Furbishing the house

I stepped through the front porch today. It reminds me of just how much work, and basic work, we still have to do on our home.

The front porch is low and unimpressive, a single layer of planks resting atop some wood and concrete supports. No railings remain, after they fell over, rotted, a few years ago. No walls, no roof. One step leads up at a corner, pointing to the front door.

It's been decaying since we bought the house. I mentioned the railings, which gave way after casual bumps. Several holes have appeared on the porch flooring over the past year, as the weak wood, sapped by years of weather, gave way to feet.

But the doomed thing has been a low priority for us, until recently. It served a basic function: helping us enter and exit the front door.

We're planning to tear the thing apart soon, with hammers and crowbars. A local contractor and friend, the excellent Brad Braun, will arrive to replace it. And the front door, which should be served by a different blog post.