Saga of the Siding

Last month C and I decided (at long last) that it was time to have our house resided. It was a project I had been pushing for some time. Our house is over 100 years old. It has little to none in the way of insulation, so our house would be freezing in the winter and sweltering in the summer. The insulation that we could actually see in one area of our cellar was NEWSPAPER! I think 100-year-old newspaper has a negative R rating when it comes to insulation.

So anyway, we decided to take the plunge and do it. We found a great company that specializes in insulated siding to make old homes greener and more energy-efficient. I was so excited!!!! In addition to making our home more energy efficient, it was going to look brand new!!! Whoever did the siding on our house originally (during a renovation in 2005), literally took siding off an existing house and pieced it together on our house. And the capping around the windows and doors was awful. Of course, I wasn't looking at that stuff when we bought the house - I was looking at the completely renovated, lovely interior. Learned my lesson for the next house we buy....

So this week the siding project started. To put it mildly, there have been some bumps along the way this week:

Bump #1: Water damage was discovered. This was no big surprise, we knew there would be some, but we did not think it would be structural. It was. It wasn't something the siding company could fix. We needed a contractor to do it. In 2 days. I freaked out a little.

Bump #2: When I got home the first day, I found that the siding guys had put THE WRONG SIDING on our house. They were about 1/3 of the way up 2 walls - with the wrong siding!! I freaked out a little more. OK, a LOT more...

Bump #3: The weather was not cooperating. ARGH. Go away rain!!!

Long story short, it really has worked out OK. The project will most likely be finished tomorrow. But I have come realize how much more easily I freak out over stuff now. I don't think I used to be this way. Not this bad, anyway. Maybe my dad will read this and say yes, you always freaked out way too easily. But I think having a life-altering freakout period in your life can alter the way you handle problems afterwards. I tend to think the worst thing will happen. Thank God for my parents and my amazing hubby who show me again and again that it's not the case.

So, I resolve to start working on mellowing out more. Because really, no matter what the outside of my house looks like, it's the people inside my house that are most important. Thanks Dad for reminding me of that this week. Also, my house IS going to look awesome, and be more energy efficient and easier to maintain.... as soon as it stops raining.

I'll post pictures soon!

-The Good Stepwitch