playing with paint colors

The pavers are officially complete! The paver head dude came by last night and sealed it. We debated wether to get the sealing done as we like the worn out look but common sense won out. We figure the pavers will get worn out eventually anyway but best to protect them if we can. The sealant changed the color a bit too which took a little getting used to but again its all 'new' so we'll give it some time to get scruffed up :)

We are super happy with how it all turned out but what is depressing now is the lawn. sigh...

We spent the day painting the stairs. It was damn hot outside. Anyway, we are experimenting a bit with how we might paint the stairs and railings. Take a look and let me know what you think.

We added a black trim, kept the posts white and painted the railings cream. For the stairs we painted the top cream and the backs white. The railings and posts on the porch are the original colors.

Note: the white isn't as bright as its just primer and the rest of the paint is just 1 layer of paint

This is what it looks like without the black trim (kind of)

We are so tired, this will have to do until next weekend. Work starts up on Monday and its gonna be busy! So you'll have to wait till next week to see what we decide :))

paver dude 'rocks'

The paver dude showed up unexpectedly today and did some more work. The paver dude 'rocks' (heehee, get it?)!!....It delayed our 'day of painting' but we didn't mind. Here are some pics:


stairs 1/2 primed






we like the white railings but it won't match the rest of the house. we have an idea of how we can keep some of the white but not sure yet. will show some pics of our 'test' paint job in the next few days.

view from the door to the front yard:



There is Hampton keeping a close eye on things again. He's taking his security job very seriously!

At the end of the day we did manage to get a layer of paint on the sides of the stairs. Pics to follow soon. Man, are we pooped!

paver love!

So I am totally in love with our pavers! Here is a sneak peak:




Paver dude will be back on Thursday to finish the job. I can't wait!

Tomorrow, the painting continues...sigh....

Almost there....

The stairs and fence are finally done! Except we need to paint, ugh! I think they look really really good.


The stairs include a special place for my lawn mower (except right now we don't have any grass - haha!)



The beloved fence (with the posts primed - such a bitch to paint)! We got this done for ZuZu and Hampton. They better appreciate it!



Happy to say we now have a fully fenced in front and back for our bb's!


We had planned to start painting Saturday but the paver dudes showed up 3 days early to our surprise. We were really happy they came early. They are quick which I like even better.






They are here again today and Hampton reports they are just about finished leveling the ground. Next step, install the pavers!

half way there i think!

Yay there is some progress on the house. For a while it was looking like this (very depressing):



Here is a first look at our new fence! Some pieces I still have to paint but I'll get to that later.





I love the new fence already. The new wall its standing on looks so nice and clean. yayayay! can't wait until its all done.

There was also some progress on the stairs but all not done yet. Will post pics of that later.

Today we went out to get samples of the pavers we want laid down. We are pretty much settled on what color and pattern we want. Can't wait!

Priming 200 pieces of wood - complete!

I can't believe how long it took to prime the friggin wood for the fence. We are painting it ahead of time b/c it will be really difficult to paint when they are up b/c our neighbour's bushes will probably get in the way.
Priming is done but we still have 2 layers of paint to go! Its hard b/c you have to paint one side and get the trimming done, wait for it to dry then pain the other side. ugh!
I like painting but this was definitely a chore!!

Front Yard - Day 3

Look at our patio now!



They spent most of today clearing out the junk from the front....



and putting together the stringers for the stairs.


Tuboo is questioning whether we should keep a shed under the stairs but I need somewhere to keep my GBB lawnmower. I'm thinking of getting it wallpapered and maybe a chandelier but not sure if that's do-able. ;)

The front yard is a complete mess. But one area remains in tact. We're surprised to find that cute pink flowers have blossomed on the side of the house.

Front Yard Renos - Day 1 & 2

Day 1 was mostly about demo-ing the stairs and getting the new wood delivered.

Can you guess how long it took to take down the stairs?






The contractor told us because the stairs were so rotted, it only took about 10-15 minutes to bring the whole thing down! Good thing it was taken down and not the other way around. Scary!

Hampton was very interested in watching the contractors do their work.


He was especially interested in the crane that dropped off the wood. We weren't sure if it was going to make it through the bushes.





And that was Day 1!

Today - Day 2 - the patio and walkway were jack hammered. Again, we found out the reason for the dipping was b/c it wasn't originally laid out properly. They had basically laid the cement on top of bricks and rocks. I have no idea how or why they did that. I wasn't able to get full details on the assessment but will tomorrow. I'm just glad its not water damage!

The patio:




The walkway: