Today I’m bringing you a cornucopia of all of the work we’ve been doing while the kitchen is underway. I will say that having people at your house working hard, getting dirty, and making progress is a good motivator for me. I’ve put in some hard work days since we’ve lived here, but I still feel like I’m recovering my strength and stamina from my time spent in the boot and keeping weight off my foot. It’s amazing how much muscle I lost during that time and it’s taking me a while to get back to the point where I can do a full day of hard work and not feel totally sapped and achy by the end of it. I’ve been pushing myself, though, and it’s starting to feel good when I’ve worked hard and I’m dirty and tired at the end of the day, but not completely destroyed.
The sunshine and pretty weather around here have also acted as a good motivator and we’re making some great progress around the house. Jeff had a very busy schedule leading up to Easter (he’s a pastor), so he has been taking a few days off to do some fishing and work on projects. Last week, he started power washing and I was so so excited to see some of the grim, mildew, and stains washed off the brick, gutters, and trim.
A few people have given a word of warning about power washing brick and I did some research to make sure we didn’t do anything to damage the 50-year-old masonry. Every article I found gave the okay to power washing brick as long as it’s done on a lower setting (or by standing further away), so the mortar isn’t damaged in the process.
We learned that this brick does have a wash/stain on it and it has worn off in some areas, especially where ivy has grown. You can see a faint difference between the windows where the brick used to be protected by shutters. One section Jeff power washed to remove the aerial roots of the ivy ended up looking a bit more reddish-pink than the rest of the brick, but I’m not too worried about it. I am going to let the ivy regrow in some spots and just keep it neatly trimmed and in check.
The gutters, though, look amazing! They were so grimy and I felt the urge to get up on a ladder to clean them every time I looked at them.
(As a side note, when I took this picture, we noticed the ripples in our roof over the vents. Those vents need to go under the shingles because this house doesn’t have soffit vents. It’s a brand-new roof with a 50-year warranty, so the roofer came out and checked it out. It’s buckling from the temperature swings we’ve been having in the area and it did indeed relax when the temperatures dropped. We’ll keep an eye on it and the roofer will make some adjustments if it doesn’t settle down over the summer.)
Here is how the gutters and roof looked when we first moved in…
And how it looks now…
(You can read about our new lights HERE and the topiaries HERE.)
Paint is the next big piece to spruce up the exterior. I’ll be getting paint in the next few days to get that project started. We’re just painting the siding (which is two exterior walls along the garage), trim, shutters, and doors, so it should be a pretty manageable project.
Jeff washed the trim and facia boards and they do look better, but they simply need a fresh coat of paint before they’ll look really good.
As I’ve mentioned before, we’re also going to remove the front storm door after we get the front door painting. It’s a beautiful front door and I’d like it to be more visible. We’ll store the storm door in case we ever want to reinstall it. We’ll also be replacing all of the missing shutters.
In the process of power washing, though, all of the muck from the trim, gutters, and brick ended up on the windows. In home improvement, it often feels like you get one thing done just to have another to-do added to the list.
Since I last shared my clean, but slightly smeary windows in the newly installed studio French doors, I followed some readers’ advice and bought a . Oh my. Game. Changer.
These windows have never looked so good. I did use a little bit of glass cleaning spray as well, but the left no lint or streaks. It’s a beautiful thing.
My parents came to help Thursday of last week and we were able to finish up the trim in the hallway and get the garage organized. It’s not fine-tuned, but boxes are unpacked, things are on shelves, and we made enough room for all of the kitchen appliances to fit.
Like I said, it’s not fine-tuned, yet, but it’s at least more useable. We’ll eventually finish painting the walls and ceiling white, replace the lights, and make better use of the shelves and storage space on the walls. We also hope to install a shed in the next couple of years so that all yard and garden stuff can be kept in there.
The Forté dishwasher and range hood insert were delivered about 30 minutes after we finished tidying the garage. They were supposed to be delivered the next day, but they came early, so we were thankful my parents were there to help get things done.
