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Saying Goodbye to Barney and Hello, Beautiful!


I detest Barney, the purple dinosaur. I’m not sure what it is about him that turns my stomach. Maybe it’s because he’s too artificially sweet. Maybe it’s his annoying theme song. Or perhaps it is his unnatural purple and green color combo.The dislike of all things Barney has carried over to my house, because I nicknamed this ugly purple awning over our side entrance: Barney. Hmmm, look, they even have the same color palette. Yuck.


Barney has seen better days, his outdoor canvas has started to wear thin and the sky is peeking through the awning.


Plus, the sides of the awning are not sufficient to keep rain and polleny goop from washing down the sides.


But, what I hate most about Barney is the way he drools on our heads whenever it rains. Grrrr!

I knew that replacing Barney was never going to be a priority (in other words a “need vs. want”) for our home. And yet, I live with it day after day knowing that one day somehow we can say a fond farewell to that dinosaur.

About a month ago, I discovered some rotting siding and put in a call to my favorite contractor. I know some of you are wondering why I, Pretty Handy Girl, didn’t replace the few pieces myself. I briefly contemplated it, but Pretty Handsome Guy and I vowed to leave the ladder tasks to the pros and live long enough to see our kids have kids of their own.

Unfortunately we have masonite siding on our house (which is the worst invention ever!) Masonite is like a sponge when it gets wet, it sucks up water and quickly turns to a mushy mess. Instead of replacing the siding with more masonite, we are committed to replacing it with cement board (aka HardiPlank.) But, unfortunately, you can’t buy the same width as the masonite siding. I’m pretty sure some marketing guy at Hardiplank is rubbing his hands together right now knowing that anyone who has to replace masonite can’t replace just one piece of siding, but instead must purchase an truck load of siding to replace the entire side! Sheesh, if I ever meet that guy, I’m gonna…. grrrrr!

What this all means is that the one spot of rot on the back corner of the house necessitates replacing all the siding up and over to our side entryway. Our contractor advised me that he would have to take down Barney in the process and asked if I wanted it put back up when he was done.

What?! Of course I don’t want Barney to go back up! You know I answered faster than a falling rain drop on my head. Before he could finish saying “awning” I asked him to build a stick built (wood 2×4 framing) roof instead. And so this leads to what we call the “Trickle Down Effect” where one minor home repair trickles down to another and another renovation. Gotta love that slippery slope.

After the roof was built, I had to decide on a roofing material. We don’t have (nor can we get any more) green tinted shingles that are on the rest of the house. And when I called Owens-Corning they told me they don’t make Chateau Green anymore. Drat (heh, heh, heh)! Which means that I’m contemplating a complete departure from shingles!

So, I really want to know, what do you think about this sweet little mansard roof home with the copper portico roof that I found on Houzz.com?

Exterior traditional exterior

Or this lovely copper covered porch from The Aluminum Company of NC?

To see some more exterior eye candy, take a look at my Home Exterior Ideas Pin Board (but be forewarned, you might start looking at your own home in a different (not so flattering) light.

So, what will it be? You’ll have to wait until next week to find out how this saga ends!

Toodles and have a great weekend!
P.s. If you live in the Raleigh/Durham area and want a very meticulous and thorough handyman/contractor contact JC Carpentry – Jim Colopy – 919-389-8880 – email: jcolopy1 (at) yahoo.com. I can’t say enough good things about his work! His expertise includes (but is not limited to) trim, tile, flooring, cabinets, shelving, decks, siding and a whole lot more!
Disclosure: I was not paid to promote Jim. He has no idea that I have just referred him to y’all. He’s truly a great guy and I trust him to work on my home ;-).
7 replies
  1. Susanne
    Susanne says:

    Hello, just happened to find your BLOG, love it already…still trying to navigate home, next port, previous post…not sure where it all is, but I will enjoy looking. keep up the good work, love your home too!!

    Reply
  2. Deborah
    Deborah says:

    I am in the midst of one thing leads to another! It never fails to happen. But the results will be great! I say, “goodbye Barney, HELLO copper!”

    Reply

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