It seems like forever since we've blogged about our beach house renovations! After collecting many bids, and interviewing many contractors, we are ready to renovate our main ocean facing deck.
After the initial craziness of buying the partially gutted and dilapidated house, and having it raised nine feet, and having the gutted portion remodeled, we "chilled" for a while -- at first, so we could enjoy time with our daughter and new grandbaby, who were staying with us while our son-in-law was in Afghanistan.
Then there were job and life changes that made it impossible to spend as much time at the beach house as we had initially planned.... We keep plugging along, however. We made masonry repairs to our fireplace, and patched the flagstone floors. Read about our flagstone floors here.
Last year, we did an energy audit, and made lots of changes based on the report we received. Most of the changes involved copious amount of caulk and foam, but we also added outlet gaskets and lots more insulation, and we replaced the rest of our windows.
The house is now really comfortable, and not drafty anymore -- we can even walk barefoot on the flagstone floors, and they aren't cold! Read about our energy audit here.
Plans for this year include finally renovating the last of six decks! The other decks were either removed, replaced, enclosed, or repaired during the first phase of the project, but this last deck was quite a bit more complicated, and got shoved to a back burner when the grandbaby came along... then winter came, then a renovation of another home, then another.... and the poor, sad neglected deck just sat there!
We've made some changes to the design, since I drew up this early concept, but it will still be a lovely place to sit and enjoy a cup of tea... or a nap... or chat... or a good book. Here's a secret about beaches in the Pacific Northwest: they may be cold and dark and wet and windy all the long winter, but they are amazing in the summer! Shhhhhh, don't tell, okay?
I cannot begin to tell you how I look forward to being able to spend summer weekends enjoying this deck!
Next project: Exterior priming, painting, and staining (I'm sure the neighbors will be glad)!
Have you lived through a renovation? What tips and advice do you have for others who are contemplating going through the remodel process?