I also worked more on the little garden area at the back corner of the pool.
For now, I put a row of bricks collected from around the yard so I had a line that says this part is done, this part is not. The rest of the bed is filled with rocks (for drainage, I’m assuming) and they are filled with weeds, dirt, etc, so that is going to be a huge pain to get cleaned out. I’ll just work on it bit by bit in the evening and see what we end up with.
And the projects continue…
PS – I did find a solution to the wrinkle in the kitchen that would allow me to keep the pantry and fridge where I initially planned. I tacked an update onto yesterday’s blog post HERE.
There is also a mop system with window cleaning pads… I just got the mop and I am waiting for the weather to clear so I can clean my hard to reach exterior windows.
I use Windex Outdoor to clean my windows on the outside. You just attach it to a hose & it does a great job (surprisingly).
The exterior is looking so green and refreshed already. And there is floor space in the garage – Nice work! What a blessing to feel excitement and contentment at the same time in the midst of multiple projects! It makes the few aches, pains and planning wrinkles so worth it.
I’m curious, do you have a lot of wood rot to deal with now that the wood trim, etc. is all powerwashed?
Looks like you are making amazing progress!
We have found one spot under one of the front windows that needs to be replaced, but I’m sure we’ll find a few more spots as we start doing more prep work to paint. We’ll just have to take that when it comes.
So!Much!Work!
I love ivy, and I just read an interesting article distinguishing what ivy is okay to grow on a home and what is not. I wish I still had the article. Maybe you’re already aware since you’re such a good researcher.
I believe it’s Boston Ivy that doesn’t damage the walls it crawls up. Of course, I like English Ivy better and it’s the more damaging kind.
I clicked on the link for the Norwex window cleaning cloth & ordered it. I’ll be cleaning the windows as soon as the pollen subsides. I’ve been following all of your reno posts & loving them all. I had to laugh about the color of your cabinets because that’s exactly what I chose for my kitchen & island. I spent a year looking for an antique piece for an island, but I finally realized that I really wanted new cabinets to match the rest of the kitchen. You’re so talented & I can’t wait to see what you pick out for your island! By the way, the following companies have facebook accounts: you may want to check out The beveled Edge Marble & Granite in Gettysburg for a counter, & also, The Hosta Hideaway in York Springs has concrete statuary for your yard. Also, the University of MD has a master gardener program in each MD county & the Washington County Extension Office in Boonsboro can help you with garden questions. I love following along with all of your posts!
Norwex for the win! Do replace the window cloth after a heavy cleaning, they wear out. I keep my old one for things like car headlamps or washing the glass patio items . I love the Norwex mop I actually have 2- big and small. They are worth the money IMO. If you are a Real estate person you should keep one of the cleaning cloths in your bag(in a ziplock), cleans stainless with just water- seriously – so easy! I love them- No I don’t sell them, just have used them for 10 plus years and think they are the cats meow. Bonus, use old ones to get grout smudges off after grouting, paint removal on trim etc. Don’t use your good ones, it will ruin them. These combined with a steamer are about all I use, add baking soda , vinegar and some dish soap and that’s it in my house.
Check those appliances. My best friend waited until final kitchen completion for installation. Her stove was the wrong color and it was too late to return without a major hassle. She had to sell it and try to find another stove that was not a six month wait time.
I get exhausted reading your home improvements itemilzations posts. LOL. You are a rock star.
I also SQUEALED with delight with your update on kitchen post. Yippppeeeeee!
I am very, very curious to see what exterior color paint you end up with since I think we have the same brick. Mine is a pink-y color which I am not fond of and have a hard time figuring out what color shutters, trim and door will help disguise it. So far, I’ve had burgundy, a mauve-y color (hated it) and now it’s been grey for years. time for a change as some of the trim need replacing. I like the green you’ve shown so far. Please let me know what colors you choose – I can’t do colors well. they all look the same to me and I don’t see the “reds” or “blue” undertones that people talk about.
Thanks again and welcome back to MD if I didn’t tell you before! Also, HTTR!!