Last year we replaced our garage roof and our garage door. It was a huge undertaking and although we’re proud of what we managed to achieve, we never quite managed to finish the job.
It took us all summer to replace the roof and by the time we finally got round to replacing the garage door it was already the end of November and it was cold. Very cold. We rushed to get the job finished, but installing a garage door when your fingers are numb from the cold isn’t the easiest of things. And that’s where we left it.
Most of the work was done, but one of the things we didn’t manage to complete was replacing the missing pieces of timber which let down the whole project and left our almost finished garage looking less than perfect. Because of the time of year, it was already too cold to do any painting outside (you need a minimum temperature of around 5°C) so we postponed the job till the next year.
Well, with most of the year already over, we’ve now finally finished the job!
This is definitely one of those jobs that falls into the category of “OMG why didn’t we just finish it months ago”. We already had all supplies, we’d even started to cut one of the wooden panels to size. Really it was just a matter of cutting out the boards and nailing them to the garage.
As well as installing the missing side panels, we also replaced the missing piece of timber over the garage door. A quick coat of primer and a few coats of paint later and we’d finally finished the job that we’d been putting off for almost a year.
Because our garage is slightly wonky, we had to adjust a few things to make everything look right. The garage door is level and we installed the piece of black timber over it level, too. Because the rest of the garage is warped though, this meant that the decorative black vertical pieces of timber weren’t all long enough any more.
Basically it’s all a bit weird, but through adding small pieces of timber we were able to fill the gaps and after painting the new pieces are hardly visible.
It’s amazing what a difference adding the finishing touches has made to the overall look of the garage.
Obviously the new roof and the new door already made a huge difference, but now that the woodwork is complete the whole garage looks different again.
You’ll have to excuse the pile of rubble that’s in front of the garage. We’ve started to take up the driveway and are currently waiting for the skip to be delivered. Sorting our driveway is a project that’s on our Projects for 2015 list – I think we’d better get a move on!
Replacing the garage roof was by far the biggest DIY job we’ve ever tackled. What’s the biggest job you’ve ever tackled? What DIY job are you most proud of? Do you have jobs that you put off? Do you have any projects that you still want to complete this year?
Louise says
I love a reveal with a little rubble in front =) honestly though, it looks brilliant. And the best of luck with the driveway, it will be easy-peasy, I am sure of it!
Christine says
Haha, not exactly perfect bloggers with a super pretty and organized home, are we? Never mind, it’s real life and we’re just happy when we’re able to tick something off our list.
Thanks for the encouragement Louise!
Cx
Lucy Caitlyn says
Congratulations on a completion for your list.
In January I resolved to finish a job completely before I start another,
I have so many “in progress” projects and it gets hard to finish them with
the lure of a brand new one.
I didn’t do too well, too many distractions and excuses “I have to do this one,
it’s A’s birthday.”
6 weeks ago I was really cross with myself for the piles of things to be done.
I realised that the problem was that I was overwhelmed, so I wrote 2 lists
1 had daily jobs that must be done, 2nd had projects to clear with no timetable.
Each day I check of the daily jobs, add anything unexpected (if it takes my time
it’s job). When that is done I reward myself with “Craft Time”, this is when I
work on list 2, but now it’s a reward not an unfinished job.
In 6 weeks I’ve completed embroidering a tablecloth, made 2 dresses and
8 Birthday cards.
Given that I have severe health issues, am a Carer for BIL with Dementia, take
care of my flat, 4 cats, a Havanese/Maltese cross, do a 2 hour Pottery class +
1.5 hour travel time I’m justifiably proud of myself :~)
As a special treat given it’s wet & windy I’m going to settle in my recliner with
the flicker of my faux coal fire (wish it was real though :~( my furry family, a
mug of Blackberry & Nettle tea and 1 of the books from my I really want to
read this book pile :~)
Hope you and Jan have a lovely weekend followed by a productive week.
Christine says
It’s funny you should say that as I’ve just been writing another post about trying to actually finish projects. It’s so hard to do when there are a lot of other new and more exciting projects that we could be doing instead. It’s a great idea to reward yourself for completing things – especially when you have as much on as you do! I think that’s something we should definitely introduce here, too.
Hope you have a lovely weekend, too, Lucy!
Cx