Barn Windows & French Doors!

MyOhMy! It's been a big couple of days here at the house!

Yesterday the barn windows finally arrived! We were told they would take 3-4 weeks, they took 6. And, the order was delivered sans one set of windows which somehow didn't get ordered.... the Marvin people took full responsibility for the oversight, but that still means I'm three weeks (at least) out on one window.....arrrhhh.

And.....drum-roll please, our magic painter has arrived to paint the exterior of the house. For the two plus years since we first laid eyes this house I had always said the first thing I would do after buying the house was to power wash the front porch..... I did not... so many things (like a six month renovation, winter, an ice storm, unpacking 200-plus boxes, etc.) got in the way. It just never happened, until yesterday!! I cried.
The magic painter works by himself (with occasional help from a worker-bee.) Yesterday the magic painter did the work of three men! He is the nicest person, and has a "no-problem" attitude to any request! Our house is covered with shingles, and he's power washing and hand-scraping as prep. The house is currently a light yellow with a red barn, and will become a classic white New England farmhouse with a grey barn.

Here are some photos of all the progress. Some are very scary and you might need to cover your eyes... I did!!



WooHoo! Window delivery!

This is the north side/the garage side of the the barn. The first cut out for one set of windows

Second cut out was cut open before we realized the missing set of windows...arrhhh, again.

I have loved two-over-two windows for years! (I have saved images of them from magazines and longed for the day I could have some of my own!)

Here's a better angle for perspective of the north side of the barn. The new shingles show where an old window and door was patched in.

The first french door was installed yesterday! So exciting! Again I cried.
Several years ago (fyi- we have only owned the house for 11 months now, but first found it over two years ago) when I first walked into the barn I started gesturing with my arms saying "there will be a french door here, and another one here, and windows here..." and to see it actually come true is a crazy, amazing feeling!

This mornings activities involved installing the second french door.
Note: there is a 1o foot drop under the opening for the second french door!! Eventually the existing stone wall (where the guys are standing) will be moved to the corner of the barn/garage wall, and there will be a gravel terrace off of the barn room/french doors (can you see me gesturing with my hands again?!) Maybe we should have done that first?!!
In this photo the guys are loading the french door onto Big Blue (the tractor) to transport over to the opening. See how you can barely see Big Blue 10' over the edge. This is where the scary started!


View from inside the barn room. Eventually there will be a stone fireplace between the two doors.... eventually!

The french doors being placed on the forks of the tractor.

Down she goes.

In this photo Dan is raising our two framers and the french door over and up to the opening...

They are now suspended 10' off the ground. Directions: UP/DOWN/STOP/NO are being yelled over the noise of the tractor! It was fun!

This is as close as Big Blue could reach the opening. Close, but not close enough...

This is where my heart skipped a beat, as the 350 lb. french door is being held up by one framer, while the other ran to get the magic painter for an extra set of hands. I offered to help at this point, but it appeared I wasn't needed! I think they realized what an important job I was already doing by taking the photos!;)

The framer on the outside and the two guys in had to manually lift the door the last 6-8". The inside guys only had the hinges to lift on.... I had to look away at this point!

Almost there....

And it's in!!!

French door being leveled and nailed into place. (sorry about the angle of the photo, I was a little shaky at this point!)

Ta-da!!

This photo shows the stone wall that will be moved to the far right edge of the barn/garage wall, and the drop they were working with. (As you will recall the two small windows above the french doors are in the master bedroom closet.)
Both doors in!!
Another perspective photo. The two windows to the left of the closet windows are the master bath, and then the rest of the east side of the second story (with the porch) is the master bedroom.
Let the painting-prep begin!!
The shingles being scraped.
That's a lot of ladders for one painter, don't you think?! One of the most thrilling parts of all of this paint prep is that my exterior windows are finally getting washed.... with the storm windows on we couldn't access the glass to wash it and I'm a clean window fanatic!

A big couple of days I tell ya!!

[You can click HERE to see the interior framing of the barn room, if interested!]