg. It didn’t happen, thankfully, but the mental image really kept me watching where I was going.
This is the debris from the old deck. This is all the boards, all the sides, the ivy, the latticework, you name it. Everything that came off went into this pile, and got carted off.
Next to the pile of debris is the pile of wood to be used in the new structure.
The contractor put the doors for the new porch in the carport.
Meanwhile, we got a new lawn ornament for a day! Until they put the big posts where they belonged, they sat in the front yard, of all places. They were kept slightly off the ground because they sat on two runners, but they still managed to mess up the lawn a little bit. Nothing major, though.
In the driveway, in order to make movements easier for the contractor, we moved the Mustang out of the carport, and put it in the driveway. Behind the Mustang, of course, is my car.
The workers kept their equipment in the garage. That worked out really well, since it protected their equipment from the elements, and was also out of our way.
– July 26, 2004 –
Greta takes a moment to explore all the stuff in her backyard, since this work threw Greta’s world a bit into disarray as well. No more naps on the deck, that’s for sure.
The yard, meanwhile, looks like a work site, with all kinds of stuff set up all over the place to get stuff cut and ready to be swung into place.
On the house itself, a considerable amount of work had taken place since last I photographed. All the large posts are into place, the decking is laid, and the porch is basically framed out. We now know exactly how big this is going to be, where the new outdoor portion will be, and how tall things will be.
On the new deck, some of the sides are put together and put up, and other parts of the sides are waiting for installation. The new sides were designed to resemble the old deck.
A portion of the deck will still be outdoors. This is where the grill will go. These beams mark where a railing and screens will go when this area is separated off from the rest of the porch.
As you can see, the large holes now have something in them, and something over them for the most part, making them far less treacherous. But they were still a hazard, since they were not yet filled in.
This is the new decking!
The holes are indeed really big, but this afforded the workers space to sink the new posts into the ground in concrete. Definitely an important thing.
The vertical parts of the deck sides sit in a pile, waiting to be put together.
Up high, the roof over the porch begins to take form, as a horizontal beam is attached to the wall.
The excavation of the holes produced a considerable amount of dirt in piles around the yard. They also pulled out quite a bit of rocks!
I thought it was interesting to see the siding off of the house. When we went house hunting in 1992, the siding was already completed. The drywall was also completely up, with the exception of inside the garage. I thought it was neat to see the logos on the stuff, and the warnings and directions on it, too, all of which had been hidden for twelve years.
– July 28, 2004 –
Roof’s on! Now the porch has a definite shape, as seen in these pictures taken all around the perimeter.
Inside, it’s now officially covered. The roof sides on the inside are completed. Nothing else was done to them.
On the outside, though, there will be siding put on the roof sides.
The sides are also now up on all but one section. Now, with the roof up and the sides mostly up, the outdoor portion of the porch is now clearly defined.
The missing section of railing is next to the intended door. The actual railing is on its side, leaning against the rest of the porch.
The outdoor portion is now clearly defined, and somewhat narrow. Its purpose is primarily to hold the grill so we don’t smoke up the rest of the porch.
These are the nearly-complete first steps for the new porch. These steps were removed not too long after they were put in, since Mom determined that they weren’t sufficiently dachshund-accessible. Mom is Greta’s biggest advocate, and made sure that everything was accessible for her.
This is what I consider to be the one design shortcoming. I don’t know whether it was deliberate or accidental, but the vent for the downstairs bathroom’s exhaust fan comes out right into the enclosed porch. I was surprised that some sort of pipe was not placed on the end of that to direct those fumes up and out of the enclosed area.
Additionally, the porch light from the old deck has finally been removed, leaving the wires exposed for now. This light would not reappear after work was done.
– July 31, 2004 –
By July 31, Mom was already taking Greta out on the new structure, and thus she put the not-yet-attached side in place enough to keep Greta in, and got out one of the gates we have to keep Greta from going off the porch.
The porch didn’t change much in appearance, but the work on the wiring is coming along quite well.
