Curb Appeal: Porch Complete

 

Our front porch is finally complete! Check out this post from last March if you're just joining us! We started the project in October 2013 and had high hopes that it would be finished within 3-4 weeks. Sadly, our amazing JELD-WEN Craftsman 6-Light Camber Top door was on back-order from the manufacturer, so we had to wait....and wait....and wait. In the mean time, our contractor, Jason of Pathfinder Construction, was constantly checking up on us and evaluating each nook and cranny of the jobsite. He (and his crew) went above and beyond to ensure that every detail was on par with our expectations. They also did a great job of cleaning up at the end of each work day. I can't say enough good things about this contractor!

We decided to keep our black shutters and paint the new door black to match. When the door was first installed, we began the process of staining the fiberglass. It took 4 days for the first coat of stain to dry. Not okay. This prompted us to do a bit more research on after-market staining/poly coating of fiberglass and the good folks of the blogosphere gave a resounding warning of peeling within the first 2 years. Sooooooo, we opted to sand the door, prime it with Kilz to block the stain from bleeding, and paint it black latex semi-gloss. (The interior face of the door was painted white to match the other doors in our home.)

You'll notice we also had the gable work completed. We chose Granite by Heritage for the vinyl shakes. (Here's a link to the website, but it looks like they may have discontinued that color. It is slightly darker than the Georgian Gray. The Georgian Gray was almost a perfect match for our light gray siding.)

Two of my favorite details of the project were the Elijay Bronze Lantern by Savoy House and Hawthorne Handleset by Kwikset. Both arrived within 2-3 days of my online order and look fabulous.

We are really looking forward to the temperature rising so that we can fix up the garden beds and bring out some pots for the front porch.