Bathroom renovation has begun

Posted on June 2, 2025 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Our bathroom renovation is underway.

(If you want to check out some before photos, check out this post or this one. If you want a refresher on what my plans are for this space, this post has a moodboard, floorplan and more details.)

I started taking the bathroom apart at the end of April. I took down the tile and panelling. I pulled out the tubs (there were two, one layered over the other), vanity, floor and linen closet. Everything came out fairly easily, and I am really proud that I was able to do it myself.

Demo is where you find all of the dirty secrets–dirty being both a literal and figurative term. I confirmed that some water had been leaking at the edge of the tub. I had expected that and the damage fortunately was very minor (one moldy stud). I discovered squirrels or other critters had set up a clubhouse under the tub at some point. There were walnut shells, bones, candies, a cigarette pack and all kinds of disgustingness under there.

Everything cleaned up and I had a blank canvas to begin to put it all back together.

I put in new insulation and vapour barrier on the exterior wall. I adjusted the framing around the tub, as I’m adding a ledge for shampoo and soap all the way along the wall.

The plumber came and roughed in all the pipes and drains. He had to shift the taps and drain for the tub slightly, as the ledge pushes everything out a few inches. The plumbing under the sink was very tangled. Now it’s tidy and tucked between the studs. We installed the tub and removed the toilet.

I chose the deepest alcove tub I could find. I wasn’t able to make space for a longer tub, but baths should be a bit more comfortable with the new tub.

The electricians came and roughed in all our new wiring. One vanity light became two, one plug became two. They wired the floor for heat. We also got a new circuit panel, as our old one was maxed out.

Then the project came back to me for a few days. I installed tile backer and drywall.

The tilers came and they brought our beautiful new tile with them. It was exciting to see the first pretty things go in the bathroom. They installed the heated floor membrane, tiled the tub walls and then the floor.

I chose a very large tile (32 inches by 32 inches) to minimize the amount of grout I have to clean. Just two tiles covered the full length of the tub. Nine tiles did the whole floor.

Then the project came back to me again for the wall paneling. I’m installing pine V-groove paneling. It’s similar to what we used in the mudroom and a big step up from the fake 1970s era paneling that was in the bathroom before.

And that’s where the project is at currently. I’m slowly working my way around the room putting up the walls.

For the past month, I’ve been trying to stay ahead of my trades and have everything they need ready to go. Now the pressure has eased a bit, and I’m working at my own pace. Though I definitely want to keep moving and complete most of the work before Ellie finishes school for the summer.

Despite the pressure–and a few disgusting moments–I’ve been having fun with the renovation. I’ve waited a long time for this project, so to finally be underway is very satisfying. It’s also fun to see the elements I’ve chosen (tile, tub, taps, vanity) arrive and (slowly) be installed. So far, I’m loving my choices and it’s so exciting to see this project coming together.

I’m documenting the bathroom reno and sharing it in a series of videos on Instagram. Follow me at juliaon129acres, and catch up on all the construction in the bathroom highlight.

Picking the perfect green paint for my office

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

I was unsure what colour I wanted to paint the office for a long time. Back when we first set up the room, Matt picked a forest green (Benjamin Moore Manor Green). It was not my favourite colour, but it was his room, so I didn’t say anything.

Once I decided the office was going to be mine, I was more than ready to repaint.

I liked the idea of sticking with some shade of green. I like green and it would be another memory of Matt. I knew I wanted dark olive green a few places in the room (namely the vintage metal drawers I found years ago at an auction). Did I want it on the walls too?

I finally decided to go for it. But then I had to figure out what green. I sampled several: High Park, Rosepine, Cushing Green, Peale Green. They were too light, too grey or too brown.

Ellie’s comment was, “So you’re painting the office garbage can green.”

Thanks, girl.

I returned to the paint store in search of my goldilocks–not garbage can–green.

I bought two more samples: the oh so popular Vintage Vogue and a custom shade matched to a flowerpot my sister gave me for Mother’s Day.

Back at home, I put them on the walls… and Flowerpot Green was the winner. It’s dark, but not black, not brown, not grey. It is definitely green, and it picks up the tones of so many of the things I used in this room.

I had a few moments of hesitation as I was painting the first coat, but then I decided I liked it. When I moved my vintage slipper chair in just to see, I loved it.

My Mom’s reaction gave me another reason to love it. Her comment the first time she saw the room was, “Oh, this is the colour we had in the living room and dining room at home!” She was remembering a time that my grandmother (a frequent redecorator) got new furniture, painted the living room dark green, and then sewed curtains to match.

