We will be re-siding Chez Petite this summer. At that time, we are going to build a new porch. The stoop we have now is annoying. With no over-hang, getting inside in the rain is a very unpleasant exercise. The screen door also is not fitted well and it blows open in high winds -- a very frequent occurrence in Western NY. The stoop is a poured concrete mold. It is in good shape, but the stair slabs on top of it are beginning to crumble in spots. The entire "presentation" is underwhelming, with the small light and hard to read house numbers. The Federal pediment over the door gives it a nice colonial look, but that is cracked and will be removed.
The time-frame for doing all this depends on how long it will take to order and get in the cedar planks. I am looking forward to having it done this summer and our guy Jimmy-Jam is going to do the work for us. TBG has a source through his job that we will use to get a high quality custom exterior door at cost.
This will be a major project but we have the funds to do it. While it will add value to the house, the main reason we are doing it, is that the paint is in bad shape and it is also time to improve the insulation. Stay tuned!
That is a major undertaking. I know it is all necessary, but no porch or protection from the rain at the door will be great. The whole house will be warmer and more energy efficient.
ReplyDeleteI am not looking forward to the project being in process for sure! We do definitely need to do something to help with the insulation so the wrap and re-caulking around the windows will be a big help there too.
DeleteHow exciting! Can't wait to see the work in progress.
ReplyDeleteI am eager to start -- but I know I have to wait for TBG to order the siding and for the architects to do their design. We talked about it work today and I told them I will go with whatever they dream up!
DeleteYour house is just gorgeous! I love the front door.
ReplyDeleteIs a stoop a front door step? I've seen it mentioned in American literature but never been completely sure what it is.
We really want a porch but our house is listed which means you need permission from the local authority before changing any of the exterior. xxx
A stoop is when you just have a concrete pad or steps in front of the house -- no cover. Once there is covering or any sort of roof attached, it becomes a porch. A stoop also generally is just in front of the door and not the rest of the frontage. You know you are moving up in the world when you go from having just a stoop to having a porch!
DeleteI'm soooo jealous! I really need to do something about my siding since the paint on the south wall is peeling from the "lifetime guaranteed" (Ha!) steel siding. I've been looking at what other people in the area have done, and which things tend to survive the periodic hail storms - so I'm thinking either stucco or stone. When they do stucco over an existing wall, it involves adding a layer of insulation board, so that's a good reason to choose stucco.
ReplyDeleteAnyhow, a real porch will be nice. I'm reminded of a funny story - eons ago, before I knew him, CatMan had the porch on his house re-done. The whole thing apparently was a comedy of errors. First there was a freak blizzard that nearly took down the porch roof. The contractor was snowed in so CatMan was out there in the snow jacking the thing up so it wouldn't tear off of the house. Then somehow there was a SNAFU with the cement truck, and they arrived before the molds for the slab had been set up... or something like that. Anyhow, I guess you only have a small window of time for pouring cement, and it would have been prohibitively expensive to ask them to come back another day, so instead, they just filled the entire cavity with cement. So his porch is a solid block of cement, 4 feet thick! He always jokes that it could survive a direct hit from a nuclear bomb! Here's hoping your porch experience goes smoother than his did!
What are you planning on doing to bump up the insulation? Insulation board? Blown-in cellulose? Inquiring minds want to know!
If you ever read my prior blog "Living Without Money," you would know that I went through porch renovation Hell. Luckily, we now have a dependable contractor!
DeleteWe are doing new boards -- and I am considering Hardie or something that has a good insulation rating. Then we are doing a wrap over that. There is already blown in insulation. That was done a few owners ago -- and that is how they discovered the old hiding spot from the house being a stop on the underground railroad.
There will be some mystery uncovered once layers come off that may also influence what goes on under the siding. The house is from the early 1800's, so I'm sure there will be an oddity or two uncovered!
Wait... what? Underground railroad?!? I wanna hear that story!
DeleteCatMan once found an antique poster for a fight (boxing match) featuring someone named Gentleman Jim Corbett (who was apparently famous) stuffed in the wall of an old building he was living in up in Cripple Creek (old mining town.) He was quite miffed when one of his roommates absconded with it.
Old houses certainly can be a treasure hunt! Sounds like yours has quite an interesting history!
I love everything about the way your house looks now, but I can see you wanting to make changes, especially if there are problems with it.
ReplyDelete