The Garage Door

We painted the original garage door last fall because leaving it the way it was took away from the face lift. The opener suffered from electrical problems and didn't work, the spring was broken and the door was extremely heavy to open. Not to mention, it was pretty unattractive. So, we sprung for a new door.

After the old door was removed, the racks were replaced and new springs installed.

The panels of the doors were put in place one by one. We ordered the door to match the colors of the siding job that was installed last fall

Once the door was in place a new door lifter was installed. The old one was chain driven, we purchased a belt driven lifter. Its as quiet as a whisper, well, almost

We picked a carriage house style door. The square windows compliment the 6/1 design on the rest of the house. The decorative hinges were not shipped but are on the way.

Now that the front of the house has been restored, lets look at before and after shots. It doesn't seem possible.

We took this picture the first time we saw the house on January 4, 2009. We had visions, but completion seemed a long time off

A year and a half later we are quite settled in and the transformation on the face of the house is almost complete.

Taking Claim to the Property

After we cleaned up the brush and weeds beneath the pine trees on the north side of the property, we added at least 60 feet of usable space beneath the trees

The afternoon shade was broken by dabs of filtered light beneath the trees, the cleared ground now green with ground cover and sprouting ferns will offer tranquility and relief from heat for the approaching summer.

As we worked up the slope of the property we considered where we would place a hammock on which we could relax in the shade on a given hot summer afternoon.

Looking up the slope toward the east we have not quite cleared all the space under the pines, nor have we cleared the meadow up above.

On the south lawn we see some cleared patches that had previously been covered with wild prickers, vines and other weeds. Even though we have planted areas, only sprouts and seedlings are growing now. We expect the arrival of summer will bring with it a burst of life in the areas we carefully cleared.

The wall along side the pool will require some more TLC. Atop the wall we have cleared the grass and planted various plants and shrubs that will provide an abundance of color and fragrance. Beneath the wall, we have begun planting ground cover that will be difficult to grow on the gravelly surface.

As the sun sets behind the pine trees, it looks so open and peaceful compared to the mess we cleared. There is plenty left for us to do, we have not even started on the far reaches of the property.