Results Are In

Here are the final results:

What we did: we tore off the shingled siding after the windows and door were installed. Underneath was a coating of plastic, which had trapped moisture and could have begun to rot the wood. Luckily it hadn't yet, so we covered the exposed plywood with tar paper, then we insulated the exterior with foam to increase our R-factor.

We also used Blue Skin adhesive sealant around the windows and door to increase our heat retention. Next we put up our wood siding. We chose a plywood which is treated on one side with grooves and a rough texture to create a board and baton effect. However, in order to install it, we had to use 4" nails to penetrate through the siding, the foam, and into the plywood and studs. Because of this the going was slow, requiring much muscle power to slam each nail in!

The seams on the horizontal were then covered with 1"x2" to complete the look. The seams on the vertical were invisible to the eye, as the edge of the plywood is grooved to overlap with its neighbouring piece.

We made a bit of a mistake, however, and realized too late to rectify it. We were supposed to put the drip edge, seen here

UNDERNEATH the siding, which meant we should have affixed it before we installed the siding. Drip edge is installed flat side against the wall with the rounded angle pointing to the ground. It prevents rain from collecting on the edges of the wood and then seeping up underneath the siding where it will sit and eventually rot the wood. So once we realized our mistake, we had to hammer the stuff up under the bottom edge of the installed siding and nail it in. This worked well enough, except for a lot of dents and some areas where it is not flush to the bottom of the siding. We learned our lesson for next time.

Lastly, we put up the casing and trim around our windows, the door, and the corners. We used simple 1"x4" for all the trim and a piece of 1"x6" for the sill running along the entire length of the two windows. The windows and door were sealed with caulking where they met the casing, then the entire house was painted with a triple protection exterior paint-and-primer-in-one.

As for the landscaping, we tilled the soil twice with a tiller rented from Home Depot. We then added some black soil to the areas that were formerly concrete, and laid sod over the entire area. We planted some Cedars to make a little privacy shield, a plot in the far end of the yard for a vegetable garden, and a couple of Hostas and Ferns here and there. Next year we will add more plants, shrubs, and flowers. For now we have been enjoying our new backyard, now accessible from our kitchen, every day this summer. Life is sweet!

8 months later...

Where to begin? We've been busy through the rest of 2010 and into summer 2011, and to show for it? Let's start at the beginning. The main project we've been working on – the strange little back room off the kitchen that had no real purpose, with only a tiny window and no access to the backyard. The goal was to create a sunny room where we could go in and out to the back yard, have a small loveseat and bookshelves, and maybe a place for breakfast. Here are the before shots:

(looking in from the kitchen.)

(that window was only chest-high.)

(looking out to the kitchen and the rest of the house.)

The second and sister project to the back room project is the backyard project. This required some (literally) backbreaking work. The goal was to remove the concrete pad that occupied over 50% of the back yard, put in some grass for the little one to run around on, and to landscape and plant a small vegetable garden. Here are some before shots:

These shots speak for themselves. The place looked pretty dumpy this time last year.

So what did we do? First, a lot of demo and garbage removal. Over $1000 in bins and junk removal services for both the back room and the back yard. The concrete removal in the back yard was one of those hellish jobs you'll never forget and never do again. All the cards were against us, as we rented a jackhammer that was way too powerful for my spaghetti arms to hold, so the man of the house had to break it all up himself. I was on-hand for moral support and shoulder rubs. Then, the following weekend was a freak April snowstorm in which we had to haul broken slabs of heavy concrete in a wheelbarrow through the narrow path between our house and the neighbours (scraping knuckles against the brick almost every time) and across the street to where we had our bin parked (illegally, we later found out). Here are photos of that cold, wet, and memorable day:

(me loading the concrete.)

(me unloading the concrete.)

At the same time, we hired a contractor to put in a door and two windows. This is one of those times when our skills as DIYers can only go so far, and it is time to call in the pro's. Thank goodness we did, we lucked out on an awesome dude who had his crew in and out of there in under a week. Here is what the place looked like after he was done:

(light! air! access!)

(concrete removed, new windows and door.)

Next up: the yard and back room get a makeover. Photos to come and the process getting there.