So from my grandmother to Matt to my sister taking care of me on Mother’s Day, my new office paint is full of history and meaning and family. That feels like a good choice to me.

Do you have a favourite colour? Have you ever had a custom paint colour mixed for you (this was my first time)? Are you a fan of neutrals? Or do you go for colour? Who prefers light shades over dark?

Office and sewing room reveal

Posted on April 7, 2025 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

My Mom taught me to sew when I was young, as her Mom had taught her. As my great-grandmother taught my grandmother. Now I have a new space for sewing, crafting, writing, working, creating. A space filled with heritage and history from these women and so many other special people in my life.

Welcome to my new office.

Spread around the room, you will see my collection of vintage hats. Most of these are my grandmother’s. One was made by my great-grandmother. I remember finding a scrap of material in my Grandma’s stash and recognizing it from the hat. I was blown away that someone could simply make a hat. This legacy of creativity and ability is something that I’m very proud of and try to live up to.

As I was decorating the room and styling the shelves, I realized that the hats needed some support. They didn’t look right just sitting on the shelves and I couldn’t see their details clearly. Of course, my initial thought was, “I need some heads.” But I quickly came up with another solution. I chopped up a broken pipe we had left over from redoing our sump pump outflow. I sprayed the pipes gold and voila. Cheap, simple, fancy hat stands. Creativity and ability, check.

The rest of the shelves are filled with books, photos, sewing patterns, mementos. There’s a pickle bottle Matt’s Dad found that is made by Matt and Steve–their names. There’s a football my Dad bought me when I was a baby. There’s a collection of buttons in a powder box that smells just like my Grandma when I open it. So many precious, special things that I can see and enjoy now that they have a home.

Matt and I installed the cabinets when we set up this room as his office. They provide such great storage for all of my sewing, knitting, wrapping and other supplies. I would like to update the doors and give everything a coat of paint some day, but for now I am enjoying their storage and ignoring their style. This is the first time I have ever had all of my sewing and knitting materials in one spot, and it’s so helpful for projects.

The backsplash is a very long bulletin board. This corkboard is full of things that I find inspiring, beautiful, fun. Cards from friends, crafts from Ellie, even a few notes from Matt. I will be sharing more details about this project in a future post.

The biggest function is the huge corner desk. I have two workstations here, one for my computer and one for my sewing machine. Each zone comes with its own drawers for office supplies or sewing materials. There are also four large file drawers that hold all of our paperwork and even some extra crafting supplies. Above the desk, I have some open shelves for more storage and display. I’ll be going into more details of how I built this desk in an upcoming post because I am very proud of how it turned out (more creativity and ability).

As part of the sewing zone, I have a valet stand that my Dad built for me. When he took up woodturning, he had some signature things he liked to make. One was valets like this. It is perfect for holding in progress sewing projects. Behind the valet I hung Matt’s and my diplomas. They fit perfectly in this space, and I like that Matt and my Dad are both part of this room. So many legacies in this one corner.

A gallery wall on the other side of the room holds more pictures and things that are special to me. The window sill holds a collection of thimbles from Matt’s Mom and other small trinkets. Ellie needle felted a goose to look like my long ago pet Bill and I hung it from the ceiling so it flies over my sewing machine.

The two sets of green metal drawers came from an auction we went to years ago. They’ve been in the driveshed ever since waiting for the right spot. Now, one sits on the counter and the other on my desk. They give great extra storage, and I love their rustic green patina.

There are so many details in this room, I feel like I could keep going forever. There are a few things I’m still hoping to add (Matt chose the cheapest light fixture possible, and it’s terrible), but I love how this room turned out right now. It is functional. It is pretty. And, like all my spaces, it is personal.

The coop has more doors

Posted on March 24, 2025 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

In my last coop update, I had found one door (a sentimental memory that my Dad made for our childhood coop) and resigned myself to making two more.

Making the doors turned out to be a much bigger deal in my mind than in real life. They went so smoothly. I’m still really proud of them.

I was able to use some of the leftover siding. I ripped a few pieces in half on my Dad’s table saw for the outer frame and then used my Kreg jig to drill pocket holes and screwed them together. The jig is a super easy way to do joinery, though it took me a minute to remember how to use it (it’s been awhile).

I reinforced all the corners for extra stability. Then I stapled mesh on the top section so that we can peek in at the birds.

