Our Little Farmhouse Blog: Mrs. Potter gets a Shack (I mean Shed)

Remember when I said to call me Mrs. Potter? That's my new alter-ego and whom I will blame lawn and gardening purchases on in the future. Mrs. Potter is a pot enthusiast. Plants! Get your mind outta the gutter.

So, Mrs. Potter needed a home/work space and we just so happen to have an old shed right next to the house. Over the last few months the roof shingles have blown off and if you walk into the shed the roof beams hit you in the head if you're over 5'4" (guess it's a good thing Mrs. Potter is short).

By the way, Jeff is the one who is evicting the lovely Mrs. Potter out of the garage (meanie) so he gets to do the lion's share of the overhaul on the shed. Of course I'm helping, but in small segments.

So, the first task was to remove the roof and nasty wall covering/insulation. Mission completed 2 - 3 weeks ago.

Then it was time for changing the low roof problem. We decided to change from a barn style roof to a one that matched the house (A line?). Since we have high winds we even added hurricane straps to the joists/beams. Can you tell I'm not 100% up on the construction lingo? That first weekend we had the roof re-pitched and laid with plywood and the interior stripped and ready for next steps.

While Jeff worked on the structure of the shed, I was busy planning the improvements. I wanted more windows (currently there's two very small ones) and the orientation is weird. The back of the shed is to the front of the house meaning you have to walk around the shed to get in. The plan is to install antique wooden windows (add charm) and move the door from the back to the front. Also, instead of a traditional door, we'll install a dutch door with a small antique window in the top.

First step...buy windows. I went to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Austin but they were fresh out of wooden windows. I then went to my fail safe - CRAIGSLIST! I found a man in Luling (about 45 minutes from the house in a Southerly direction) selling windows for $15.00 each! I went the next morning and bought 5 large windows and 1 small one. I did this while Jeff was on the road one weekend.

Last weekend, Jeff came home and laid the roofing shingles. His next task was to frame the windows. We went to home depot and bought 2x4s, hinges and latches and carted our loot home. Of course it rained, and rained, and rained so much of the work had to be done in the garage. We're thrilled it rained, but we could have done so much more work if it hadn't.