Making progress...

Our inspector made it clear that there were a few necessary repairs that needed our immediate attention. The exterior paint job was one of them. It had been so long since the home had been painted that the siding was starting to see damage.

So we put it on the list and received a few bids.

I clearly underestimated how much money it would cost to paint the house and then was very discouraged thinking of how much we would have to give up in other areas in order to have the house painted. So my creative problem solving kicked in. After several ideas we finally settled on flying my brother down to do the job. We would save a lot of money and he could really benefit from it.

We started with prepping the house before he even arrived. We removed the gingerbread and repaired the posts, we power washed the home, and sanded and primed areas that were severely damaged. When Cam arrived he then caulked areas that separated and finished nailing siding that had come loose.

Then the painting started. He (with me as his trusty sidekick when the kids were sleeping) rolled and brushed the whole house. Probably something we could've sprayed, but we knew the prep work/taping would be atrocious and we weren't super comfortable with a project so massive. We brushed underneath all the ridges and then rolled the rest with a six inch roller. Our biggest setback: There were some dangerously tall areas that required an extension ladder at an uncomfortable height. Those areas took forever. But once both feet were on the ground we were in a good position and the painting went quickly.

There were some areas that were a little sketchy. Like in this picture when Cameron used the extension ladder on top of the lower roof, while Kaytlin sat at the foot of it to make sure it didn't move. Sometimes I had to just shut my eyes and pray that he didn't fall off!

We're not quite finished, but we're getting closer.

It feels good.

I like to walk across the street and marvel at the progress. The neighbors probably think I'm crazy always standing in their driveway!

Final product coming soon...