A Major Makeover Phase 1

I am a project person. Working on a project is like a form of therapy for me. I love a good project and that is precisely what our house is. I major project.

When we bought our house we started calling it our "fixer upper". It had great bones but it was very much outdated. On the back of the house was this very odd enclosed area. It had once been a deck but was later enclosed with large windows. We could not figure out what such a space was used for. I would have thought maybe a sun room except for the fact that it was on the north side of the house and never received any sunlight. It was too small of an area to sit and gather with family and friends. It was rather a sightly looking thing, so we decided it would have to go. Project, here I come!

This was after we had begun demo work. I get so excited to jump into a new project that I often forget to take a before picture.

The two side wings were taken down first. It was a very well made structure with a lot of quality materials. Instantly my mind to race in project mode -- tree house, chicken coop, swinging bench, bike rack, picnic table, how exciting! Okay Ruth, not so fast. Just focus on the one project at hand.

After it was all demo'd, the only thing left were some posts that looked like little toothpicks with notches cut out of some of them.

Time for some beefing up!

I took the salvaged 2x6's and cut them about a third of the height of the posts.

I used liquid nails and 2 1/2 inch brad nails to secure the boards to the posts.

I centered and made the wrap more secure by adding some shims and nailing everything in place.

I used a 1x3 furring strip cut at 45 degree angles to make a sort of cap (sorry I didn't take a picture but you can see it in the finished product).

Next I sanded and sanded. I discovered a new product called a sanding net that I highly recommend to anyone doing a lot of sanding. Rather than being paper that shreds after a few uses, it is literally a rough net that you can pull off and shake out and then reuse it! It lasts about 10x longer. Lovely.

I decided that before I stained the posts, I would dig out this area and add a load of wood chips. My hubby helped to relocate all the flagstone that had been piled here (another project for the future) and the kids and I began to dig out the weeds and dirt.

Add some wood chips. This is not bark that you would get from a nursery but just chipped wood from a tree removal service. They are usually more than happy to deliver a truck load for you but try to find out what kind of tree material it is first. This was from a dead poplar so there were no pine needles or sap to deal with. I really like the look of it.

Add the stain and tah-dah! It looks SO much better but it is still missing something...

Ahh yes, the swing. I've always wanted a porch swing and found this the prime time to use up a little more of the salvaged materials. I do not have a tutorial on how to do this because I really didn't know what I was doing. I will mention that the back braces I cut on a 15 degree angle and it ended up being so comfortable! The dimensions are roughly 5 feet long x 18 inches deep. The best part is that it only cost around $25 and that was just for the hanging hardware and chain. I love to be frugal!

Now we have a lovely place to sit back and relax and enjoy the simple joys of life. Did you know that porch swings are actually a symbol of leisure and relaxation? If your life is little too crazy, try building a porch swing and take the time to slow down a little. It's a simple thing but it makes a big difference!

That completes phase 1 of this project. The next phase is a little more costly and will take a long time-- a paver patio for the other half. I will let you know as soon as that job is underway!