This wiring was added to go out to the new fans, not yet installed.
This is one of a few electrical outlets added to the porch to provide power for whatever we want to use.
This is the base of one of the two fans that would go up before too long.
On one side, the siding is in the process of going up on the sides of the roof.
On the other side, the siding is up!
This random board on the side of the house, outlined by the siding, is an anchor for a pergola which will go across this open area.
The backyard, meanwhile, is still very much a work area. Note, however, that the house looks less like one now, as the siding has been put back on the house. The siding has not yet, however, been reinstalled inside the enclosed porch.
A look down below the porch is the only way to find evidence that an older deck once existed. Note the post for the original deck in the ground next to the larger post for the screened-in porch.
The roof is finished, but does cut off much of the view of the backyard, as seen from an upstairs window.
– August 10, 2004 –
Construction of the new porch is finished! The fans are up, the screens are up, the lights are on, and it is officially done. However, it does look a bit bare inside, as we have yet to put permanent furnishings in. What you see is some of the stuff that was originally on the old deck.
The door is finally in place, fully enclosing the space. The interesting thing about that is how the choice of closing mechanism was made. Originally, the doors were to be held shut by a spring. This made for some hard closings, and it was realized that this wouldn’t work in the long term. So now we have a pneumatic closer on there, which works like a charm.
As you can see, the new porch is gorgeous, even if it’s still a little bare looking inside.
I absolutely love these fans. The thing I like about them is how the blades kind of look like huge leaves.
This is a special grilling light, intended for night cooking, which Dad occasionally does. That will come in handy as the days get shorter…
And this is the open area! The pergola is visible at the very top of the photo.
The porch is really nice looking now that it’s all finished. Now all that’s left to complete is the landscaping.
This is the pergola, as viewed from below. Note how it is uneven at the ends, by design.
These are the new doggy-friendly steps, though the bottom step was still a bit of a jump for Greta. One more step was added below the lowest step, where the loose wood is here. This way, Greta can use the stairs herself. If nothing else, our house is 100% dachshund-accessible.
Latticework was added once again around the bottom to complete the look, plus keep Greta out of somewhere that she could get herself stuck.
Mom used these plants to provide some stopgap landscaping until the landscape guy came to design some real landscaping.
Lighting! These lights, unlike the old ones, have a motion sensor, meaning that one does not have to feel around in the dark to turn the lights on. Just step into frame, and there is light.
Inside, the flooring replacement job was about halfway complete. On this particular day, the hardwood downstairs was complete, and the stairs and upstairs hallway, previously carpeted, had their carpeting removed.
In the living room, before work began in there, the workers used the space to keep their unused tools.
Before the work began, though, the living room had the original beige carpeting. Very light and prone to stains.
Upstairs, it was weird to see the sub-flooring exposed, with the carpeting off. All the other rooms upstairs retained their original flooring.
This is the entrance to my room. While there was no flooring in the hallway, it made my door a little difficult to close.
The stairs, meanwhile, were obviously not intended for hardwood. The number of knots in the wood says it all. The wood on the stairs was completely replaced with smoother wood with no knots.
Meanwhile, the family room is finished, as is the dining room, though we’ve not entirely moved back into the rooms.
In the hallway, a peek in a box reveals the hardwood flooring, waiting to be installed.
– August 31, 2004 –
Wicker furniture and a TV set now makes the porch into a comfortable room.
Outside, the new landscaping frames the structure.
Meanwhile, we’ve fully moved back into the dining room…
And the family room. See the new area rug?
The living room also has its new carpeting, a brown carpet that’s a little shaggier than what we had before, but not by much, and certainly not something that can be called “shag”, like that ugly green carpeting we had in Rogers. This is pretty nice carpeting.
The new stairs have a runner installed over them, to make them doggy-accessible.
The runner, to my surprise, does not extend over the top onto the upstairs landing just a little. I’d have figured it would.
Upstairs, the hardwood is installed, and looking fine…
And with a finished edge installed once again, I can close my door!