Winter diversity

I went out for a haircut today, and saw all of these sights within a one-block radius of my house.  I call it "the multiple looks of winter"...!!

Voila!! After much work (and some moments of frustration), we have a new front steps.

There is still more work to do (adding the final two stair banisters, putting in paving stones at the bottom of the stairs, painting the stair risers, facia boards and front door, replanting the flower bed etc.) but for now, we have a very functional front entrance that (*gasp*) actually looks like a front entrance! And... it reached completion in the nick of time.

November blooms

During the destruction of our old steps, I took a few photos of what was still blooming in the garden. While the roses are not the finest ones we've seen, it is still very happy to have them blooming well into November.

HFM Phase 4: More Installation

Today's progress called for some past comparison. 

HFM Phase 4: Installation

My great spouse and great father-in-law have been working hard this weekend. Thanks to their long hours (especially those put in by Jeff's dad, who faithfully shows up every morning in the rain to work at our house while Jeff is at work), we have a platform and some very swanky posts to show off.

Here's the view looking down from our front door. Happy claps!

Progress made days 9 and 10

HFM Phase 3: Still more construction

Jeff took advantage of the STAT holiday today to make progress on the steps. We have... Steps! Don't worry- the bright green risers (covered with wood preservative) will be painted white next spring to match the vinyl railing. It looks a little wonky for now... but we're just calling it "festive".

What you don't see in these photos is the amount of extra work that it took to make the lovely rounded corners on the front of the steps. The composite wood product we're using clips together and there are grooves all the way down the length of each plank- Jeff and his dad had to router these off the one side of the plank (the side exposed on the front of each step). I think it has been a pain and Jeff's workshop is covered in composite wood filings but I think the end result will be worth it (says the girl who was inside today working on an assignment, warm and dry out of the rain).

There are a few steps left and then the guys start on the top platform. With any luck, we hope to start installing railings sometime this weekend.

Progress made on day 8

Breaking to smell the roses

As you can imagine, it has been a busy seven days here. This morning dawned with pounding rain and stormy wind. Jeff went back to work and some of the family crew decided (smartly) not to fight the elements and catch an earlier ferry home. Jeff and his dad will likely finish things off later this week.

We're quite proud of the progress we've made in the past week and feel that things are moving in a great direction. While the weather has quickly transitioned into "winter" (well- Coastal winter!!) over the past few days, we caught some beautiful moments of autumn during our work.

HFM Phase 3: More construction and a Home Depot headache

Yesterday saw the addition of stair stringers and railing posts- two very happy new sights.


The vinyl railing (including sleeves for the railing posts) and composite wood we're using for the stair treads also arrived.... after four "fix it" phone calls to Home Depot. I never cease to be amazed by the failings of human organizational systems and Home Depot took this to a whole new level. They forgot to process our delivery request (fix it #1). Then, they input the wrong delivery date by a week (fix it #2). Then... they couldn't find our house because they were driving up and down  Chestnut Street in another city (fix it #3) And FINALLY.... when they did arrive, half of our order had not been loaded onto the truck (fix it #4). Sigh. Thankfully, everything eventually arrived and we were even more happy with our materials choices than we thought we would be.

Vinyl railing- notice the VERY happy "25 year guarantee"

Dark grey composite wood for the floorboards

We celebrated today's progress with a big family dinner and (drumroll please) the submission of my big team assignment for school. In the end, it was a very good day.

Progress made on day 7

HFM Phase 3 regained: More construction

While today started off sunny clear, the afternoon clouded over with a growing chill in the air. Our crew took some much needed rest today (it's Sunday);  in the afternoon,  they cut all of the stringers for the stairs and started preparing a foundation to replace the concrete destroyed (very happily) yesterday. All in all- another productive day. If only the same thing could be said for my team school project...

Progress made on day 6

HFM Phase 2 again: More demolition

Start of our fantastically strong new structure

Despite our best hopes, it rained today. The cold and drizzly day dampened our spirits a little, especially when our amazing crew determined that the cement block at the bottom of the former stairs was not going to budge without a major fight. A jack hammer helped us win the battle.... although "win" might be an incorrect term. I was actually on the other side of the wall (just feet from the jack hammer), trying to work through my most difficult team project for school so far.

Progress made on day 5

Ah well. One step back to take a few forward. Thankfully, the sun is scheduled to reappear tomorrow. And there was some progress- at the end of the day, we had a big hole, no more ugly concrete monolith and a more solid plan of what to do next.

HFM Phase 3: Construction

We have a new structure!!! And a very, very solid one at that.  Even though it rained for most of the morning, we are doing happy dances tonight.

Progress made on day 4

HFM Phase 2 continued: More demolition

Today continued with more pounding, banging, pulling, pushing, sawing and carrying. A diamond blade saw made much quicker work of removing the cement wall; after Jeff's dad cut it into smaller sections (a very tiring, dusty and difficult task), we were able to pry the cement panels off fairly easily.

After the stucco was finally removed, it uncovered a much rotted wooden structure that was even more in need of replacing than we thought.

Jeff came home from work early to help with the last part of stucco removal and tearing apart the frame. We both have been more than a little overwhelmed by how big this job has turned out to be. Without his parents and uncle, this project would NOT be happening. The first load of rubbish (today's concrete and most of the wood structure) came in at 1800 pounds and we have a second load already in Jeff's parent's truck ready to drop off tomorrow.

I was so stinky, sweaty, dusty and dirty at the end of the day that even I was turned off by a whiff of myself. After a much needed shower, I went through the regular routine of combing the tangles out of my hair while still wrapped in my fluffy warm towel. I usually do this while standing at the bathroom mirror but after our work today, I sat down on the (closed) toilet. I was so tired that I called out to Jeff (in the nearby kitchen), "Babe, I don't think I have enough energy to go any further". Jeff poked his head into the bathroom and quipped, "Well, you've stopped at the right place then, haven't you?!"

Tomorrow construction starts. Although my focus moves inside (keeping our family labourers well fed and getting my head back into a school paper due this weekend), I'm just hoping and praying that forecasts for rain won't be accurate...

Progress made on day 3

HFM Phase 2: Demolition

Our rickety staircase LOOKS like an easy thing to knock down, right? Not when it is held together with cement stucco walls.  This was the first major underestimation of this project.  I don't know why I thought knocking down cement stucco would be easy. Satisfying? Yes. But not easy.  Jeff's amazing parents led today's work because let's face it- I have no clue when it comes to this stuff.

Good thing we started a day early.  Tomorrow, we have to do it all again on the outside cement wall... and it's much bigger.

progress made on day 2