A little bit of history here, so you can all see just how I got myself in this new predicament.
When we moved here to our Cariboo Valley in 2006, one thing we Really disliked about our new place was....
Yes, all that white vinyl siding. Uggg, we both cannot stand vinyl siding and the fact that it is white just pains us even more. It looks like a big white elephant, don't you think?
We've always said, "Oh one day maybe we will reside the place. Wouldn't it look good with some wood siding with a nice stain on it??"
Can you tell already where I am going with this post? As you good folks who read this blog already know, a couple of years ago we started building a shop for the Gman. Last year, with the help of our 2 sons, we got it built to lockup. This Winter, the Gman has started running the wiring for the electricity and he hooked up a woodstove in there.
Now this year, we are going to put the exterior siding on. So we hemmed and we hawwed and then we hemmed some more. We were leaning towards using HardiPlank, and Gman calculated that would cost around $1.65 a foot or so.
So, two weeks ago, we're standing in the local building supply store. I don't even remember what we went for. Oh, that's right, we had to pick up three hinges to do some gate repair down at the barn.
The Gman spots this TV screen above the service desk. It displays various things the store has on sale at that time.
He looks at it and says...."Oh wow, look at that. Bevelled pine siding for .39 cent a foot."
I'm like "Uh huh" (not even paying attention, but He didn't have to know that!)
So, several minutes go by and he keeps making these remarks, like "You know, that is really inexpensive" and "What do you think the shop would look like with bevelled siding on it?"
I'm thinking things like "Dooo, dooo, dah, dah...." not even really paying attention. So, he caught my attention. He says "Really Annie, that is a GREAT deal. Do you realize how much it would cost us to put siding on BOTH the shop and the house if we bought that siding?"
"No, no I don't" I told him. So he told me. He's a lot better at doing Math in his head, and when he told me the total price, I said "That can't be right"
"Uh yes, that is right". It was around the $3300.00 mark.
We went back and forth a bit, me wondering if he was right and him insisting he was right. We went and took a look at it, and it looked really good.
So, we did what any frugal Homesteaders (and Dutch girls) would do. We BOUGHT it.
On the way home, he casually reminded me that he would be away for a bit, working. And then....the light came on! I was going to have to stain boards, a LOT of them.
The next day, the store delivered the siding.
Two lifts of siding. That is a lot of siding.
Looks quite nice, doesn't it?
The Gman was happy.
The photographer was not too happy. I will be, when the house and shop look fantastic, but at the moment, No, not too happy.
Here's one sample board with one sample trim board. Keep in mind that we have dark green metal roofs on both the shop and the house. What do you think?
This is my friend Marion in the picture. She is trying to help me out by holding the trim up as high as possible, so I can see if the black trim will look OK with the green roof. Yes, that is a Canada Goose standing alongside her.
Some of our readers already know about Tobias, the Canada Goose, who should be leaving soon. We're all hoping he flies off with the geese that are now starting to hang around the Valley again.
If you don't know about Tobias, head over here and read. Make sure you click on the links in that post, and you will see how our friends had to teach Tobias how to fly!
So, the plan is that this summer we will get the siding on the shop. That will give me a break before I have to stain all the house boards, and maybe we can get that job done next year.
We're thinking of putting shingles up in the gable ends like you see on Victorian houses. I think I would like the shingles to be curved on the bottom.
I'm looking for feedback. Leave a comment and let us know what you think of the colours!
7 comments:
That wood looks beautiful. What color are you going to stain it?
Great looking siding and it will blend so nice into your surroundings . The goose is amazing! It looks like we will know what you are up to for awhile lol.It will be beautiful and well worth all the effort.
THAT'S a lot of staining...
Think a honey coloured stain would go well with the green roof.
... that's a LOT of staining... :-)
We have wood siding that looks like it hasn't been painted properly in awhile. It needs stripping, sanding and a new paint job. I am not looking forward to that.
Hi Annie,
I used your project as a math problem at school today. The fifth grader minds were really working hard. They had to figure how many linear feet you needed to purchase from the information given...the grand total was at leat 8,462 feet of board. Then they speculated that you would have 847 boards if they were ten feet long. It took some doing with the decimals and the students were convinced that really a whole board should be purchased instead of 20% of a board. In the end, the students figured it would take at least two wagons full, depending on how big the wagon and how strong the horses were to deliver it all! We sure got our money's worth!! Thanks for the fun.
Yup, for sure that is a LOT of staining. Kari, look for a blog post soon with your comment in it. I have an idea!
As to the colour, if you look at the picture with my friend in there, you can see the one board standing up against the side of the shop. That will be the colour, it is kind of a golden pumpkin colour.
Cripplewing, it's Tobias awesome? Unfortunately, he is getting a bit mean, so we are hoping he will fly away sooner rather than later.
Limette, the stain we are using is a one coat stain. It's expensive but I want to get a very good cover on while the boards are on the ground. I don't want to have to be climbing ladders in 5 years to redo it! Our house is too high for that
Hi Kari! I had such a good laugh when I read your comment here! Then I started to think that maybe a practical application of the math would be best???
How many kids in your class? Let's do the math on how long it would take the kids to stain all the boards. Please come soon, I will supply paintbrushes :)
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