In this episode we go over a lot of the exterior work that got done. The siding selections and installation of that material are covered along with the preparations for paint, the painting itself and the amazing exterior stone work. Finally, we get the concrete approaches poured and the utilities connected. Check out the video below and be sure to read the full article for all the details.
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Siding
We’ve always known we wanted to have a board and batten look on the exterior. We ultimately decided to go with James Hardie 4′ x 10′ cement board panels and batten strips to achieve that look. The battens are spaced 16″ on center and hide the nails that are used to attach the panels to the studs. To break it up a little we went with straight edge HardieShingle in the gable ends. While cement board can be difficult to work with, the nice thing is that is takes and hold paint really well and will not deteriorate overtime.
Prepping for Paint
Speaking of paint, we needed to first prep the siding before we could start. Most of the large nail heads were covered by the batten strips but the batten strips were nailed on with 16g finish nails. These only leave a small hole and, in the areas that you would be up close and personal with the siding (covered porches and garage), we wanted to make sure they were filled.
This was the perfect application for Platinum Patch™ by DAP®. This advanced exterior filler is much like wood filler but is completely waterproof, wont discolor over time, crack or crumble. It also bonds to virtually any material. This would be great for all kinds of exterior repairs. To learn more visit their website.
Exterior Paint
Continuing with the modern farmhouse theme we went with a timeless white exterior paint. The white we decided on is Polar Bear from Behr. It’s a perfect white for our house because it’s not cold, but a very welcoming white.
Exterior Stonework
Another big exterior project that was hired out was the exterior stone work. We had about 1600 sq ft in total that needed to have cultured stone applied to it. We went with the Slate Mountain Ledgestone from Environmental Stoneworks which turned out amazingly. Environmental Stoneworks is great manufacturer of stone veneer and they have tons of options for any style. One thing I liked is that they organize the stone options by what is accessible in your region and another thing that sets them apart is the fact that they will also install the stone if you don’t have a contractor lined up.
So we ended up applying stone to the entire surface from the top of the foundation down. We carried that line all the way around the house so that the walkout basement and retaining walls were covered as well.
This created a really cool little nook in the walkout that we added a fireplace to.
Concrete Approaches
Now it was time to pour the exterior approaches. This included the front walkout (shown below), the front and back driveways, and the sidewalk to the front door.
Most of these pads were pretty straight forward but for the sidewalk leading up to the front steps we wanted to give it a nice organic curve. This one probably took the most prep, getting the ground to the right height and laying out the forms but it was worth it in the end.
Connecting Utilities to/from the Workshop
Since we have two structures on the property we needed to connect the two. To do this we rented a trencher and it went pretty smooth since we were in mostly sand.
We have the main power ran to the workshop and the well is hooked up to the house. So we needed to bury a 1″ water line below the frost line (42″ in our area) to get water to the workshop and bury few large electrical wires to bring power to the house. I also installed an extra water line to use as conduit for any future network connection between the house and workshop.
Natural Gas
After months of dealing with the gas company we finally got them out to bring the natural gas line to the house. This was a cool process to watch because they used a process called directional drilling. The long drill bit bores underground and a handheld transmitter follows the bit above ground and rotates the head to change direction.
Disclosure: While we did receive a portion of these products discussed in the post above at no cost and/or were compensated for including them in this post, the selections and opinions are 100% our own.
