Exterior Update

Guys, I don't know if 1117 Donaghey was just ready to be renovated or if experience is FINALLY paying off but this project is going soooo smoothly (knuckles bleeding from knocking on my wooden desk). Like, I have not cried ONE TIME! Things are just hopping along and if things continue at this rate we might just be able to pull off an Open House before Spring Break. 

And to think, I almost passed on the opportunity to work on this cutie. Well not really....NEVER in the almost 18 year history of our marriage have I EVER turned down an opportunity to work on a project that Rory volunteers to purchase... EVER. BUT I will admit I scratched my head the first time he drove me past the property.  I mean look at her...

I'm going to give you just a second to form your own first impression before I tell you what I thought the first time I saw her. Here she is again from a different camera angle: 

Whatcha think?

My first thought was, "hmmm a mobile home." Now don't get me wrong, there is NOTHING wrong with mobile homes. In FACT, my ol' buddy Marcos, the tile guy, had great success in flipping several prefab homes before he moved. And these days there are some really nice manufactured homes on the market BUT when a home has never been on wheels it is not typically the design goal to make it look like it has.  I think it was the long flat facade with the vinyl siding that was doing it for me.  

So before my brain even had a chance to start formulating a story about how a double-wide rolled into the historic district of Conway, I began brainstorming ideas of how to update the exterior. The challenge was the property already sits close to the road so I was pretty sure the city would deny me permission to do a large front addition, so I tried to think of some small changes we could implement to make a large impact.

Fortunately,  I have access to some state of the art design software so i was able to sketch out a plan and visualize the finished product before moving forward with the plan:

I thought the added pitch to the roof would really help demobilize the home but the vinyl siding still bothered me. Problem was, I knew it was not in my budget to replace the siding especially in light of my New Years Resolution to actually be profitable this year. I had pretty much resolved to keep the vinyl siding when Rory (the financially prudent one) suggested we at least see what was behind the siding.  Well I didn't hesitate; I took that suggestion as permission to rip it all down, and boy was I pleasantly surprised (and relieved) to find this wide board wood cladding. 

I mean, sure the chippy paint isn't the cutest but the wood is in great shape and Nicolas assures me they can scrape the old paint off. So score! Honestly with the vinyl siding down I could see the cute home the original owners intended. But I had already fallen in love with the idea of the second gable and larger landing so Martin the brick man and Tommy Pate of TPA concrete readied the front porch and Pepe and his team extended out the original gable and added the second pitch.  

Once the gables were framed we were finally able to tear off the old roof and install new architectural shingles. 

And then a couple of days ago the brick went up!

And that is how she sits as I write this blog. There is still a lot of work to do on the outside but I do feel she has already come a long way from the trailer park. Not much scheduled to happen outside this coming week but tons of fun will be occuring on the inside. In fact, this is the week Dad comes down to help me with a special project for this house. That's always a good sign we are nearing the end! Countdowns on!