Home Improvement

Over the summer, we had a few big wants. My wants were a new front and back door. Jim's want was a beautiful back porch that we could enjoy most of the year. We had been saving for awhile and our wants finally were met!

The doors were done first, then we did the porch. The pictures are out of order, sorry that is how they loaded!

After

Our new 12x30 back porch complete with two tables and a swing for Lindy.

The floor is another expensive project that we can't afford just yet.

There are two ceiling fans with lights that are on a dimmer. We have plugs at each corner of the roof set to a switch for Christmas lights.

Before the porch

Our back yard was nothing but rock, no shade, nothing green. If it was 85 out, our yard was at least 100.

The new back door. The interior door has half glass and an enclosed shade.
The screen rolls down from the top rather than being on the bottom so Shelby can't stick her head through it!


The inside of the new back door with the blind shut.

The window in the new front door.

The new front door from the outside.

The top glass in the screen door pulls down and rolls out a screen.

The old back door.

The dogs had torn the screen up about 2 weeks after we moved in. We tried putting the metal over it, but Buffalo tore it up too during a thunder storm.

The old front door.

It had a metal grated screen door that would not latch, if it did latch, it would then not unlatch.

It was removed by Jim one day when I threatened to rip it down myself using no tools if it wasn't gone by the end of the day!

I am very glad that Jim is a patient man...

Yes, that is the weather stripping hanging out of the bottom.

No, I did not stage that.

The hole at the top of the door where I could stick two fingers stacked on top of each other.

It is not hung crooked, someone shaved it down like that.

The morning sunlight streaming in through the gap above the old door.

(notice the light on the ceiling, that is from the gap)

Our house no longer whistles when the heater or the swamp cooler run. There is no air rushing out of the gaps around the doors. The doors make a great sealing noise now, and I can open and close them no matter what the weather is like outside! The dead bolts both work (after some work on Jim's part on the back one) and the door knobs don't rotate in their holes.

The porch is wonderful! In fact, we just enjoyed it this afternoon! It is so nice to be able to GO OUTSIDE. Before, the back yard was just an unpleasant place where the dogs hung out when we weren't home. Now it is a place where we to go unwind and visit. We have big dreams for the rest of the yard that will come with more saving and hard work!