I Tried to Resist Immediate Gratification

GB Shaw
One of the hallmarks of maturity is the ability to delay gratification.  If that's the case, I'm at the emotional level of ...oh geeze, what age does that really happen?  I know it's not grade school age, and there's no way it's the teen years!  Well, whatever that age is - I haven't reached it (at least in this case).


The Sands of Time 

Over the past 20 years 173 has seen plenty of changes.  Some minor, some major, most somewhere in between.  This is a major one - on par with the great re-siding of the porch.  But this one is bigger - more dramatic...more exciting and long awaited!  Sufficient buildup of anticipation?  Well..a couple years ago 173 looked like this:


Of course at the time that pic was taken, I had already done some work on the porch, the door and the railings, all of which awakened in us the need to get going on the outside.  

The Changes Are Starting to Show

After some time, 173 came to look like this:


Looking so much better!  The flagstone color on the porch (actually both porches) really brightened the house up.  But did you notice the gable?  It might look like a lighter shade of flagstone, but the fact is it was aluminum siding which had faded (from white?) and soiled over time, and in person it looked horrible!  Then there was the rust stains on the pediment...all of which drove me nuts, and I had a plan - it was just a matter of time.  

NOW is the Time

Ever since the very first viewing of 173, I have I have wanted scallops in the gable...seriously - I have always thought it would add such a nice texture to the house.  

Well, as it turns out, my neighbor had the exterior of his house done a few weeks ago.  I watched the guys working on his house for a few days and saw some really great work and attention to detail, so I thought I'd get a price...and a few weeks later:


In the immortal words of Kramer (think Seinfeld) "Giddyup!"  It turned out exactly how I pictured it - and better.

Some Fun and Great Details!

Let me point out a few details.


1. The contractor (whom I will tell you about in the next post) suggested a black strip between the soffit and the frieze board.  Outstanding!   It really added a subtle bit of eye-appeal.

2. No, actually I'm going to go out of order here - bear with me...

4. Remember the rust stains?  They were the result of a small metal roof on the pediment.  I hated that, and almost every house in our neighborhood has the same problem.  When I noticed my neighbor had a sloped pediment, and it was resurfaced with roofing tile - I fell in love for a couple reasons.  The sloped and tiled pediment took care of the rust issue returning, and I loved the architectural interest it added.  So I had to do it - costs be damned.

A man's accomplishments in life are the cumulative effect of his attention to detail.  - John Foster Dulles

2. Then the contractor suggested putting a white strip at the top edge of the now-sloped pediment, to which I said okay (with a look of "I don't get the big deal here").  But then he told me about number...

3. Instead of putting white behind the first course of scalloped tiles, he put black trim.  It doesn't show really well in the pic but from the curbside - insane nice!  

It's these details the contractor put into it that really impressed me about him! Oh!  And then there's #5.

5. Take a look at the windows - he put some texture into the lines of the trim - again, looks great in person.

The contractor is coming back for some more work - then I'm going to do a review on him - all excellent!

So here's some fun pics:


Interestingly, I was surprised to see that the clapboard was removed when the aluminum siding was installed (the only place on the house with aluminum siding by-the-way).


Here's Joe the Contractor building the rafters for the sloped pediment.


A little before and after.


And another. Crazy difference huh??
So, there's the gable - done, and done in a way I have always dreamed of it!

See y'all soon - more coming!
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