April 2018—
Well, I got the window screens made last summer (2017). I think I made four. I think I need one more, but we’ll see if I get to that this year.
I’ve been eyeing the baseboards and the china cabinet (see Sept 2016 below)…maybe this year…
The deck railing is done! Photos to come…
Here is my inspiration photo for a new gate between the driveway and the back yard. I don’t know if it will ever happen, but this is what I’d like.
September 2016 — Starting a new list. Here goes…
- Make more window screens for upstairs windows. I’ve refurbished all of the existing screens—they’re original to the house, I think—but there aren’t screens for every window. So I need at least two more. (They are painted wooden frames with moulding strips covering the nails or staples that hold the screen material on.)
- Finish painting the downstairs baseboards. (Fall–Winter 2016) They never got painted before we moved in because the floors were being refinished right up until the day we moved in!
- Paint the built-in china cabinet. I painted all the trim in the dining room, except for the china cabinet and the baseboards, before we moved in. And, later, I painted the back wall of the cabinet, but,as you might be able to tell from this picture, the front needs new paint.
- Finish the deck railing—adding railing to the east end (Spring 2017)
- Paint the basement walls. (Low on the list…) I think the basement would be much cleaner, brighter and more inviting (relatively) if the walls were painted white. But it’s a big job now that the basement is full of stuff. (May or may not get to this…)
- Move the uncompleted items from the list below to this list:
- Paint the porch floor…
- Work on the landscape…
See how much fun an old house can be!?
PREVIOUSLY…
Well, I’m probably jumping the gun, but I’m already thinking about other things that need doing around here.
Here’s my list, as of August 2015:
- Paint the porch and front steps with concrete paint
- A white picket fence? No, not happening. Although… I might put an arbor/trellis over the front walk…
- More work on the landscape
- COMPLETED – Install a “man” door in the side of the garage which will allow access to the garage from the backyard without opening the main garage door. (Actually, you can see by the interior framing of the garage that there was a door there at one time…)
- COMPLETED – June 2016 (Phase 1) – Install a railing on the deck; maybe a pergola, too… I think a white railing would help tie the modern looking deck to the traditional look of the house. See inspiration photo below…
- UPDATE – A new gate between the house and the garage (I’d like a white vinyl one…) – Not going to do a new gate; we fixed the problems with the existing one and I repainted it. I may do a trellis over it, though.
- COMPLETED 2015 – Install a retaining wall along the east side of the driveway. The neighbor’s property is higher on the hill and their dirt is eroding onto our driveway.
Will probably involve getting a survey to locate the property line. We used those stacking retaining blocks from Lowes, right on top of the existing curb that lined the edge of the asphalt. - COMPLETED – April 2016 – Replace the cracked and sinking concrete slab between the driveway and the house
Here’s an inspiration photo for the deck railing…
Of course, our deck isn’t nearly this grand, but you get the idea…