My Mom raided my Dad’s hardware stash for hinges. She also found hooks and eyes to keep the doors closed. I found handles in my hardware stash.

The finishing touch was a fun one. Above my Dad’s door (which is a bit short), I made a sign that says “stoop your head.” This is another sentimental memory. On the last night of our Ireland trip, we went to a restaurant called Stoop Your Head. Inside the restaurant was a low doorway with a sign above. I copied the sign and hung it above my Dad’s door. Seeing the sign in our coop is a fun–and helpful–reminder.

We are so close to finishing the coop. We are so close to birds! In fact, they’re on order. ETA April 22!

To see the doors in action, check out the videos I’ve been sharing on Instagram. Follow me at juliaon129acres, and catch up on all the construction in the coop highlights (part 1 and part 2).

Three rules to be a successful DIYer

Posted on March 17, 2025 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

For the last two and a half months, I have been breaking one of my major rules of DIY. I’ve been working on more than one project. <<Gasp>> There are no DIY police coming to arrest me and no real consequences for breaking my own rules. But the start of this year has confirmed that this is not the way I like to work. It also made me think about some of the DIY rules I follow and how I make renovating enjoyable and productive.

I’ve been a DIYer my whole life. My Dad and Mom both worked in construction and they involved my siblings and me in projects from the time we were very little. Once I got older, I worked with my Dad officially, labouring for him every summer.

Then Matt and I bought our first house. We fixed it up, sold it and bought the farm. Here we found another fixer upper, which was exactly what I wanted. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about construction and how I like to tackle projects. So today, I’m sharing a few rules I (usually) follow to ensure DIY is successful.

Tackle one project at a time

Have you ever walked into someone’s house to find they have a project on the go over here, and oh they’re working on that over there, and yep that needs fixed over there too? With DIY, and especially with a fixer upper, it’s easy to get pulled in different directions. So many things need fixing!

Or maybe you get bored. That project that was so exciting a few weeks ago has now become a slog. Or you got stuck and weren’t sure what to do next, so you started something else.

At the start of this year, I broke my own rule. I started redoing the office downstairs while I was still working on the coop outside and I began planning the bathroom reno. I justified it that it was winter, so having an indoor and outdoor project made sense. Plus I really, really wanted the office.

But it was hard. I was thinking about three different projects, which for me meant I didn’t have a clear vision of what had to happen next for any of them. Also I was working all the time and got really, really tired. Progress slowed and I wasn’t having fun anymore. Eventually, I stepped back from the office and prioritized the coop.

DIY requires a singular focus. Pick a project, stick with it and don’t let yourself get distracted.

Have a schedule and stick to it

For most of us, DIY is something extra. We have our jobs, our families, our lives. And then we try to fit in home renovations. Having a plan of where and how you’re going to squeeze it into your schedule can help you complete your project.

When Matt and I were drywalling the basement, we set every Wednesday night and all day Saturday as our work time. Sure most Wednesday nights we would have rather sat on the couch and watched TV, but we had a vision of that couch and TV in our beautiful finished basement, so we stuck to the plan and eventually finished the drywall.

For the coop, I committed one day a week to construction. Some weeks were very cold. Sometimes something came up and I couldn’t give it the full day. But knowing I’d made the commitment to myself got me out each week and kept progress moving.

Know your limits (but push them a little)

DIY comes in all shapes and sizes. Some projects are super simple and others are complex. Make sure the scope of the project you are tackling is (mostly) within your capabilities. If you take on something too big or too complicated, you may get stuck or frustrated or make a mistake. Certain mistakes like messing up the wiring, plumbing or structure of your house can have serious consequences.

We watch YouTube or HGTV and think renovation is no big deal. But many parts of construction require special expertise and professional training. There’s a difference between knowing something’s possible and knowing what’s possible for you to do. Be realistic what you can handle and when to call in professional help.

At the same time, DIY is a learning opportunity. Simple projects can lead to bigger things as you build your skills and confidence.

The coop has stretched me. Figuring out how to build it took me a while. Constructing the floor–with so much drilling into concrete–was a bit intimidating. It’s not something I’ve done before on my own, and I wasn’t sure I was doing it right.

I asked for advice, looked up construction standards (the building code, not YouTube, is a good source), thought about how to tackle different parts of construction and then I did it. I had a foundation from a lifetime of DIY that I could build on to accomplish that project. And I’m so proud of it. Now I have more skills and confidence to tackle something else in the future.

