Back to Business

Well... After a gangbuster start on the renovation last December, I ran out of steam, money, and time. The trouble was that once things became functional, I lost some motivation to get them perfect. Summer's here, and with renewed finances, I'm ready to start getting back to fixing up my crackhouse.

Here's the list of things I hope to get accomplished by August 21 (the start of the fall term here at ECU).

-Building a Better Doghouse - My dog Sally needs a doghouse, so I've decided to build a replica of the crackhouse for her. I've bought the lumber, and it is in a pile on the front porch. I guess someone from the city noticed because I got a warning from the city's historical commission. They want to be sure that I submit any plans to them prior to the start of construction. I'm seriously tempted to draw up some doghouse plans to submit. What do you think... should I start a side project blog: buildingabetterdoghouse.com?


-Tearing out the existing "landscaping" and putting in some simple, low-country plants. I am thinking of saw palmettos and even a proper palm tree in front left corner of the yard. There are a couple of varieties that do well here.

-Having the house painted - I painted my last house, and I will never do that again. I nearly died twice... once from nearly falling off a ladder and another time from nearly taking my own life rather than having to face the task for another day of house painting. I've been tracking a mult-zillion dollar house renovation in my parent's neighborhood near Charlottesville, Va. The guy doing it painted the brick house Lancaster Whitewash with bright white trim, and its the best looking color combination I've ever seen on a house. You'd think two whites would be boring, but the Lancaster Whitewash was really warm. I'm going to try the same color combo on mine.

-Oyster shell driveway and front walkway - You can get as many oyster shells as you can carry from any of the local seafood restaurants around here. Cliff's has a huge pile out back. I'm not sure that the shells themselves are for use as a driveway liner or if they have to be crushed first. I'm going to have to look into it, but if anyone knows anything about using oyster shells for a drive or walkway, let me know.

- New fence - The back yard is still horrible. Its actually more horrible now than when I moved in. The fence is the most discraceful part of it. There's a commune of really hairy (men and women) hippyfolk who rent a huge house behind me, and even their yard looks better than mine. I'm probably going to just go to Lowes and buy 8-foot panels like everyone else, but I am going to look into how much it'll cost to have a cinderblock wall built and stuccoed. It'd be nice to have a wall surrounding the back yard.

-Paint the front porch floor and ceiling - I'm thinking of painting the porch floor white, even though it'll always look dirty. I don't like that its the only green thing on the house. The ceiling on the porch is going to be haint blue.