I have to agree that, while they are very well done, the railings attached to the round posts look out of place. Then again, I can understand not wanting to remove them; it was probably a lot of work to put them up, not to mention expensive. I can also understand why you wanted them in the first place to stop traffic, though once everyone gets used to the door on the corner, alot of that cutting across will stop. If you can, I'd seriously consider removing them. If removing them is OOTQ, what about making them shorter, say, no taller than the bottom edge of the front windows? That way, they'd look less like the house was surrounded in baby gates. The porch is low enough you shouldn't have any trouble with building codes. In some areas, if you replace rather than repair the original railings, you have to make them taller, something like 36 or 38 inches. It's supposed to be a safety feature, I suppose to keep passing drunks and reckless children from toppling off the porch, but it usually makes it look like the house has been put in a cage. If you do keep the front porch railings, I'd definately add a top rail to the outside of the rails on the screen porch to cover the angled tops as someone else suggested; the way it is now, the screen porch has a modular, modern look that just doesn't feel right. Someone else also suggested adding rounded posts to the corners of the screen porch, to help visually tie the two together from the road, but then again, that might not be doable on a budget; I know those rounded posts are expensive. (that might be why the person who originally added them to the portico/porch used three instead of four...) Also, what about adding a trim to enclose the top (ceiling) edge of the screen porch to make it match the front porch, and cover the exposed beams? You'd loose some of the light inside, and possibly some breeze, but not too much, and I think it would help balance it out, and make a better match with the front of the house. I realize the screen porch is in the side yard, but from the street it's visible enough that you should think of it as being an extension of the front. Are you going to put in a window around the corner from the new front door? It seems like that's a big blank wall, and it's a shame to completly loose that side view of the garden once you step inside until you make it back outside to the screen porch. Maybe one of those decorative stained glass windows; not in color, but in different patterns/textures of transparent and translucent glass would be nice. I know, that's "house" stuff, not landscaping, but what caught my eye about your place was the way you'd moved the off center front door over to the corner. I have an off center front door myself; it's too close to a main interior wall to add sidelights to try to balance it with the windows, so I'm always interested in seeing how other people work around one. I'd still love to see how you worked out the new floorplan. :^)

Oh, that's what "Vertrees" means! I thought it was a variety or something, although the different uses were confusing me! Thanks. :) Christine

I can't answer all your questions, but I can offer some advice based on my own experience. First, from what I can see in the pics, your roof doesn't look that bad. Nothing against the knowledgable neighbor, but if he isn't a contractor, appreciate what he has to say and seek professional advice. Don't give contractors the impression that you're worried about your roof falling in, because SOME may feed into your 'paranoia' for lack of a better term, and no offense intended by that comment. I'm saying this because I've had situations where we obtained quotes on tuckpointing our chimney, and of course there's one contractor out there who tries to scare us into thinking our chimney is going to fall down tomorrow and it better be rebuilt for a whopping $25k. We got it tuckpointed by another contractor for $300 who laughed when we told them about the other quote. I'm not implying that ALL contractors are dishonest, I'm just saying this was my experience with this particular contractor. If roofs weren't designed to support three layers of shingles, there wouldn't be an ordinance allowing this many layers on your roof in the first place. Three layers are the maximum allowable. I would also go around the neighborhood and ask for recommendations for a roofing contractor rather than just pulling out of the phone book. Go to your local church and ask them. Word of mouth, in my opinion, is best, and sometimes contractors who don't spend money on advertising costs have more reasonable, lower rates. Get several quotes, and compare them. The more you do your homework, you'll get a good feel for what the job is worth. ASK your contractor for references, and contact prior customers and ask them questions - would they have done anything differently, is there anything they could recommend that you wouldn't have thought to ask at the very beginning, etc. Submit all change requests in writing. Similarly, our roof was a three-layer complete tear-off, which of course is going to be pricier than just adding another layer of shingles. Be sure EVERYTHING they're replacing is written in the contract - flashing, gutters, etc. I'd recommend a 'ridge vent' for proper ventilation, not sure if this is standard these days?? I'm not sure what you mean by, 'You may as well open up the main ceiling to be vaulted as well'?? This could be a simple matter of adding more vents in your attic when the roof is replaced. Problem solved. If you need gutters replaced, now's the time to do it - you'll get a better 'package' deal, at least we did. I had some ill-placed gutters re-routed. Since our entire roof was a tear-off, we added a master bath rough-in for just maybe $800 extra, as we were only paying for lumber - the roof was already being torn off, so all they had to do was expand the frame. Can you expand the roof anywhere? Now's the time to do it! You can probably inspect the underlayment from inside your home yourself. Go around with a flashlight to check for signs of leaking. We were told our roof needed to be replaced as well, but we also saw signs of leaking and later found carpenter ants in our attic on the underlayer of original cedar roof shingles that were covered over. Not good. Also, for this reason, if there are any tree branches near your roof line, cut them away as carpenter ants will use this as a conduit to your roofline. They love moisture. Be sure to replace any rotting wood. We also used a pesticide in this area of our attic for the next two years just to be safe. From a financial standpoint, I would look into taking out a home equity loan for the roof fund, if feasible. Even if you don't do the roof now, you know that the funds are available in an emergency if necessary. When the time comes, be prepared that when the roof comes off, there will be less weight on your house, the house may have minor shifting due to less weight on the support beams, and you may or may not have very minor surface cracks in the walls afterwards (we have an old 1920's home), but nothing major that simple patching won't cover over. If you use your attic for personal storage, competely cover your belongings with tarps or remove EVERYTHING and store elsewhere until the roof is done, and plan on using a shop vac when the job is done - nails, dust, etc. Prior to the start of the job, clear areas in your attic so the contractor can properly inspect the roof from the interior as a precaution to locate potential weak spots. They'll appreciate that and I'd imagine they recommend it for their own safety. Cover ALL plantings outside. The contractors will do their best to discard all materials on tarps, but it's inevitable that you will find nails and refuse on your lawn and in your plantings. Don't let them talk you into storing a dumpster on your driveway. It will become so heavy you risk cracking your driveway, and residential driveways aren't designed to hold all that weight. You may have to pay a little extra to have a dumpster on the city street, and of course a permit may be required depending on your municipality, but I'd insist on it and pay the extra $. Lastly, be good to your contractors and they'll be good to you. We supplied them with a cooler of refreshments (they were on the roof on the hottest days of the summer - talk about hard workers). They don't like to be watched over, it makes them nervous and you don't want a nervous contractor trying to balance their footing on your roof. Our contractors didn't like the fact that our neighbor plopped himself out there everyday on a lawn chair and watched them from dawn to dusk. Ugh. That's another story! Very important - you should obtain a lien waiver from your contractor when final payment is submitted. This is especially important if you are working with a company who subcontracts their work. THEY are responsible for paying the subcontractor as part of your original contract agreement, not you. Good luck!

Someone please help....I built my shutters I think using 1x4 wood with the cross bar appro. 12 inches from the top and bottom...I made sure that I primed and painted both sides of all the wood that I used...some of my windows are rather tall and the ones exposed to the weather want to worp and curl some I used pressure treaded wood....the really looked nice, I cut a 30 degree angle the length of all the boards and it gave them a very nice look....until the worping started....Someone HELP...fyi I am a 71 year old female and the house I am living in was built by my Grandparents...I was completed in Dec. of 1911, the year my Father was born Dec. 12, 1911 in this house....so the house will be 100 yrs. old Dec. of this year....I am planning to host an open house to celebrate... Patty