Oh, it needed it. Five years ago we were almost denied homeowners insurance when we bought the house because the porch was in such disrepair; a last minute band-aid repair was needed before the insurer would complete the process and clear the way for the purchase.
By the time we were done renovating the interior, there was no money left to do the porch. Which was fine, as the repair held up. Besides, it was only a matter of time before we replaced it. And . . . then I lost Job Prior, and for a few years it continued to rot away as it was the least of our worries.
Heck, we almost canceled LuLu's 8th birthday party because one of the stairs collapsed an hour before it began. This past winter I had to brace the stairs with scrap wood to keep them upright until spring, and . . . then in spring our intended contractor did a vanishing act and somehow, someway, it wound up being the middle of June.
But as of this morning the "funhouse stairs" are no more. I don't have the new porch pics to show you quite yet, as the work continues, but I'll whet your appetite with the horrific 'before' pictures.
The 'landing' was warping and rotting.
the railings were held in with jerry-rigged solutions of spare screws and nails
The steps, as I alluded to before, were akin to walking a teeter-totter
In just as bad a shape was the bilco door (the exterior access to the basement). It had literally rotted clean through and been patched up with scrap during the quote process
I tried opening the door for a better look but the entire handle and board came off in my hand
Once it was removed today by the contractor the damage was even more apparent
Lovely ain't it?
Well, it's now in porch heaven, and by this time tomorrow I should have some pictures of the finished new porch for you.
The Year of the Comeback continues . . .
2 comments:
Say what you will, the old stairs had character!
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