Eighteen months: a major remodel and a baby, plus employment changes. Wow! Sometimes I honestly don't know how we did it. I feel this house is a real testament to our commitment to ourselves and each other and copious amounts of grace from God. I can't explain it otherwise!
With baby here safely, winter over, and the inside "livable" we started focusing attention on the outside. We had paid roofers to put steal on the rather steep roof, but had decided to tackle the sides ourselves. Ben took a week off work, rented a lift, had a big truck delivery a ton of steal, stocked up on sports drinks, rallied the troops (friends and family) and went to work!
I'm the one on the lift in these photos (somehow I didn't get any other photos that week). Was not sure I wanted to help with this part as I am really more comfortable inside with the babies or in the kitchen makin' food. But I am so glad I took an opportunity to try this out. It was an experience we should never have again! This steal is estimated to last 50 years, so I figure we will be too old in our 70's to do this kind of work! :)
It was so warm and humid that week, I lost track of how much water and sport drinks we went through. But the end result was so lovely! The old red was gone and this clean white with lovely green trim looked so inviting to me. I had spent a lot of time researching corn cribs and barns in our area. I knew I didn't want the red, but I also wanted it to look natural. A yellow corn crib would just look strange! So when I saw one done with white and green, I knew that was for me. I love green (not so much olive green, but lighter greens like sage, or darker like forest or evergreen) and the white is "energy efficient," so hubby liked it.
We kept the concrete first level as an attached garage, storage, laundry room, utility room and entry way. The 18 steps (seen in part 2) lead up to where the grain bins had been. That floor is true 2 x 12s on 18 inch centers, so there was really no moving it. We used that space for the kitchen, living room, bathroom, dining room, etc... Which brings us to the third floor. We left partially open for a "loft" feel and put in two bedrooms and an office. Along with the siding, we worked on finishing up the bedrooms so I could paint.
My dad came to visit for a couple weeks and spent a day helping hang drywall. Those two worked hard and it meant so much to me to have my dad's involvement, if only for a day.
People keep asking if the house is done...I am not sure what to say. Some days I look at all there is left to do and think we will never be done!
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