Poolside Color

We did not have much time to clean up around the pool during our first summer in the house. Since most of the projects inside the house are complete, we can focus this year on the outside, especially around the pool.
Before uncovering the pool, we power wahsed the parts of the house that had not been resided, like the bump out near the pool.

Even cleaned up, it still seemed drab, so replaced some mouldings and painted badly chipped the eves and trim. Better, but we need some color, after all this is supposed to be a fun place to spend time. Even the furniture we put outside was old and dull, so we might have bought new furniture, but then we thought, "Why?"
At $4 a can, spray paint seemed like a good idea, so we stocked up on some Caribbean colors like yellow, pink, bright green and blue. Hmmm this might just work!
We were happy. The cement patio will need to be addressed, some of it is crumbling around the fence, then we will stain it but that can wait for now.

A bright blue base around the bottom of the house and re-painted entry floor brightened up the patio and helped bring out the color of the pool while the light blue ceiling in the entry added a "sunny" effect.

Okay, we are not ready for House and Garden magazine yet, but its an improvement.

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.

Before and After shots

Before: Replacing the furnace was the first thing we addressed and for good reason. This looks like the original that was installed 40 years ago.
On top of being old, it was noisey and very rusted. A new furnace would also qualify for the tax credit offered as part of the 2009 stimualous package.



After: Although we spent too much on a new furnace, this one operated much more efficiently, was quieter and we knew we could trust it over the long haul.

Before: This is the basement as it looked when we first took ownership. besides the furnace, the old galvanized water tank leaked air and pressure was weak.
After: A few months after the furnace was installed, we put in a new water tank. Though smaller, it had a bladder control and we installed a stronger pressure control to improve the waterpressure in the house. Th small tank in the center is a zip pump for the artesian well that we no longer need. We re-routed the pumbing so that the only water supplied by the artesian well is the outside toilet by the pool and the outdoor hose connection. All the other water is now supplied by the drilled well.

Before: We were stunned by the lies we had been told about the condition of the pool. A week before the close, this is what we found when it was uncovered.



After: We had already begun making substaintial investments in the house, we had no choice but to absorb the expense to repair the pool. Only two weeks after closing the deal, the pool was resurfaced, relined and refilled.

BEFORE: Where the refrigerator used to be at the sunroom entrance (note - this is after peninsula was removed)

AFTER: We built a pantry and moved the refridgerator to the other side of the kitchen

Before: Looking from the kitchen to the dining area

After: No more peninsula, new floors, slider with grid

Before: There was nothing about the old Kitchen we liked

What we wanted: This kitchen was what we wanted but would it fit?

After: Even better than we thought. And we added a microwave and new lighting.

Before: Front of house before facelift

After: Front of house after facelift

Before: What the house looked like the first time we saw it

After: New siding, windows but still needs new front door and garage door

After -After once the garage door was installed