Since I like to blog about things after they are completely accomplished, I was waiting for the very last details of our  house siding project to be complete before writing about it. And here we are, months later, with only the painting of drainpipe fasteners standing between me and writing about our siding…so I’m writing!

Stephen tackled his first major construction project last summer by re-siding three outer walls, the chimney, and a dormer of our home.

This house isn’t your basic rectangular shape, and from the back, it kind of reminds me of a tree house with all of it’s many facets; there are literally 12 distinct outer walls to this place.

We knew the siding on the house needed to be replaced before we bought it. In fact, some of the negotiations surrounded whether or not the previous owner would replace the siding. Stephen thought he could do it himself, so he watched lots of YouTube videos, read a good bit, researched the cost and materials, borrowed tools and recruited help.

Thankfully we had lots of friends from church pitch in, and Stephen’s brother and dad even helped when they flew in from Indiana.

The progress was slow, but it was fun to see the project move forward in different stages. I helped wrap the lower section of one wall with the weatherproofing paper, and it was tough! I have no idea how the guys accomplished wrapping the second story of the house.

Two of the walls had box windows that pop out from the siding. Stephen learned a little roofing when he lovingly agreed to put cedar shingles on them for me. I love the window trim he added. After completing the project, Stephen wasn’t wanting to paint the siding himself, so he hired a neighbor down the street, who happens to be a Baptist pastor in Vancouver who paints houses on the side–sounds a lot like our pastor in AZ. He did a beautiful job.

Now we’re hoping the squirrels and woodpeckers can leave us alone since the new hardie plank siding is wood and sand mixed with cement. We literally had holes chewed in our siding and a family of five squirrels were living in our attic. The woodpecker still occasionally comes and pecks on the metal top on our chimney. Our neighbors resorted to hanging wind chimes from the top of their chimney to keep the birds away. 

The new siding looks beautiful, and I can’t wait to see the rest of the walls finished. Stephen has plans to do the three sides of the garage this summer, but hopefully before the heat of August this time.