View of the house from the N.E. corner of lot. The privacy fence was brought forward towards the front of the house. This added extra security to the garage side-door entrance. The exterior light fixtures were updated in 2004.

The front of the house. In May 2005, the house was scrapped down to the wood siding, and painted with two coats of oil-based primer and two coats of 25-year latex paint. Brushed-silver light fixtures were installed in 2004 on both sides of the garage door.

The front entryway. The leaded glass front door and storm door were replaced in 2004. The shrubs were planted in 2004. The walkway is lined with a border planting and features bright white L.E.D. solar lighting fixtures.

Another view of the front entryway. There is a water faucet located behind the hose cart, and an additional electrical outlet was installed in 2004 below the welcome sign, just to the left of the nautical grouping.

View of the flowerbed on the S.E. corner of the house. All the screens on the house were re-screened in 2005.

View of the house from the S.E. corner of lot. The privacy fence was brought closer to the front of the house to enlarge the backyard area.

View of the N.W. corner of the backyard. The U-shaped retaining wall creates a level area 18' x 16'. We used this area for a 14' soft-sided pool, but it would be excellent for a swingset, or outdoor furniture.

View of the west side of house. The gas grill is piped for natural gas, but the line is capped off just below the firebox by previous owners. There are no internal parts to the grill.

View of the S.W. corner of house. Guttering was installed along the west side of the house in 2004.

View of the S.W. corner of the backyard. The existing 6 ft. privacy fence was dismantled, re-assembled, flipped outward, and a new 6' dog ear style fence was constructed facing inward. This double privacy fence is not very common in this neighborhood

View of the N.W. corner of the house. The gas grill is piped for natural gas, but has been capped off just below the grill.

View of the north side of the house. The dining room bay window and fireplace chimney can be seen in this picture.

View of the flowerbed on the north side of the house. The flowerbed was added in 2004 and is located just outside the dining room bay window.

View of the N.E. corner of the house. The area for the trash bins is an enclosed bed of pea gravel. The side door was replaced with an aluminum door in 2003. The light fixture was updated in 2004.

View of the south side of the house. The house is now 25 years old, and some settling of all homes is normal and to be expected. After the house settled, the brickwork on the south side of the house below the bathroom window was replaced by the previous owners. We hired a certified structural engineer before we purchased the home to assess any potential problems. His results were as follows.

"In conclusion, it is my opinion that none of the observed defects either inside or outside of the home justify immediate structural repairs. Structural repairs will not be required unless the existing cracks or separations increase significantly in the future. Based on the age of the home it is probable that most of the significant foundation movements have already occurred."

November 2003

To date, there have been no significant increases. The full report is available in Adobe .pdf format by clicking here (in new window).

Shelving units and pegboard were added to the south wall of the garage for additional storage. An additional electrical outlet was installed on the south wall of the garage (2004).

The hot water tank and furnace were replaced in 2003 with high efficiency units. There is a storage area to the right of the furnace area with an electrical outlet that is large enough for a full sized freezer. The additional shelving in this area was added in 2004.

A tool rack was installed on the north wall of the garage to provide easy storage of garden equipment.

Decking was added to the attic to provide an area 14' x 8' (112 sq. ft.) of storage space.

View of the attic.

Another view of the attic.