House bandaids

My poor house...it was obviously given a quickie "fix up" when it was for sale, and now the poor thing is showing it's true colors. Last year I fixed the roof- that was a very important part to deal with right off. I also had the hardwood floors refinished before I moved in. But the other home improvement projects- siding, walkway, patio, new front steps- they may need to be put on hold. There's only so much I am capable of doing, and so far I have done it. (Painting walls, bathroom wall board, cleaning.) I am currently scraping the paint off of my window frames (exterior) and fixing things up- tacking down/replacing trim, filling holes, recaulking, priming, painting, etc.

The more time I spend on a ladder in close proximity to my house shingles, the angrier I get. I mean, I knew I needed to deal with the siding, but I had no idea HOW bad the shingles really were. They are all falling apart, splitting, peeling badly, and rotting in areas. Unfortunately, the siding quotes that I got last year range from $16,000 to $27,000, depending on the contractor and the type of siding quoted. And don't even suggest vinyl siding, I can't stand it and will never put it on my house even if it is less expensive and has no upkeep. It is gross. When a sales rep came out last year to quote me for siding, I made him take the vinyl sample back out to the van, out of my house.

If this is not the sexiest get-up I own, I don't know what is. Good thing I don't wear this to weddings.A mid-process shot of the side window, and then a finished shot. Oh, and I decided I don't like the fake shutters so I am leaving them off. Why put something like that on a house if they don't actually DO something? Seems silly. Back in the days when shutters had a purpose, I can understand that. But now? Nah. And besides, as I quickly discovered, they make great places for wasp nests...

I went to the bank today, just to see what my options might be for financing the siding. Final answer: none, unless I want a co-signer. Nah. I am sure that the bank can see that I am financially stretched right now and they want to be sure that people pay back their loans. In all honesty, I agree with that. But it leaves me figuring out other options for fixing the siding. I could simply scrape, tack, and do touch up painting, and hope that got me thru a couple of more years. I could start to re-shingle it myself, one small section at a time. I have never done shingling, but I'd be willing to try.