Street Side Front Porch | Budget Break Down + Summer Notes

After all of our projects, especially One Room Challenge projects, I like to sit down to figure out the total cost. After four years of living here in BHH, we are getting pretty good at keeping a firm hand on the budget. Part of the reason for that is that we now own the tools we need, and we have surplus supplies from past projects ready to use. We don’t need to take quite so many trips to the hardware store these days. Keeping our basement tidy helps.

The other reason that we are able to reduce costs is that we have more experience. I can create a fairly accurate project forecast at the onset of each new renovation. Simply put, practice makes perfect. While we do not consider taking care of business at BHH to be completely budget-friendly, we desire to spend our money where it counts and cut expenses on the stuff that doesn’t matter.

We recognize that the words cheap and expensive are subjective. If the money is not in our pockets, the project might as well cost a million dollars. Even so, we hope that these break down posts offer a reasonably realistic view of the amount of money it might require of our readers if they decide to take on a similar project.

The Floor

Not surprisingly, the new floor was the largest expense. The total area of the porch floor is 70 square feet. We included 10% extra wood for mistakes. There was one board leftover. (Whew! We cut that close.)

• Cumaru Boards + milling fee for tongue and groove $509.00
• DeckWise screws – $27
• Ipe Seal (to seal the ends after each cut) – $22
• Ipe Oil (to use on a yearly basis)  – $60
• Cumaru plugs (to fill the screw holes) – $10

Note: I did not buy the Ipe Seal or Oil. Dale had leftovers, so I used what he had. I include it in the total since both are necessary for the project and required specifically for Cumaru.

• General lumber (to rebuild sections of the porch underneath & the boot cubby) – $130
• Hardware – $20

Total: $778

I also used some items I already had on hand:

• Various lumber for rebuilding and shims
• Hardware (various screws)
• Sandpaper
• Gorilla Glue (original formula)

Accessories and Decor

This list includes affiliate links.

• Doorbell –  $15 (bought on sale. Regular price $19)
• Porch Light – $120
• Mailbox Hinges – $7
• Various locks/hasps (mailbox, exterior door, storm window) $10
• Swivel Hook – $25
• Wooden bench (vintage) – $10
• fern – $12
• potted zinnias – $12

Total: $211

Miscellaneous

• Glass – $16
• Caulk – $6
• Paint (I used all leftover paint except for one quart of Monterey White.) – $24

Total: $46

Grand Total

Total project cost – $1035

Considering that the porch went from this:

to this:

to this:

I feel satisfied with the total.  I like to think that we splurged where it mattered and made do with what we had when it didn’t. Now, I’m curious. How does this final number mesh with your estimate? Does it seem high, low, or as you expected?

Summer Notes

I will just come right out and say it. I will be taking some time off from blogging.

As I mentioned on Instagram, we are hosting an exchange student from Japan for the next month. We pick him up on Sunday, and our whole family is very excited. Our student, who I will call T., is fourteen years old. This is his first trip to the United States. Naturally, we are all a little unsure of how things will go as we get to know each other.

That is one reason that I will not be posting very much new blog content for the rest of the summer. I will still be active on Instagram and Facebook, but I intend to focus on my family and to make sure that T. has a positive experience while he is here.

The other reason that I am taking some time off is that I have several non-construction projects in the works, including the podcast (still!). I have decided that it is a good idea to pull back from writing so I can buckle down and get ahead of content. This past seven months, I have been barely hanging on to any semblance of order in our lives. I have also been pretty honest about my troubles with the podcasting software. I have been struggling for too long, and it is time to buckle down and not come back until the podcast is launched. So, that’s what I’m doing.

During the time that I am away, there will be a weekly blog post. However, instead of new content, I will be linking to past posts. Consider it the “best of” the BHH blog. There is a lot of good stuff after four years of blogging, and I look forward to sharing it with our readers. If you have specific posts you would like to read again, please leave me a message in the comments.

I’ll see you at the podcast launch!