Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Clapboard Siding

Oh happy day! We have one little section of our house sided with clapboard!




Neal and Eli worked hard all fall to get the siding up on this section of our house.




We are using cedar siding intermixed with pieces of the original clapboard siding that we have been trying to salvage as we go. Sadly the original clapboard is so old and brittle that most of it breaks as we remove it from the house so we only get a good piece here and there.




I filled the holes in the original clapboard (the blue pieces) with wood filler and then sanded them. Once I had it all painted with Glidden's paint color "White on White" you could not tell the difference between the two types.




The above picture shows why the original clapboard is in such bad shape. Unfortunately it was covered not only with one layer of fiber cement board but then aluminum on top of that trapping inside years of water damage that lead to moisture build up and rot. Oh how I wish that the previous owners had just left it wood siding. The worst thing you can do to an old house is put layer upon layer of materials because you will inevitably cause moisture build up. On top of it you can't see what areas are being damaged or rotting. Both the inside of our farmhouse and the exterior had that done to them. You can see the new wood that we put up on the right side of the above picture. The day that we have all of the aluminum and cement board siding off of the house will be the greatest day in my book.





This little side porch is all we can afford to do for now though. I promise to show this side of the house in it's entirety at some point but right now it is a work in progress. This is not our front door but it is the way most people come in because it is where our driveway comes up to.  This whole area was a rotting screen porch that we tore off. I will show before and afters someday and you won't believe the difference.





Just like everywhere else we have renovated so far we tried to save every penny possible. The door was free from a family friend. I  painted it "Porch Gray" by Better Homes and Gardens. To me it is the perfect door color because it goes with everything. Right now it looks great with the pumpkins but come Christmas it will go nicely with green and red and then come spring it compliments all of our purple bushes and flowers.




The window was $20 at a garage sale and matches with the rest of the double hung windows we have put in. And the light (from Walmart)  is just like the one in our bathroom but only made for exteriors and comes on at dusk and goes off at dawn. Isn't that genius! No more coming home to a dark house!




I was so excited to have a cute porch to put pumpkins on this year. As I explained the exterior of our house is in rough shape and I always felt like any seasonal decorating I did out here was like putting lipstick on a pig. But now at least I have this one little area that I can make cute.




Sadly when it came time to do the trim work out here we had nothing to go on because almost all of the original trim has been removed from our house. And when I went to research what measurement pre-1900 farmhouse trim would have been I found almost nothing. I wanted it to look substantial but not too bulky so we went with five inch casings around the windows and door. Then Neal added a drip edge to the tops of the trim to give it that authentic old house feel.







We don't have railings up yet but definitely by next summer because our little Millie will be learning to walk by then!






17 comments:

  1. I love it!! Your entrance is so welcoming and has all the right touches for autumn. My favorite time of year!

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  2. wow, ihre halloweendekoration ist toll!!! liebe grüße von angie aus deutschland

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  3. I was so glad to see a little glimpse of the outside of your home. It looks like you are off to a wonderful start! I love your fall decorations. You have such a frugal and beautiful touch, Megan. I hope you are having wonderful days with your own little pumpkin (Millie)!

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  4. Just Adorable...beautiful entry, beautiful pumpkins corner and beautiful pictures. Happy Halloween!!!
    Xoxo,Eva

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  5. Youre home looks adorable! I can only imagin having a porch like that....
    And youre pumpins are so fresh and ORANGE! I love it:)
    I tryed, for the first time ever! And I must say it is very interesting. Would love to have you by my blog and have a look:)

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  6. Oh, I forgot to mention that I saw your lovely home in the Flea Market magazine! What a lovely article they did about your sweet place and such an honor for you.

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  7. Your porch looks great and I love that door. We were supposed to get our house painted this past month, but the painter was busy and it has rained for the past few weeks, so now it looks like it will have to wait until Spring when the weather dries out. I have been wanting to pain my house white with grey doors for a while now...and here I stumble upon your post today:-)

    Do you mind me asking what color of white you used and also where do you find the Better Homes and Garden line of paint so I can compare it with the grey I was considering?

    Thanks so much and I hope you are enjoying your little Millie:-)

    xoxo
    Kathleen

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    1. Hi Kathleen! Yes I am enjoying my little Millie to pieces, she is two months tomorrow, I can't believe it! As for the paint....I chose Glidden's Exterior "White on White" but had it mixed in Behr's Marquee because it is supposed to have exceptional resistance to dirt and fading and white siding shows everything. It is also supposed to be one coat paint which it definitely is not for us! I have been putting about 6 to 8 coats on the clapboard and the wood grain is still coming through, probably because of the red in the cedar. Long story short I am not sure it is worth the $50 can of paint, I guess only time will tell. Walmart has the Better Homes and Gardens line of paint, I often find my paint chip there and then have Home Depot color match it in Gliddens Duo, which is my favorite kind of paint. Walmart is not so great at color matching in my experience but Home Depot is always able to match what I bring in, even a paint stirrer sometimes. Hope I was able to help, can't wait to see what you do!

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  8. Your side entry is lovely and worth all the work to know that it is fresh and solid now.

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  9. Hi Megan. Your porch looks so good. I really like the thickness of the boards you used for the casings. I think it looks like it was supposed to. It looks so welcoming on your porch. A perfect place to greet your visitors..Have a Happy Halloween..Judy

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  10. As always, your remodeling and decorating are amazing. You have a great eye.

    As far as authenticity goes, I would check with a living history museum. I don't know what you have locally, but there is the Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth NH and Old Deerfield In Deerfield MA in my area that have knowledgeable historic builders who might be willing to answer questions about authenticity. Maybe there is a similar museum in your area.

    However, what you have done looks absolutely wonderful.

    Lisa

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  11. What you have done so far is just beautiful. You are so fortunate your husband is able to do the work without having to pay a contractor. Great job!

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  12. I want that door!! I know a friend gave it to you, but if you know where to buy one, would love to know. Have never seen one with the divided panes above. That putty color is my favorite, like a pair of khakis, it goes with everything!

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  13. We have that *exact* same lamp on our front porch. I got it at a yard sale for next to nothing. We had a plain overhead lamp when we moved in so my hubby had to move it from overhead to beside the door. So much cooler looking now.

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  14. I really like the clapboard siding on your house, and placing it on the porch side creates a cozy vibe. It sounds like you did a good job saving money while making this change. The light from Walmart looks great, and it was awesome of your friend to give you the door. I hope you were able to add the clapboard siding to more of the house.

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