Exterior Updates

I’m finally crossing some things off my to do list and it feels kind of nice! I had two “must do” big projects left in the house and now I have only one. When I say big that means $$$$. I had to decide between the roof and a master bathroom remodel. As much as I wanted to remodel the bathroom I knew that the roof is more important. We had gotten a great quote a couple of years ago, but put it on the back burner once we decided to get a pool. The roof was so stained and brittle that it made the house look uncared for despite not having any major damage. Once I started referring to it as the crack house I knew it was time to replace it. A crack house trumps a 90s master bathroom any day on a remodeling list. I don’t have a before picture, but just trust me that it was not pretty. Here is the after!



Ignore my big car in the driveway. The best part of this update is there was no DIY involved on my part. My contractor picked the color and shingles, which is what almost everyone uses around here. That made it easy. The only decision I had to make was to go with regular or architectural shingles. I decided on architectural since it didn’t cost much more. Now if only writing the check were that easy!

We also finally finished a DIY project in the backyard. Once we put in the pool we had decided to box in the beams that holds up the covered porch. They sat half done for over a year, but we finally got going on it once we planned a Fourth of July party. There’s nothing like having a bunch of people come over that highlights every flaw/unfinished project in your home.

Before we had wimpy gray beams that had seen better days.



Now, we have big beefy white beams that fit right in with the style of the house.









This is such an easy update and makes a big impact. We used four boards per post and nailed them together once we lined them up flush with each other. We did the same with top and bottom boards once they were trimmed to size. If you can use a power saw and nail gun, you got this!

What I am most excited about might not seem like the most interesting update, but if the summer heat and mosquitos are making it impossible for you to sit outside then you will love this.



This fan is amazing! It’s a commercial fan from Air King that I bought on Amazon after seeing them at a restaurant with outdoor seating. It can turn 360 degrees, and points up or down. I love it so much that I ordered a second one. It’s the only reason we can sit outside in this weather without melting. Even more importantly it keeps the mosquitos away. When you live in Texas that’s a big deal! I can’t say I will be doing any more updates outside now that we’re in the middle of July. The only time you will catch me outside now is when I’m in the pool or with my face in front of that Air King fan!