OK, so this did not get off to a really great start...but at least we can expect improvement from here. (as this picture demonstrates) There's no where but up from that last post. I will admit, however, that I never expected to have a blog on the internet...never actually WANTED a blog...not really sure what a blog was or if I even wanted to say that word every time I talked about it. You have to admit, it is a rather funny word. You don't sound very "manly" when you say the word blog. blog, blog, blog, I'm just trying to get used to it...blog, blog, blog...this is going to take a while.Anyway, as the name implies, the intent of this wonderful blog will be to document some improvements that are being made on our humble abode in Harper, Illinois. I'll start with the current project and at some point, I'll step back to some work that was done earlier in the summer. That will keep everyone thoroughly confused...and makes me feel more like I'm in control. Remember the "manly" comment above. So, sit back and enjoy the ride. I truly do not know where this will take us.
This picture is a "before" picture of the front of our house. Today's project is to add an 8 X 16 open porch to the front of our house (something that I believe every farm house should have). We've had this addition designed for over 5 years when a friend of ours said that he would build it for us. When he backed out, I wanted to wait until he would agree to do it...I finally gave up waiting, so we hired another friend to do it. The first step was getting those huge bushes out of the way.
Then, the work began. After the bushes were removed, Trevor and Andrew and I needed to move in about 2 yards of road rock to put down underneath the area where the porch would be. This is done to keep trees from growing up underneath our new porch. None of us were really excited about moving that much rock around; but flash them a little cash...and a teenager will do just about anything. These pictures show the bushes removed, gravel laid down and the basic structure of the porch floor has been added. Our dogs hate it at this point because we can't let them out the front door...no floor on the porch. It won't be long till they'll make that front porch their new perch to sit and look over the town and get ready to bark at the next train going by.
This the progress as of today (August 9th, 2008). The contractor had initially believed that we were going to be able to incorporate some old porch posts that had come out of Cheri's grandfather's house. When it came time to get them into the project, however, we found that they were not structurally sound, so we needed to order posts for the project. Of course, they are special order and won't be available for 10 days. Therefore, you can see the contractor is building the roof with temporary supports for now which will be replaced by the new posts when they arrive. This will be a longer project because of that, but our contractor is OK with that as he has other projects to work in between. I'm just hoping we can have our new porch complete by the end of August.
I hope this post was somwhat of an improvement from the first (thank you, Sara). I'll keep you updated as more progress occurs. Until then...tata for now!
3 comments:
Hey, who's that crazy, rockin throw-back on the front page? I'm glad he's not the contractor. Although, our contractor, Guy is a rockin, baby-boomer kind of guy!!
We were dissapointed that my grandpa's porch posts didn't work in this project, but oh well, the porch goes on!!
The puppies are stareing out the glass front door right now, saying when, mommy when? I think they're anticipating this to be their new throne where they can observe over their kingdom. Of course, they'll have lots of laughs watching the neighbor dog, Honey, chasing imaginary squirrels up the trees. Maybe they'll let us share the new porch with them once in a while.
As Jim said, this porch has been planned for 5 years, and now finally coming to fruition. But, it is just in time for the Christmas in The Country Open House the first weekend of December. Our home was selected, along with 2 other homes in the Forreston area to be on the open house tour to benefit a charity. Hopefully, Harper won't be too loooong of a drive for people to come out and enjoy a little country charm.
Thank you to Sara and Bonnie for being our first blog posters!! Sara, this couldn't have been possible without you. And, Bonnie, this would probably be a very lonely sight without your frequent check-ins. Keep on Blogging!!!
Cheri
Go Jim! Thanks for agreeing to do a blog. For this lonely old woman, the Internet and blogs are my way of keeping up - and I definitely want to keep up with the Harper branch of the family.
Now, where on earth did you get the idea that a blog is not "manly"?
Good job, Jim. Keep up the good work. Your porch will be done in plenty of time, I'm sure. Of course, this is coming from someone whose 6 week home improvement turned into a 3 month project!
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