Yesterday I worked outside again and completed a few projects and started a few more.
Let’s start with the most satisfying one first. A few days ago I showed y’all at the shop the 30 minute garage door makeover, but someone in the comments suggested I add the magnetic “window” too. I ordered them immediately and was amazed at the difference they made! As a reminder: Here you can see what the workshop looked like with the simple garage door…
I purchased these magnetic “windows” (affiliate link) and spent about 10 minutes attaching them to the garage door. They come with different width spacers which make placement very easy. And this is what it looks like now…
I was very skeptical, but I think they look fantastic! What I appreciate most about them, in addition to being quick and easy to install, is their shine. They have a very shiny surface so they reflect the light and trees, just like stained glass windows.
I absolutely love how this looks. I was so surprised at how much charm and character all of these magnetic accessories added to the door. It’s so nice to look through the back doors of my studio and see this adorable garage door instead of a plain white door.
Now let’s move on to the side steps of the studio. I tried to finish these (the last row of concrete pavers) but the math didn’t add up. I went by the heights of each product listed on the website, and based on that it should line up perfectly with the studio door threshold. But in reality, nothing is ever as perfect as we hope. And when I put the final pavers in place, they ended up about 1/4 inch (or maybe a little more) higher than the threshold.
Of course, using them as is would create a tripping hazard as I come through the door, and that’s not possible. So I need to come up with a solution to balance this last row with the threshold that eliminates the tripping hazard while still allowing for drainage (i.e. no puddles of water) when it rains. It’s a challenge, but I’m 100% sure I can find a solution. I think I have one so I’ll test it this weekend.
And while we’re here, you can see how bad this door looks. It urgently needs a thorough cleaning and a new coat of paint.
Next I hung the shutter! Now all my mothers can nag me quite a bit. I have to admit I was a little frustrated by all of this.Just take a few minutes and hang the clasp” Suggestions. This wasn’t a project that only took a few minutes. This wasn’t a case of just screwing it up again and walking away. It took three days to complete and I’ll show you why.
Since this new window was installed there has been nothing to screw the shutters onto.
Even if I pushed it back as far as I could, it was still inches away from the panel.
For a while it was just the two outside screws (that went into the stone) that held these shutters in place, but the inside edge of each shutter was just free and not attached to anything. That’s why the shutter fell down during a big storm with strong winds.
So before I could even get to the shutter, I had to remove the sides of the window frame. I used two layers of PVC panels to achieve the required thickness. I attached the two PVC panels together with PVC glue and then screwed them to the window frame. Then I had to seal everything. This required quite a bit of caulk, so that was all I could do on the first day as I had to let it dry overnight.
Then on the second day I painted the entire trim with three coats of paint and then let it dry really well overnight. In hindsight, I wish I had put those PVC panels on top too. I’ll probably end up doing this so it looks more even around the window.
So it took two days until I was finally able to screw the shutters back on on the third day. But it’s done.
I really wanted to get out my pressure washer and get all the dirt off the foundation, but until I get something that covers all the dirt around the house, it’s just going to look the same again after our next heavy rain. That’s why I need to have a plan and have everything on hand and be ready to cover up the dirt before I waste time power washing.
And finally I started painting the bedroom door and trim. This thing looks like a mess right now, but I’m really confident it will look nice when everything is finished (including the steps). It’s hard to see because the sun is shining through the trees, but I’ve finished most of the white and now I just need to paint the gray so all the trim blends in with the stone.
I know I went through many options for this door, but I finally decided to add shutters. I don’t have a photo of the entire house from the street at this point, but as I pulled into the driveway yesterday I stopped in front of the house to look at everything and this section really needs the same amount of blue as the other sections. I think it will look bad without it. And in my opinion it makes sense that if this door is supposed to be white like the windows and not pink like the doors, then it needs shutters like the windows. So that’s my final decision on this door.
So that’s progress! And if we continue to have nice weather this weekend, I’ll just keep doing these outdoor projects. I would like to have the porch and bedroom door done by my birthday, then I would like to focus on the storage room. Let’s see how much I can do!
