The making of the porch

You know what happens when you know that family is coming into town?

Home improvement projects.

Oh come on, you all know you do it.

We've talked about scoring and staining our porch for a year and a half. Well, since we did the exact same thing to our den floor.

It was finally time.To begin we (and by we, I mean Shawn) had to use acid to etch the concrete to prepare it for the stain. This meant pouring it and using a broom to rub it in for about 15 straight minutes. It foamed up and Shawn had some fun sliding around entertaining the onlookers.After a quick wash down it was time to measure. Shawn had a great plan for the border and pattern and since I am not mathematical at all I let him do it!My cousin Tyler came over just in time to save me from helping score.To keep a straight line someone stands on a 2 by 4 while Shawn follows the chalk line.When we did our den I had cement dust in places I didn't know I had.

After that they were done and it was my turn to take over. I don't do the dirty work, just the fun stuff. I drug out the stain from the den and got to work.I thought after finishing with the black I would use the excess in the brush to put a few spots on the soon to be brown places. I dribbled a little here and a little there...and then lost control. I shook the brush for one last drop and was shocked to see a huge line of spots shoot out across the front part of the porch. Oh well, lesson learned.Luckily my brown was dark enough to mask my over zealous paint fling.We had originally planned to score a 'C' in the center. But after careful thought about that being pretty permanent...and us not living here forever....we decided not to. Shawn also reneged on his promise to do it. So....when he went to work, I free handed one with stain!!It can easily be sanded right off when necessary.

Here it is all done and ready to welcome. Well, it does need a few things.

A welcome mat.A bench for sittin' a while. And a candle for lighting the way.Not bad. If I do say myself!
Anyone want to come sit and chat??