It’s also the house that a trucker (former owner) re-modeled. And by that I mean did some of the dumbest stuff to a house I have ever seen. Like use wood glue to secure wallpaper.
I realize that I sometimes talk about my purgatory, but I’ve never put up a picture of it. Well, here it is. Sorry for the strange angle. I’ll put up something better when I can. : )
House
The white you see on the left is a two car garage. There is no garage door, so maybe it’s technically an enclosed carport. At the opposite end of the house is a small side porch, just big enough for two. There are several rooms, almost all of them designed for formal entertaining. The whole place has a sensibility that reminds me constantly that it was built with fresh memories of World War II and the Great Depression. The wiring is all two prong, the windows have metal tracks/frames and stick, the studs in the walls are 2″x6″ solid oak, the kitchen has original solid wood built-ins, hardwood floors throughout, and a fireplace. Though the history major in me loves the stories I make up about the house, it isn’t what I started out looking for or what I want to retire in. What I really want is something more like this. *sigh*
Art Store
Colorful and tudor style. It even has a rounded top door! So dreamy! Until I can afford to do an entire remodel, I am sticking to what I can do myself. Sometimes (most of the time) I start out going ‘this is gonna rock!’ By the time I’m ten minutes in a frown forms. By the time I’ve been working for an hour I’m frustrated. By the time night falls I am down right pissed off. This, is one of those projects…
Front Porch
You see, this is my front porch. I think it’s closed in and a little ugly. My side porch, by contrast, is quickly becoming one of my favorite sit and do nothing spots. The side porch has brick, white columns, and blue-gray cement. I want the front to match. That means, brick, white supports, and blue-gray cement. So, a plan formed.
First thing was first, I had to get rid of the dark green monstrosity. Before I got started I pulled up just a small edge to see what was under that fugly stuff and to my great joy there was more brick! The happy butt dance ensued!
Green Outdoor Carpet
Obviously, this eye sore would only take few minutes to remove and make the front entryway sooo much nicer! It would have a more open look than it did before! It would be wonderful and give my place some much needed curb appeal! I was going to kick some butt and remodel my front porch all on my own! It was going to be fabulous! Ha!
So, I got all kinds of hyper and went to town. It was great for a few moments. Then… then, the carpet just stopped. I thought I yanked my arm out of the socket and actually squeaked with momentary pain. When I opened my eyes I had one thought: Uh oh. What have I done?
Carpet Comes To A Stop
How many kinds of glue did they use? And why is the paint coming up? How long has this stuff been out here?
Jack O'Lantern and Banshee O'Ghoul
Even the cats aren’t sure what the hell I was thinking by tearing this up before the appraiser came out. I didn’t let those skeptical looks deter me too much. I just kept yanking and ripping and bracing my foot on the side of the house. But my lovely house wasn’t going to let me off that easily. About half way in, I hit a snag. Four of them on each side to be precise. I leaned over and found to my stunned suprise nails. Wait… Nails? Nails! They used nails?!!! WTF!
- Nailed To The Brick
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I went straight to the tool box. The carpet was actually, miraculously under the iron supports too. How that was accomplished, as the carpet was a semi-recent addition, is way beyond me. Unless they removed the supports, laid the carpet, then put the supports back in. In which case, why would you do that? I guess it gives a more seemless look, but the side porch is gorgeous with the cool color paint and southern character. Why not leave the front alone? I used a box cutter and floor scraper and it still took me a couple of hours.
And then, with much swearing and sweating, it was over. I changed the light bulbs, swept, mopped, and took a picture so that I could see if there was a difference.
Front Porch v. 2.0
Oooohhhh yeah. That carpet was hiding a very nice porch. O.K. Maybe you can’t tell in this picture. But I assure you, the porch really does look better! Even if I’m the only one to think so…
Every part of my body burned for the next day, but I did it! I completed step one all by my lonesome! Hey, I think I’m starting to get this home owner thing!
A trip to Home Depot will fix the left over adhesive problem. Those people know me. Seriously. I wish that were a joke, but they do know me. The paint girl and I are getting to be good friends. The hardware guy and I swap family stories. Weekly.
This is going to be a long, long first year.
