Saint George Court Renovation Progress by Linda Maintanis Phase One Completion - Replacement Soffits, Eaves, Trim Warwick, RI

Another week of hammering, grinding, pounding, sawing, and finally hammering some more.

I lost count on how many times the Harvey man has made deliveries with more material so there 

is no way to guess the amount of Azek used on our home at this point but take a close look.

By Friday of this week the concentration was spent on the front of the master suite. Of course it was.

Noisy beyond imagination, I spent the afternoon huddled in front of Barbie - A Perfect Christmas with two little granddaughters! Even still the blows came so hard that we squealed like Chicken Little.

The deep V in the roof where the left side of the stucco meets the brick has a tiny eave. For the last couple of years several families of tiny birds have moved in and out. This week evacuation was eminent, the birds were being kicked out. Back to the woods they went and I have to confess that I found small comfort on Saturday as I watched some misplaced White-Breasted Nuthatches try to peck the little Japanese maple in front of the balcony. That my friends will be the wonder of Azek.

 

The first week of April will complete this phase and move 

on to the next - roofing. Watch for my next post 

as the roofers begin this monumental project! 

In the meantime read here, Tamko, 

about our roofing materials.

Saint George Court, Governor Francis Farms, Warwick, RI



March 30, 2014

Saint George Court,Warwick,RI Home Exterior Renovation Roofing - Siding - Deck by Linda Maintanis

There are some signs of change on Saint George Court. If the big blue dumpster in our yard wasn't a clue then the long parade of workmen that moves up our driveway at 7:00am should be.

This week workers began replacing all eaves, soffit and fascia boards. This is necessary to complete before the roofers arrive. 

We are also replacing the timbers on the stucco areas of our house at the same time. All material used in these areas is Azek. A man made material, it is only available in white. As you know from prior blogs we are switching up the color palette on our tudor. Watch as the timbers are replaced with white and the background of the house goes darker.

All woodpecker damage will be repaired as these conversions are completed. see right




Work on the rear of the house is like climbing a wall.
The sheer expanse of the house is a challenge. By midweek our crew was up to the peak with staging.  Friday afternoon they had turned the corner and were working on the east exposure, by the pond.
This side had the heaviest damage from the birds
and will be completed on Monday.

March 21, 2014

Saint George Court, Warwick, RI - 25 Year Renovation Project Roofing, Siding, Lighting and Deck by Linda Maintanis

25 years old. When a house reaches this milestone it is time to bring back the builders. Our home, fully remodeled on the inside, has started to show some signs of age on the outside. Mainly, the roof is looking rough, and some woodpeckers have been snacking on the brown timbers which made my tudor a tudor. Renovation is a necessity, so I'll be blogging the dirty details of living with a major project for the next 8 weeks.

Our woodpecker problem made us search for a synthetic board to replace wood, which wouldn't  allow the birds to peck anymore. Azek, a man made material, was perfect to replace the peckered (?) timbers and has a 25 year warranty. The switch-up? Azek is a WHITE product. Our tudor color scheme would now be in reverse. First there were the color choices. This was tricky. As a tudor style home we had the usual brown criss-cross timbers over cream stucco on the front side. The remainder of the house had cedar shingles painted cream to match. 

Siding choices are limitless, but we wanted another product that would give us longevity. We chose Certainteed for their style, durability and color spectrum. The house won't have the traditional brown boards any longer which means darkening the shade of the siding to allow for some contrast. Here we chose the Seagrass; a soft, greyish green cedar looking product.  Cedar Impressions Double 7 inch Straight Edge Perfection Shingles will allow us style and lifetime warranty.

Roofing selection was a choice narrowed down from three possibilities in the Tamko samples. Olde English Pewter was a bit too light. Oxford Grey seemed right, until we checked it in the light; it had too much green, similar to the siding. Virginia Slate was perfect. Enough contrast to the siding, it tied in the pavers and decking and had that English Tudor charm.

Our sidewalks and paved areas are all in great condition so we wanted to keep them and work that color into our palette also. They are classic granite grey stone. We chose grey Trex for the decking material to create flow on the lower and ground levels of home and yard. Fiberon gave us a white deck railing with a flat top for service value. This would tie in with the white Azek on our trim and timbers, and beef up our deck with a commercial grade railing. 

 

The next week brings a large dumpster and a Port-a-potty for the workers. As our construction schedule becomes more detailed I will post again. Keep watching for my next blog? Linda Maintanis

Note: the photo of our home as shown on the top of page is from the original builders home plan book, William G. Chirgotis, 350 Home Plans. When the snow melts off of our roof I will take some more pre-construction photos. I promise.

March 6, 2014

Tamko Roofing Completed Saint George Court, Warwick RI Governor Francis Farms Home Renovation, Linda Maintanis

Finally I can say that there is an end to the noise on the roof! The roofers have spent a total of two weeks on the job, weather allowing most of the time, to complete this mammoth task. Tamko roofing was chosen for material in the color selection Virginia Slate.

As work continued around to the front of the house it became clear that this job was going to go like clockwork. One ridge vent after another was cut into this challenging roof. Residents of Saint George Court take curious walks by to catch glimpses of the change.

Rounding to the back of our house you can see the challenging heights and angles of the roof. The last day brought the roofers to the corner by the pond. Again, levels and angles starkly illustrate the scope of this project. Monday starts a new week and our siding crew will make some fun, colorful progress. Be sure to check out the Certainteed siding in the new shade of Seagrass.

by Linda Maintanis

Saint George Court, Warwick, RI - Begin New Tamko Roofing Linda Maintanis, Governor Francis Farms

    
It got a little bit noisy in Governor Francis Farms this week as we moved into the next phase of our renovations, roofing. Yes! It was a big step this week to move on to the ten day project. With a promise of spring-like weather the work started at the garage end of the house.

As you know we selected Tamko, Virginia Slate for shingles so when the new roof began to fill in the house grabbed a whole new personality. Roofers climber higher as they moved towards the peak. That will be the target of Monday's work.

The next group of photos show the stark contrast between the finished (left) side of the roof and the unfinished old side.

by Linda Maintanis

Saint George Court, Warwick, RI Governor Francis Farms Roofing, Siding, Deck Exterior Renovation Linda Maintanis

Good weather allowed us to work throughout the week and finish replacing the soffits and trim with Azek. Both large bay windows were converted from brown to white as our color scheme flips. Impervious to insects and birds, Azek will be the perfect choice of material for our trim.

The two bay windows on both sides of the house have been refitted with Azek casings and look fantastic! Originally a a dark brown which tended to regress; their sharp white lines are frames beautifully by either brick or siding. I can't wait to see the new roofing cap off these windows.

The workers have made good use of a crushed stone parking area at the rear of the house. The stone makes an ideal surface for drainage where supplies are stacked.