The porch today is very very very different than what it was 100 years ago. I don’t know when it was changed, but, as you can see, it used to have a completely different vibe.Something was being built in that second photo. (Maybe a carriage house? Paul???) So, sometime between 1890 and 1980, this porch was replaced by the modern/brick one that stands today.Like I said, we really don’t like the front door. It’s just… blah. White on white, bright brass knobs, storm windows, and the blue marble…So, off come the storm windows, off comes the marble. On with paint to match the house’s stone trim and a deep olive color to trim everything out even more. Of course, Toby wants to help.The first gallon Robyn bought wound up being too… yellowish brown and not enough… olive? (See the top of the door and to the left of the door’s window.) So we went back to that dreadful place to see if they could re-tint it to be more of what we wanted. And it didn’t work. Now it was too bright and too… green? (See the bottom of the door and to the right of the door’s window.)
Oh well, forget that gallon. Let’s try again… yeah… that’s the ticket.So, we have our colors. And we picked some trim replacements for where there once was marble. (See where the picture window to the left of the door meets the floor and the image below, at the bottom sides of the door.)There is a freaking ton to do. How it’s going to get done before the end of the year, we don’t know. My dad says he can probably help some. But there’s a lot of painting way up high that has to be done. And that is slooooooooow work — up and down a 40-foot ladder, painting only as far as the arms can reach while keeping the body centered over the rungs. We’ll see what happens.
Ya know … rented scaffold might make the job enough faster to be worth the expense. And you might get more guys to help just because they haven’t played on a jungle gym in so long.
Online research from Cincy Tool Rental shows a “Lift, Aerial 40′ bucket 2-person battery” for $169 a day. It looks like you might have to haul it around the yard, but with two men each window would take very little time. And who wouldn’t show up to ride in a cherry picker and paint? You would be the Tom Sawyer of Price Hill. Men just passing buy would give you their apples for a chance to paint your house. You might be able to get the 2nd & 3rd floor windows done in a full day with diligence, planning, and manpower. First floor windows could be done at your leisure with a ladder.