A New Challenge

Well, the handyman's dream proved to be too big a job to complete and continue updating my blog at the same time. I ran out of blog steam, but in the end I finished the basement, stripped the stucco, put on 2" foam, and new windows and siding. Here's a video of the siding/window transformation. Then we sold the house.

We had a 1420 sq foot two story house built, and moved into it with our two kids in January 2012.

The foundation was poured in late summer.

Soon it was framed.

The roof was on.

Windows were in.

Finishing began inside.

And we moved in January 21, 2012.

Since then, I have landscaped the back and front yards, built a two-level deck, a shed, a pirate ship, and tiled some backsplash.

The two-level deck in progress.

The finished product.

The back yard with grass and garden beds (pre-fence).

The snow blew in during the winter, before the fence was completed.

Stepping stones from the back yard to the front.

The side-shed mid-way through. It is 16' long and 5' wide to make use of the space beside the house.

Finished, with doors on both ends for access from the front yard and back yard.

Reclaimed shiplap from an old barn, to be used to create a pirate ship for my kids.

The pirate ship part way through. The siding now goes all the way to the top.

I was too cheap to pay the builder to do the backsplash tile, so I learned how to do it. The tile came from Costco and was less than half of what it would have cost from a tile shop, or Home Depot.

The original shared Chev Half-ton I used in my previous renos was taken off the roads for being unsafe. I eventually inherited my Dad's 1996 Mazda B3000 in 2011. He was killed in a farming accident in 2009. I have used his old farm truck to haul dirt, rock, and, as seen above, ridiculous lengths of lumber. The truck has a 6' box, for those of you doing some math at home. It isn't pretty, but it does the job.

As you have probably guessed, I am going to start a new adventure -- finishing the basement. I will aim to regularly chronicle that adventure on this blog. Stay tuned!