From Hovel to Home

Time for a confession...this project has been finished for two weeks.  I took photos but it was too late in the day and they turned out very dark.  I took more pictures after work yesterday, but they turned out even worse so I'm back to the original too-dark photos.

Anyway, I did finish the veneer.  It took 55(ish) hours to install approximately 150 sq ft of veneer and cost about $300 in materials.Since it would have cost $150 to put on the regular lap siding the upgrade only cost $150.  Although I have a lot of time invested in this project the results are worth it.Like the new siding, it helps to really make the new garage look like it is part of the original house.Plus the stone dresses up the entire facade.
When we bought the house...  Just a few weeks ago... And now You can see the color of the slate a little better in this shot.

We're not quite done yet.  I have to finish the front porch, texture the foundation and eventually do something about the landscaping.  But th…

Now that the siding is up and the garage door is painted it's time to put the stone veneer across the lower part of the house .  Our neighbors are starting to think that we're going to live with tyvek forever.
My brother and sister-in-law have a crazy of habit of coming over to help us with the house.  During this visit they helped us get the scratch coat on and ready for the stone veneer.  With four people on the job we were able to get the scratch coat on in just an hour and a half.
My brother also helped us haul our "new" concrete mixer home.  We got this ancient homemade monstrosity off of craigslist from a nice couple who just wanted it out of their driveway now that their project was over.

Last year when we were choosing siding for the house and new garage we toyed with the idea of using stone veneer again.  I made my own slate veneer for our last two homes but finding a way to use it across the current house was a struggle.  I made some very basic mock-ups of what the house would look like with a few different options (don't laugh too hard...I don't have photoshop). Option 1 - Veneer on exposed foundation
While it would tie in with the veneer I intended to put across the front of the garage the effect on the house was too subtle.
Option 2 - Stone veneer up to the windows on the front.
This version involves a lot more work that option 1.  However it also looks much better than option 1 so I decided to ahead with the extra work and expense.  I did not have time to get the veneer on last fall so the front of the house has looked like this since November.
I have to install approximately 140 sq ft across the house and garage which will take quite a bit of time  It …

It's been a while since I posted, but not because of lack of progress on the house.  In the last few weeks Luke and I have both been putting in long days at work and tiring weekends on the house.  When you saw it last the a back of the house had been wrapped and was weatherproof, but obviously there was a lot of work still to be done. I neglected to take any photos while we were actually doing the work.  But to sum it up we installed soffit and fascia and finally put up siding.

It took some extra calculations to make everything line up with the garage siding we installed six months ago but now the house and garage finally match. The shake gables match the shake siding we used on the front of the garage.  I thought it was a waste of time because the only time we see the east end of the house is while mowing the lawn, but it's a nice little detail that helps tie everything together. Now that the siding is up I need to finish caulking, get it painted and start on the stone venee…