Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Oh the Joys of Home Ownership

There are fun projects, like decorating, and then there are home maintenance projects (not as much fun).  I obviously prefer decorating over maintenance, but with home ownership, maintenance is inevitable.  We built our home 11 1/2 years ago.  It seems 10+ years is the magic number to have things start to go wrong.  As Murphy's Law would have it, 10+ years is after all warranties have expired. Recently we've had two such issues arise, both of which are being addressed this week.
Issue #1 - This is the sliding glass door we have in our kitchen.  During the winter we noticed that the bottom of the door started to discolor.  At first I thought it only needed a new coat of pain.  Upon further investigation, it seems that  the door had some water damage.
I got out my power sander, thinking I would sand away the damage and fill it in with wood filler.  Unfortunately the damage was much more significant than I had thought.  Once I started to sand I realized that the wood was completely rotted through.  I could put my entire hand in the hole and touch the outside metal part (oh boy, that's not a good thing).  So how did this happen?  After speaking with many people, here is the theory - the sliding door leads onto my deck (now the new patio).  During the winter the snow piles up outside the door.  No one shovels the deck/patio and the snow stays there for months, creating ultimately causing this.  The only solution was to purchase a new door from Pella.
Pella tells me that the new door should not have the same issues as the technology has improved in the past twelve years.  Either way our new game plan includes shoveling the snow around the door from now on.  The new door arrived bright and early this morning.  We can't install it until Sunday, so for now it sits in the middle of my garage.  This is not really an exciting purchase as we had to get the same door (because there is a matching door from our great room to the patio).
 Issue #2 - the lights on either side of our front door completely burned out.  The bulb somehow became one with the socket.  We tried our hand at repairing it with no luck.   Even our electrician took a look at it and said there was no fixing it.  So, while the electrician was at my house today fixing the other landscape lights that were broken this winter, I ran out and purchased two new fixtures.
I love the new fixture, although it was choice #5.  My first four choices the lighting store only had one of each fixture in stock.  I needed two and since the electrician was at my home waiting for me, ordering was not an option.  Luckily they had many nice options so I am happy with my ultimate choice.
I think this complements the stone much better than the brushed nickel did.  The brushed nickel blended into the stone whereas with this fixture there is more of a contrast.
I'm happy to say that we have working landscape lights again as well as working lights around the front door (the house is lit up like an airport now at night).  I would have rather spent this money on decorating, but maintenance is part of the deal when you own a home.  Maintaining your property helps protect your investment.
Although Spring has barely sprung where I live (as you can tell by the bare trees), it's always warm and sunny at my Swing into Spring party.  The link will open tonight at 8pm EST.  Hope to see you all there.

-Judy

22 comments:

  1. Love your new entry lights and can't wait to see your new door install!

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  2. Judy I think the new light looks great! Wow! I really don't like when we have to put money into home repairs either, it is more fun to buy curtains, rugs and even furniture!

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  3. I hear ya. this is the boring reno's. But ones that have to be taken care of immediately! bleh! The exterior lights are very nice. Now that is a little bit more fun shopping for!
    Caroline

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  4. LOVE the new exterior lights! They've got a really nice shape, as well as a great (dramatic) color!

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  5. The maintenance stuff isn't much fun. I LOVE the new lights! So pretty!

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  6. The lights are GORGEOUS!

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  7. Thank you so much for stopping by my blog and becoming my 100th follower!!! I'm happy that you did so I could find your site. Your house is beautiful (even before the repairs, lol) and I look forward to being your newest follower as well.

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  8. Yes, this is part of homeowners contract! Up to this point we've moved from every home we've owned after no more than three years. With that not possible these days I'm addressing all the little repairs as they arise...not fun I agree, but worth it! Janell

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  9. The new lights are so pretty! I'd count them as decorating, too. Decorating is definitely more fun than maintenance. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. the new lights look great. The same is happening to us with our house...all the sudden it seems. We also had a light fixture the bulb broke off in, so off to home depot for a new light fixture and chandelier for the kitchen!

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  11. We had a similar issue and we have to replace our back door. love the new lights!

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  12. Love the lights. Can't believe they were your fifth choice. I have the same problem with a door right now... I was wondering why my baseboard molding was lifting and the entire area got water damage and now needs to be replaced... always something!!

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  13. Ah yes, the joys of being a homeowner... I have to make these same repairs but the slider to be replaced is in my master bedroom and the lights on each side of the slider. I like your new lights.

    ~ Tracy

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  14. Bummer on the door Judy! Cool lights though, they really look nice on your home.

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  15. Ugghhh...I agree that those home maintenance projects are no fun but definitely a necessary evil! But on a positive note, I LOVE your new light fixtures and think they accent the stonework perfectly! :-)
    Vanessa

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  16. Those new light fixtures are gorgeous! And that stone {swoon}!! Such a shame about your sliding door - but that new one looks lovely! Thanks for visiting Sweet Little Smoothie - I'm following you back :)

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  17. Great choice on the lights! I think the black is a much better choice for sure. OMG, I cannot believe your sliding door!

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  18. Those front lights look like perfection! I can't wait to see the new door, too! :)

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  19. oh my! I love love that lamp... its beautiful!!

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  20. That was a blessing in disguise with the old fixtures not able to be fixed. The new ones are such a statement now compared to the other ones. I am too working on getting my landscape lighting maintenance done, along with a million other up keep maintenance items.

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  21. As nice as it is to have home ownership, it does require a lot of work and maintenance, especially when things start to break. Still worth it though!
    -Jackie

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