Road Trip...

We took a weekend off from the project to scout out Black Dog Salvage in Roanoke, VA for some projects I had in mind.

The weather was great and we had a blast.  Roanoke is so pretty and I love the mountains.

Roanoke is a railroad town.

We stopped at the Taubman Museum to check out a Norman Rockwell exhibit - Troy has a school assignment to do so we worked in it to our schedule.

I remember this picture from my childhood - hanging in my doctors office

And this cool sculpture is made out of 700,000 coffee stirrers!  The artist built it in place and it took a week to build.  It filled a whole room!

And of course when I see a neat building we have to stop and take pictures.  This is St Andrews Catholic Church and it sits on a hill overlooking downtown Roanoke.

Then we went off to Black Dog Salvage in search of some wood, iron work and maybe a few other treasures.  We are fans of the show and it was neat to see things we recognized - like the clock faces from the high school in Newark, NJ.

We got to go to the warehouse where they store the wood and met Jeff.  I was in heaven!  Beams, trusses and wood galore.  Came home with some barnwood.

A little light sanding and my bed goes from plain jane to modern rustic.  

Well the fun is over - back to work.

Pour me.. Part 1

When I last left you, the porch was finally gone - in it's wake was a holy mess.

I didn't even want to look at the front yard.  I kept trying to remind myself that this was demolition and demo is messo! (bad rhyme - I know)

After spending a weekend trying to make the yard look somewhat presentable and level so it wasn't a total muddy mess we would be able building the form for the footings for the block to sit on. All cleaned and ready.

We had to dig, fill and build the forms.  Took all day.  I'll admit, I didn't do much of this part.  I left the digging in the mud to the boys and went shopping.

It was as if I waved my magic want and they appeared.

And then it rained and rained and rained. We had a weekend trip planned to Roanoke to visit Black Dog Salvage (my Valentine's Day, Anniversary and Birthday present) and guess what, it rained here while we were gone.

So the following weekend the boys had to redo all the forms.  (I shouldn't say boys - Trevor is quite the man now - he's been such a big help and this work is NOT fun).  Oh yeah - I went shopping again.

But the weather stayed clearer and we got the inspector's blessing and we can pour!

Hidden Secrets

One of the problems with "demo" is that you often find hidden secrets - things the original builder did which you don't know about.  You see it all the time on renovation shows like Property Brothers and Fixer Upper.  Those hidden "gems" usually mean more work and more bucks.

And so it is with the front porch.  The burning question we had was "What is under there?"  We couldn't let it go.  So we stuck a camera in the little hole we created and we got an answer.

Now even with my limited knowledge of construction techniques, I knew this wasn't good news.  This HUGE slab of concrete was sitting on cinder blocks (they are not really supposed to be vertical!) and brick and wood.  NO WAY was this going to pass inspection and the guys at the city confirmed it.

So the simple "pour a new slab" became take it down, pour proper footings, and build a new front porch.  Cha-ching!

We had to get rid of the whole thing!  And that one little hole took HOURS with a jackhammer.  So we did what we rarely do - hired a contractor to do the demo.  (So much for "demo is free"!)

So on a Saturday morning the guy shows up with a bob-cat and a dump truck and goes to work.  This slab is VERY stubborn and very heavy and after some initial success with the planter and the sidewalk, disaster strikes.  The bob-cat breaks and none of the places that sell a replacement part is open.  Okay - well he can take what was removed to the dump and come back Monday and finish.  BUT - the ground is wet and the dump truck is stuck in our front yard!  Even dumping the load doesn't help.  And it has been there all week!

And of course the porch is still there too.

Well it is time for another project at the old homestead. Hard to believe I've been living here almost 4 years.  Just last week, Facebook kindly reminded me that three years ago we were doing our bedroom renovation.

Last spring, we replaced all the windows.  Had a professional installation.  I love our new windows.

We added the new shutters too.

So this year we decided to tackle the front porch.  It is in need of a makeover because

1. it slopes towards the house instead of away
2. it is UGLY!!! 

I've always hated the railing and the steps to nowhere never made any sense.

So the plan is to close that side of and square off the planter.  I kind of like planter.  We are going to tear up the terracotta-ish tile top on the porch.  It too is ugly.  We really aren't sure what is under that tile monstrosity.  I guess we will find out.   

We are going to pour a simple slab.  New railings, new front door, and maybe some Adirondack chairs.  

The railing?  That is still under debate.  Might come down to budget.

Option one - The budget friendly choice

Troy's choice - but I think it is a bit to fancy for our house and all those little inserts are pricey.

My choice - wider pickets and clean lines.  

A different kind of renovation

Two years ago I find this table at the Salvation Army store.  I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it but I HAD to have it. I loved the lines and it was a steal!

Well now - yes it took two years - it looks like this...

It is painted with American Paint Company clay/chalk/mineral paint - an all natural product made in the good old US of A!  It is zero VOC, eco-friendly and solvent free. The only finish on it is wax.

And aren't these knob adorable?

The table itself measures 48 inches x 29 inches - the perfect size for a sectional.

I decided to sell it so if you are interested or know someone who is looking for a coffee table, let me know.  It is a one-of-kind piece.

One more look

It is Labor Day Weekend.  It wouldn't be a proper holiday weekend around here if we didn't have a project. Saturday evening, Troy suggested that we go to Home Depot and buy some "arts and crafts supplies".

We've been talking about building a bench around one of the trees in our back yard. That was the plan. Somehow between drawing a design for the bench, we got on the topic of a fire-pit. The budget only allowed for one project and the fire-pit won!

Off to Home Depot we went and we came home with 61 landscape edging blocks. We had to load them on the cart then load them into the truck.  We added a few bags of concrete (for a ramp to the shed) and chimney caps (which I will never see in their proper installation because you will NEVER catch me on the roof). Poor truck!

It was quite a load!  So instead of spending my morning at the gym, I did the Farmers Walk with brick! Functional Fitness!!

(A little beefcake for you today!)

Course one had to be level.  We picked this spot since no grass grows here anyway!

Less than an hour later we had 5 courses. Our design was based on reusing parts a grill/fire-pit that came with the house. It even had a cover! We'd used it in the past to as a fire-pit and figured it would make a great base. Waste not, want not.

We decided to remove one course of brick to get a better fit and five courses was just too high. The insert fit perfectly! Seriously, a fire-pit by 8 am.

Using more of our waste not, want not philosophy, I bought a couple cans of spray paint to give some old chairs new life.  I decided to use my favorite color - apple green.  You might remember this color from the shed trim!

Eventually we will replace these with Adirondack style chairs and sidetables made from the some tree stumps we have in the yard - more waste not, want not!

 Reminds me or our first motorcycle vacation to The Tail of the Dragon in the Great Smokey Mountains.

Back to the back yard!  Viola!  A new relaxing space in the back yard.  We are all ready for the cooler nights of Autumn to come.

A little work and a little ingenuity and we are ready for the first cool evening.  S'mores anyone?