It all started with a simple sentence. “Hey Ryan, let’s paint our front porch.” The outside of our house had been neglected for a number of years and was in some serious need of a little TLC. Last summer, our first in the house, we were consumed with a new born so we pruned the rhododendrons (they completely covered the front porch), put out a flag and called it done okay for a year.
And then a worldwide pandemic hit and we found ourselves spending all our time at home and the desire to match the outside of our home to the inside kicked of our DIY exterior refresh. We are currently 8 weekends in and progress has been slow but we are chipping away. A simple let’s paint the front porch has morphed into a project that we keep adding to and will keep us busy all summer long and probably next!
To Do List
Front Porch
- prep for paint (scrape chipped paint & power wash)
- paint porch railing & lattice white
- paint porch floor
- replace exterior light
- replace house numbers
- replace mailbox
- strip storm door
- stain storm door to match front door
- clean and bring life back to front door
- re-lay brick walkway
LANdSCAPE
- rip out side garden
- create side garden (driveway side) with shrubs/flowers
- create trench to shed water from perimeter of house (hello no gutters)
- plant grass
- create back garden with annuals and perennials
- mulch
- create play space (with mulch) for slack line area
- fix crumbling rock wall
- create patio (eating area)
- paint bulk head
- remove pear tree – we love this tree especially every spring when it bursts with white flowers but it’s hanging on by a thread and only a matter of time before it falls
- replant tree
Exterior
- repair siding (driveway side of house & back porch)
- paint utility box and tube
- remove window shutters
- fix squirrel hole
- paint storm windows
- touchup house paint
Back porch
- prep for paint (scrape chipped paint & power wash)
- fix carpenter ant damage
- fix rotted floor boards
- build lattice
- remove porch railing for stair opening
- build porch stairs (for eating area)
- demo porch ceiling
- install flood light
- install recessed lighting
- install porch ceiling
- paint porch rail & lattice white
- paint porch floor
- paint or stain porch ceiling
And there we have our very extensive to do list. We’ve checked off a few items on each list and putting a strikethrough is oh so very satisfying! We plan to keep up the momentum but also need to dedicate some time to our girls who have been so patient and great helpers too. I’m excited to see how these projects transform our exterior!
