The House Reno on Mercy

 In a previous post, I mentioned we were having roof problems. We noticed some discoloration in the ceiling living room and also around the pot lights in the kitchen. We called in a roofer to come to assess roof damage in March. We also contacted the insurance company to send an assessment adjuster. So the adjuster called in a roofing company they trust. Long story short, the adjuster recommended some fixes; the roofer gave us quotes for the repairs but also for a full-up new roof. We were put on the waiting list to get our roof replaced back in May/June. It is now Mid-September, the roofers we hired ripped off the roof; found mushrooms, wasp nests, rotten sheeting (over 20), moldy insulation, and discovered the wiring ran over the old rafters rather than through it (would have been a nightmare if someone was electrocuted). They replaced all the horrible crap, fixed the problem areas, and will be putting down the Duralast cover. Four days of work and they are almost done. In some o...

This year started out with a slap from the snowman. We had so much snow the roof was damaged. We started to notice a dark patch in the ceiling in the living room. We called in a roofer who indicated there may be condensation building up in the roofing material and beams. So, we contacted our insurance to do an estimate for repairs. The adjuster came out and then called in a second roofer. The second roofer found another area of damage. Needless to say, we received funds to do roof repairs...after discussion with the second roofer and a review of their estimate we went with them. This all started in March, it took a month to get an estimate and the funds for repairs. We are now in September, waiting for the rain to give us a break so the roofer can get out here to put on a completely new roof. We are not going to have the fire down system but a nicer, longer-lasting roof put on the house.  Speaking of rain, it has been quite cool and wet this year. We have only done a few new planti...

I learned a lot about Sun Mapping my garden in order to better understand how and where to plant flowers, shrubs, and trees. If I were to plant a tree or shrub or flower in the sun, and if the plant cannot tolerate sun, the plant would die. This information also guided me when it came to understanding the plant's need for water. For instance, The front, south-facing side of my house was much warmer during the day (no shade) than the west side of my house. The plants need much more water in this area. The west side of my house has shade until late morning (when the sun actually came over the house), and again more shade toward late afternoon (after 4p.m.) because of the trees. The plants in the shade need much less water. Of course, the front of my house is also more protected than the west side of my house by the house itself. The rock area also adds to the heat build up.  early-morning shade late afternoon shade This is probably close to 7pm at night in August, Alaska time I used ...

  Goals I want for my garden When we started the yard renovation, we targeted areas that might be vulnerable to natural elements (rain, snow) so we laid rock around the house foundation. Our second goal was to reduce the noise from the freeway. We added plants along the west back fence to reduce noise. The following are our new goals: A play area for kids and animals (pets) (football, corn hole, etc.) Attract birds and pollinators Ease of maintenance for mowing (decrease lawn size) Add planter beds on the deck in the back yard Incorporate swing set into the garden to reduce noise pollution and improve the view of the yard Add a trellis to the west fence to reduce view of neighbor’s yard/home Expand the fire pit area and put in an area for golf practice Hide unsightly gas pipes on the back side of the garage in the back yard Add a screen to the spa deck area (prevent neighbor viewing) Add additional two feet to the east side of the wood fence (backyard) to re...

This past year, our second year in the house, we redid the decks; painted the window frames;   removed some of the structures we did not want; added raised garden beds, and a living fence on the far west of the property as well. We also expanded another garden bed due to tree damage. Removed the smokehouse/shed Stained the decks We added a rock layer to the newly raised garden bed area on the west side of the house.    Enjoying the spoils of my hard labor Before spruce was removed After the spruce was removed   (note: the tarps are so unsightly) We painted the front door in the autumn 2020. You can see the tiger lilies are doing great! We also painted the trim on many of the windows and had the fascia covered with white metal trim (the door hasn't been painted in this picture) Caulked the windows after painting Striped the windows in prep for painting My husband also tore down the steps inside the garage and build a new larger platform and step area. It makes ge...