It's going to be just wonderful, isn't it! And well worth the effort. I'm looking forward to seeing it all finished.

Love that door. I hope to drive by to see your restoration even though you will be off on your ride by the time we can get there.
Dorothy

It's going to be great. I have to say that your house is just beautiful.
Your door is to die for. Tell us about your bike tour.

I can't wait to see the color!

I love your door and transom! You are inspiring me to dream about my porch...

kathleen: Thank you ! I hope it turns out as well as I would like. I am headed out to sand the whole thing. Then prime. My painter wants to caulk after that when he can see what there is to do.

Dorothy I look forward to you being here. You will have to " drive by" when I am home again !

prill: you are so kind. Thank you. I am leaving to ride my bike from Key West to Bar Harbor ME and then to upstate NY and back to Washington DC. Last year I rode from St Augustine FL to San Diego CA. I have a trailer and pull it behind my bike. We camp along the way and follow maps from Adventure Cycling. Here is a pic of me as I was getting ready to leave last year.

It took 62 days last year from Feb26th. We leave the Keys on April 28th. Going to be a lot warmer !!

Sue , me either. Will have to make sure it is perfect.

Carinr: it is pretty isn't it ? Too bad the sun doesn't reach it. But I have another one similar and the late afternoon sun comes in it and makes rainbows. I am so glad you are inspired. That is what makes this forum so nice...we all help each other and get ideas. Thank you ! c

You know I'll love it, can't wait to see pics either. The bike trip sounds great, have fun, be safe.

trailrunner, do you know what your contractor is going to use to seal the brick? I need to lightly sandblast peeling paint off of a 160 or 170 year old brick building and I am wondering how to seal it. I think the mason I hired last year only said to use a masonry primer, but I might be remembering that wrong.

trailrunner, is it my eyes, or is some of the mortar/pointing missing on the front post? Did it get blown out with the sandblasting?

He has some very special sealer that I need to write down the name. He said it is all new and Russell building supply sells it locally. I will get back to you tomorrow. c

I am soooo jealous that Dorothy gets to drive by!

Gosh, it's just all coming together like it's returning to what it was always meant to be.

Wow - that's quite a bike ride! How long will this trip take?
No wonder you can make all that yummy food.
You're going to see some pretty places. Have a safe and wonderful trip.
Prill

Love your door and transom! Your front porch is going to be utterly knock-down charming. Can't wait to see the finished pix.

Your bike ride sounds exciting. I hope you have a wonderful time. You look so cute with your bike and your trailer and your big smile.

hey lester: I missed your post. Yes indeed he removed all of the old crumbling mortar back to the sound stuff. He has repointed almost half as of this AM with a type of mortar to prevent any damage to the old brick. I will then seal it. He has done this kind of restoration work for almost 20 years and I have seen how perfect the brick still looks so I am excited to get mine taken care of.

fc: I feel the same way. I just sent you an email about the color.

prill. About 2 months. It depends on a lot of things. The first part to Maine will be done by late June. If the one guy and gal in our group of 9 want to go on as they have indicated then I will be gone till mid July. Just have to play it by ear. We ride approx 50 miles a day and take off one day a week , Of course stuff happens. LOL. Some of it good and some not so much. We did the 3300 mi from St A to San Diego last yr in 62 days. This is only 2600 mi and then if I add on more. I met so many wonderful people last year. I sent weekly updates to the Conversation side. They have all fallen off though. it was fun to get all the responses. I wish I had printed them out.

oceanna: Good to hear from you !!! It will be gorgeous. Now I will HAVE to do something about new cushions for the furniture too...sigh. Always something. Yes the bike ride will be great. We camp the whole way. Thanks for the compliments...I have my good days :) c

It's going to look great. I love your door and stained glass. When I saw the first pictures I thought you were going with the look on the bottom. I have a thing for red brick houses with white paint sanded partially off.

What size is your bike? That's quite a trip.

marti: we had toyed with the idea of leaving the painted/red old brick showing. But the house has been painted so long and it would really change the whole feel of the house back to an old fashioned bungalow look . I too like this but decided I really didn't want to go that route and change my whole scheme of paint ect. We can't do another exterior paint job. Also the cost of my GC redoing all the mortar...well...nope can't do that either so it is back to the cream paint.

I have a Specialized Mountain Bike that has 24 gears and the ratio is for climbing. It is a "small" can't remember the actual inches. I changed out the tires for my trip last year to " slicks" from the knobby MTB tires I had always used. The bike is perfect for the trailer and is very comfortable for me. There are many folks that tour and get special bikes for that and use panniers on brackets on 4 locations front and back of the bike. I didn't want to buy a new bike, I have had this one 9 yrs. I also like the light weight and the freedom to unhook the trailer and go off when I get to camp each day. It is just my preference. Do you bike ? c

I used to. I had a vintage Schwinn Sprint road bike, and still have a Specialized mountain bike. I had an injury a couple of years ago that put me out of commission for most activities. I sold the Sprint right before Christmas and plan on getting something else that is a little easier on my back. It was smooth as silk, but I live out in the country and didn't get to ride it much.

Your road trip sounds like a blast.

marti: I am sorry to hear about your accident. I sure hope you can get back to cycling comfortably and safely. I sure would have loved to have seen the Schwinn . What size was it ? Oh well I have 3 bikes LOL...only one butt :) c

This is an old picture, but I didn't make many changes to it, just a few comfort items.