I think I’ve been pretty successful with DIY. I’ve saved money, grown my skills and built a really nice home for myself and Ellie. Plus, I enjoy it. For me, one of the biggest signs of success is simple. I get stuff done. Finishing a DIY project is hard. These three rules help me do it.

What do you think of my rules? Do you agree? Do you have any DIY rules you follow? Have you broken any of your own or my rules?

The coop has walls

Posted on March 10, 2025 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

There has been major progress in the coop. All the walls are in place.

I actually built the two interior partition walls on the last day before Christmas holidays (when I finished the floor). Then, when I returned to construction in January, I put up the cladding and built the rest of the walls.

Of course, there’s more to the story. Let me back up a bit. As always, I have details.

Reminder, the coop is going to have three pens. Each partition sits on the new floor I built and lines up with posts I put in. (This post shows the plans for the coop.)

The interior walls between the pens were easy. Studs 16 inches on centre. Wood cladding on the bottom half (including some fancy tongue and groove salvaged from the old coop). Mesh on the top.

At one end, I decided I could use the exterior wall of the barn as the wall for the coop. At the other end, I needed to build a new wall to achieve my room-within-a-room plan. This wall gave me a bit of trouble.

Like the other walls, I built it flat on the floor and then lifted it into place. Given that this wall was going to be against part of the stone of the barn, I thought it would be helpful to put the cladding on before it was installed. I stapled my mesh, then I decided to use a piece of metal roofing from the old coop to cover the other half.

As I lifted it onto the platform, I realized I’d missed a crucial step. I forgot to square up the wall before putting on my cladding. When I tried to slide the wall into place, sure enough, it didn’t go. The wall was a parallelogram. The opening was a rectangle.

I took off all the cladding then Matt’s Dad (who came to help me out) and I lifted it out, laid it back down on the floor and tried to square it up. We couldn’t line it up, so we put it back in the opening, where it straightened itself out perfectly. Only problem, the cladding wasn’t attached, and I had very limited space up against the stone of the barn. After borrowing my Dad’s right angle drill and testing my limits in stretching and contortion, I managed to get the metal back on.

The front walls of the coop were much more straightforward. I had been holding off building these ones, as I wanted to have my doors so I knew what size openings to build. I had a plan to use old screen doors, but it turned out secondhand screen doors are very expensive. Once I accepted that I was going to be building doors, I realized I could make the openings any size I wanted.

The first wall I built was the middle one because I was able to find one door. This is a very special door because my Dad built it for my childhood coop. The coop is now a storage shed in my Mom’s backyard, and she, knowing I was looking for doors, suggested I could take the one off the old coop.

I love having a door from our family’s coop built by my Dad as part of our coop. My Dad set me on this path of birds when I was younger than Ellie. I remember him building the coop in my grandfather’s garage. Now I’m building our own coop and continuing something that he really enjoyed.

Like the partition walls, the front wall has wood cladding on the bottom and mesh on the top, then the doorway is centred.

The last two front walls, Matt’s Dad and I knocked out in one very productive day. I built these doorways a bit taller to accommodate the doors that I planned to make.

Having the walls in place is another major milestone. It actually looks like a coop!

As I mentioned in my last update, I’ve been documenting the coop construction on video and sharing on Instagram. If you want to see more about the coop, follow me at juliaon129acres, and catch up on all the videos in the coop highlights (part 1 and part 2).

Office makeover plans

Posted on February 10, 2025 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

The office makeover is a project I’ve been dreaming about for more than a year. I’ve been working for myself from home since before Ellie was born, yet I don’t have a dedicated workspace.

If I feel like sunshine and a view, I sit at the dining room table. If I’m feeling cozy and the fire is on, I sit on the living room couch. Most nights, I’m on the downstairs couch. I like the flexibility, but having an actual office would also be nice.

It took me a while to realize that I could turn Matt’s office into my office. As soon as I did, I got very excited thinking about everything this room could be.

Matt’s office is a room that only appeared on the blog waaaaaay back when we first moved in and were renovating the basement. After Matt set up his space, he wasn’t keen on sharing it and it wasn’t very photogenic, so I never featured it here.

That is all about to change.

This is the before, a mostly clean slate. (In my excitement to start this project, I couldn’t resist patching nail holes and putting some paint samples on the wall.)

When we did the basement renovation, we reinsulated all of the exterior walls, moved the office door around the corner, put up new drywall, had new carpet laid, and installed the cabinets (which used to live in the main room of the basement).

