We had a bit of a change of plans last week on the remodel. An example of St. Joseph looking out for us, no doubt.
As mentioned previously, originally we were not planning on taking off the front porch (so called because it is the side facing the driveway, even though technically it is not the “front” of the house) until after cider fest, but it made more sense to have the ground crew out only once rather than more than once, so off it came. We asked our contractor if he could have the new deck put in before Cider Fest, and at first he wasn’t optimistic, but after looking it over again he said he could probably make it happen if we picked out deck boards right away.
We looked at deck boards, and talked to friends with experience in the business, and were, frankly, a bit overwhelmed by the options out there. Then Kathleen (who is a very smart lady) asked “could we just do a stamped concrete patio?” Her reasoning is that it would be faster, more durable, hide the dirt better (let’s face it, this is a farmhouse with four kids) and be easier to clean.
Ryan was not optimistic that we could make such a drastic change so late in the game (the inspection for the concrete was scheduled for hours later that day) but our contractor said “No problem” and got it approved by the inspector.
Weather didn’t cooperate last week, so they poured on Monday, both for the foundation and for the patio.
Patio cured all day Tuesday.
Then finished and sealed on Wednesday. Done well in time for CiderFest, and for much cheaper than a deck.
So there you have it. A few more things to finish up with the foundation and groundwork in the next few days, and then we should be starting framing next week (which will be this week by the time this posts).
