Today, while on the way to Lowe's, I saw that my favourite Lemonade Stand was open! Hooray!!!! Jenny is teaching her daughters about service, manners and money. They make the BEST lemonade I've ever tasted, and also offer cookies! Both little girls are darling--as you park, the youngest comes to the car to ask if you would like lemonade and a cookie. She also takes the money, and gives it to the older girl, who puts it into their cash register. Mom helps them figure out change, and pours the lemonade, but the girls do most of the interacting with customers. I'm not going to identify the girls or their location for their safety, but if you spot them, please stop and buy a glass of lemonade!
A huge challenge is improving the front steps/porch. As I've mentioned, it's a concrete lump. It's UGLY, UGLY, UGLY!!! I considered putting decking over the steps, but when I realized the amount of work involved, and the logistics of raising the stairs and porch by 3", I realized that it wasn't the best option. So, back to the think-tank...and I decided on tile. I'm planning to tile just the horizontal surfaces and the risers, leaving the left and right side painted. I've tried 5 or 6 samples of tile and slate, and finally opted for a textured ceramic tile that is just a shade darker than the house paint. I love the look of slate, but the colours clash with the stone facing, so tile it is! I will be purchasing the tile next week, but got started with prepping the steps today. I decided to paint the sides of the steps with left-over house paint, because it will blend pretty well with the new tile...and if not, I can tile it, too. I think that it already looks so much better--in fact, I almost painted the entire thing, but the old paint is peeling on the horizontal surfaces and I don't want to scrape it all off, and that colour will show dirt. Mastic and tile will solve that problem. The entire project is going to cost about $160.
While at Lowe's, I priced decking materials. The walk-out basement walks out to sand and weeds under the main-floor deck. I think a nice 12' x 12' ground-level deck will add curb appeal and value. I already have 7 stringers, left over from the shed demolition, so I only need to buy 1 more. The entire cost of that project is going to be about $400, and I may be able to get some of the materials off of Craigslist. Would you want to walk out to this? Thought not...
The last project will be rebuilding the stone wall. The stone wall is to the left side of the walk-out basement, and would be behind the new deck. After wrestling with several solutions, I think that I am going to use the same block system that Odie and I used for the front wall. It will extend to just past the deck stairs. I will add another set of stairs that will come down to the basement level, so I will transition the block wall to the stone wall at that point, behind the stairs. A small deck will link the two staircases at the middle level, and a small landing deck will extend off the stairs, probably joining the new basement deck.
I think that, once the wall and deck are finished, I might buy a 100 gallon trough, and turn it into a small pond. Add a little seating, and perhaps a hammock, and I might not want to move! Have a good week, whatever projects might come your way, and remember to support your local Lemonade Stands!
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