Home Remodeling

Next month, my dad and I are tackling a home remodeling project where we'll replace two old windows and re-side a portion of the house. The windows are different sizes from what is currently in place, so we have to create new rough openings, make some minor repairs inside the house where the new windows will be installed and then eventually re-side two portions of the front of the house. This type of construction is what we've done on our house in the past - but dealing with vinyl siding is something we both have never dealt with before. My dad is more familiar with installing new windows more than I, but it has been years since he's done such work. So we're going to be a little rusty when it comes to actually performing the work in the new month. But I must admit, doing these kinds of projects really gets me worked up and it's something I enjoy doing.

We've made big improvements to the house over the years. Probably the biggest project we've ever finished was an addition to our garage. I can't remember the exact dimensions - but it was somewhere around a 24' x 18' addition. We had an old storage shed where the new addition currently sits and it sat atop a small embankment. It was an older building - if I was to guess when it was constructed, I'd say the 1950's or '60's at least. The timbers supporting the structure were beginning to rot and the embankment was slowly starting to erode away. We were running the risk of having the building slide into our existing garage, so we decided to make the move and demolish the old shed. It was something I really looked forward to doing, that I ended up tearing the entire shed down by myself. I was probably 15 or 16 years old then. It only took me a couple of days to bring the structure down, too. It wasn't a huge building by no means, but it probably was something that should've been handled with two people. But I was so eager and anxious to get the structure down - I didn't need any help. And I took the building down piece by piece. There were no backhoes, power tools, or other heavy machinery used to bring it down. All I needed was a crowbar or two and a hammer. I actually enjoyed it.

Once I had everything cleared from the old building site, my dad decided that he wanted something to replace the old shed. And seeing that the old building sat directly behind the garage, the piece of land would be perfect for an addition. The only trouble was, the building site was built up some six to ten feet above the existing garage structure, so we had to have the area dug out. What made it even worse was that the area could not be accessed with a backhoe because of terrain and building issues. My dad and I had to dig the entire area out by hand in order for any thoughts of an addition being built there could happen. So that's what we did. We hauled load after load of soil over to my uncle's property where we helped him build a new road on the backside of his property to access one of his buildings. Eventually the digging got even tougher as we got into some bedrock. I remember my dad and I swinging a big sledge hammer to break up many different slabs. We eventually hauled this gravel-like material over to my uncles and laid that ontop of the soil we previously put down on the new road. Heck, we became road builders, too!

I think it took us two years before the area was finally dug out enough to where construction could finally take place. However, we had to have some material brought in - sand to be specific, so a cement floor could be laid. Also, since the south end of the new addition would actually be built into the ground, much of the walls on the south and west side had to be constructed of cement block. Neither one of us had ever dealt with laying cement walls, so we had that and the pouring of the cement floor contracted out with a couple of local guys. They did a decent job and I know they were much quicker with it than both my dad and I ever could've been. So we let the cement cure for a good few weeks at least before we purchased lumber and started building walls. And really, we didn't have too many walls to build since a lot of the structure would already be cement. That part was probably the easiest. Once the walls were completed, our biggest challenge would be setting the roof trusses. My dad ended up recruiting my uncle and his son to help us out. And with those two extra helpers, it really went fast! Before we knew it, we were able to start tacking down some plywood. I do remember my dad becoming very frustrated in building new valleys for the addition connecting to the house - which he needed my uncle to come back and help us with. So with that out of the way, we were able to put on a roof. We went with a metal roof for the addition, which I think looking back, my dad probably wished he went with shingles. But nontheless, what's done is done. He's now looking to put metal roofing on the rest of the garage as the old portion of the garage is shingled.

Eventually we'd get the metal roof installed, have the windows and doors installed, put up the siding, and the structure would finally be all-weather proof. Our work would now be focused on the interior, where we'd make the new addition more of a work shop and portion to the east side set aside for a sauna. The sauna took us some time to complete as we had to construct it with cedar paneling and make it moisture resistant. When it was done, it was certainly worth the wait. Heck, after nearly 10 years later, our sauna is still often used. And our new garage workshop gave us much more room for storage. We really ended up doing a good job with the project which is why it's one of our most memorable home remodeling projects ever.

My dad and I probably are not done with the home remodeling work on the house yet. Just this afternoon, he was discussing with me his plans to buy two more windows and replace them in his bedroom. I know we were looking at doing this next year - but he may be seriously considering doing this fairly soon. Whatever the case, it needs to be done. The house isn't getting any younger and he really needs to get it fixed up before he retires. Then, he won't have to worry about any major improvements to the house for the rest of his life. Whether we do that this summer or next, I know it won't be the end of our construction work. And I'm not afraid to admit that I certainly don't mind.