Weekend Warrior

So friends, I refrained from posting until now, but this past (self made) long weekend for B was quite the doozy... and it's not over yet.

The whole thing actually started two weekends ago when B spent all of Saturday doing this....

That's B digging... and the result of his digging; four foot deep holes ready for concrete. Why did B dig four foot holes for concrete? Well, they were necessary to work as the brand new footings for our new front entrance! OH YEAH! Construction is well under way at this point, my dears. Before I get into what's been happening, let's take a look back at what the inside of our front entrance looked like before...

What was so wrong with this little space that would make us want to reno the whole thing? Let me tell you.
- It wasn't well insulated
- It was mostly drafty windows (including 2 cracked skylights) that made it really hot in the summer and freezing in the winter. Not really energy efficient in any way
- The door was old and wooden, and rather than hearing that satisfying "wooshing" sound most people get when their doors close and seal, ours always went "thud". Also not energy efficient.
- No closet - which meant this:

Yes, the coat rack is currently residing in our kitchen by the back door....

Though it's been used for the past year and a half, since we moved in, it really isn't functional and we really couldn't fathom spending another winter with this freezer tacked onto the front of our home. Not to mention, we need our follow up energy audit done by March and this was one thing that desparately needed addressing before we invite our friend "Eco Pete" back to check things out. Thus, the project was born.

Before we get into the actual construction, I would like to, for the first time EVER, share the before photos of the exterior of our home...

It was actually quite charming when we first saw it (it was love at first site for me when I spied it on MLS). Then we painted the wood that awful peach colour - what were we thinking? Okay, well it looked a lot nicer when we tested the colour on the wood, but over time we just came to really despise it.

I considered sharing an impressive before and after to start off with and then go through the whole building process, but instead, let's take it step by step so you can see all of the hard work that's gone into our incredible transformation. So, I guess the best place to start is the beginning!

Above I've already shared everything that got us to Thursday morning. I wish either myself or B had been more forward thinking that morning and taken some photos, since at roughly 7:20am we had this backing into our driveway...

Ya! It was interesting! B and the truck driver worked tirelessly to fill those four foot holes and all of B's forms. After letting the cement sit for most of the afternoon, B spent the evening putting his masonry skills to work. Don't be jealous ladies... he's a man of many talents! He worked well until it was dark, using only a flashlight to check his level.

After all of his hard work on Thursday, I left for work Friday morning with our front entrance looking like so....

.... and returned later in the day to see that B and my father had accomplished this...

Yeah, that's our home sans a front entrance... and a piece of plywood nailed over the doorway... on Saturday morning. (It was far too dark on Friday night to get a photo). I think I'll leave you hanging there for the time being... but make sure to come back tomorrow morning to see what they accomplished over the course of the weekend. You may be surprised!

So, what's the general consensus - are we nuts for ripping the front of our house off in early November? Are you dying to see the end result yet? Anyone else up to anything as exciting as us this weekend?