The mudroom, and more specifically, the siding on the outside of the mudroom, is the only thing at the moment that is keeping us from listing the house. Sure, there are a few other things that need to be done, but mostly, it's the mudroom siding. So you would think that that would be something we'd knock out ASAP. And we want to, we really, really do. But as it turns out, it's not just a case of slapping up some siding and calling it a day. In fact, this might be the most complicated renovation we've faced with this house. Seriously. Concrete counter tops and full kitchen renovation included.
But why is it so complicated, I hear you ask. Well, because it started out life as porch. And then it was turned, in a rather slip shod way, into an enclosed room. And then it was wrapped with nasty siding that covered up all the sins of the builder, of which there are many. Nothing is level. NOTHING. Nothing is on the same plane, or evenly spaced or square or anything that you would expect in a built space. But those are all things we can handle, I mean, this whole house has had those issues. The real problem is that the walls are going to come out further at bottom than at the top. All the new siding will stick out about 3/4 of an inch from the old siding. Now that doesn't seem like a big deal, but eventually the rain will rot away the wood at that level change and cause big problems. And because we aren't going to replace the whole end of the house siding wise, we cant slip flashing under the existing siding. It's all so....complicated. It's doable, somehow....I'm sure... we just haven't quite figured out how to make it look good and function well at the same time. But there are plans brewing, so I'm still hopeful.For now I am thoroughly enjoying the door however. THE DOOR! I was looking back through our photos and realized that we cut the hole for the door in September! That's a long time to wait for a door. But it was worth it. The mudroom is getting a lot of use these days and we've mostly switched to no shoes in the house because of it, it's just so easy to go in and leave your muddy shoes before walking into the rest of the house. Ahhhh...sigh, wish we'd had that during this winter's snow. Or for that matter, last winter's snow. Sure it means that there is a constant jumble of shoes in there, both big and small. But that's miles better than a pile of shoes by the front door, or on the stairs, or in the middle of the living room, I've been tripping much less these days...
But beyond that, having two glorious big doors that open to the yard has meant that we now have the perfect spot to sit and enjoy the weather, watch the kids play or, as I found out this morning, wait for the bus in the pouring rain. Love it. And I'm not the only one. Someone has a new favorite spot to watch the world pass by.
Now if only these siding plans would come to fruition as nicely! Any ideas out there?