The foundation of the room was good. But I wanted to make it work for me.

Here’s a collage of some of the things that are in my plans.

First up is the colour. I’m going to be sticking with green for the walls, but a slightly different tone.

My plan is to have a large desk with two work stations that wraps around the corner. On one side, I’ll have my computer. On the other, I’ll have the sewing machine.

The base of the desk will be two filing cabinets and two banks of drawers, all painted white. Above the desk in the corner I’ll have some open shelving (likely painted green) for storage and display.

The cabinets are staying where they are, as they are (for now). I’d love to transform these into shaker doors like I did in the laundry room and give them a coat of paint, but that’s a later plan. For now, I’m grateful to have the cabinets as they provide a lot of really useful storage for fabric, yarn, office supplies, wrapping paper and more. I am planning to add a corkboard “backsplash,” as I love a bulletin board.

Then the rest of the room is decorating. I have art and objects that are special to me, and I want to finally have a nice spot to display them.

I am very excited for this project, and work is already underway. Stay tuned for more updates.

Do you have an office at your home? What’s your must-have (or wishlist) for an office?

The coop has a floor (and more)

Posted on February 3, 2025 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

A lot has happened in the coop since my last update. Key word, in the coop. Over the last two months, I’ve been working inside the barn to build the actual coop.

The plan is to make the coop a kind of room within a room. I feel like this is best way to make it secure from predators. It’s also easier to construct a standalone space, rather than trying to tie into the existing barn, which may or may not be square and level.

So this means I’ve been building a floor, walls and ceiling.

First step was setting three new posts. These support the floor, walls and ceiling. I drilled into the concrete floor, put in three saddles and then put up 4×4 posts that are screwed into the ceiling beam at the top.

Then I could move onto the floor. I wanted a subfloor elevated above the existing concrete floor because this corner of the barn is sometimes a little wet. There’s a grate in the floor that appears to be connected to some kind of drain. But I have no idea where the drain goes and I suspect that it may be plugged, as every so often the grate overflows. We also a have a problem downspout and missing eavestroughs at the coop corner.

I’m hoping that new eavestrough and our new block wall will help to keep most of the water out, but to make sure our chickens don’t get wet feet (and our ducks don’t go swimming inside), a raised floor seemed like a good idea.

My mission with the floor was to not buy new lumber. We have a large amount of wood left by previous owners, so I raided that for joists. I found a lot of very long 2x10s (I was hoping for 2x8s), so we have a very strong floor.

I put a rim joist on the new block wall, and then worked my way around to my new posts, keeping everything level. Then I installed hangers and set my joists in place. I do not enjoy nailing joist hangers, but they definitely made setting the joists much faster and easier to do on my own.

Once the joists were finished, it was simple (though heavy) to lay down some sheets of plywood and the floor was done on the last day before Christmas holidays.

I’ve done more since then, but I’ll save that for my next coop update. In the meantime, if you want to see more about the coop, I’ve been documenting the construction on video and sharing on Instagram. Follow me at juliaon129acres, and catch up on all the videos in the Coop highlight.

Looking back at Home Goals 2024

Posted on January 13, 2025 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

Last year was a “get back on track” year in terms of home projects, and I feel like I did pretty well. It wasn’t always easy. It wasn’t always fun. It wasn’t always the most “bloggable” content. But I feel like I made progress, which for me is very satisfying.

Also satisfying? This annual look back at how I did on home goals 2024.

Driveway

Paving the driveway was the final step in our garage/mudroom/patio makeover. It feels like a big accomplishment to have this project completely done. The south side of our house has had a huge transformation, and I love the result. Plus, clearing the snow this winter has been much easier.

Coop

The coop ended last year in pretty good shape (I have updates to share). It’s not done, but we’re closer and getting birds this spring seems possible. I’m very proud of how my plans are coming together and that I’ve done most of the work myself.

Vegetable garden

As you saw in my Home Goals 2024 mid-year report, I decided to let the vegetable garden go last year. It was the right choice for me at the time, and looking back I don’t regret crossing it off the list.

Clean-up inside

Last year I wrote that “anything will be progress.” So, on the goal of tweaking, organizing, purging our house, I can say that I made progress. Fully finishing Ellie’s room was a big step. There’s still a lot more to do, so I feel like I’m still in the middle of a game of dominoes. Fixing one space will fix another which will lead to the space after that (which will lead us to Home Goals 2025, so stay tuned).

Clean-up outside

Our chipper and rotary cutter were both in action last year, and I was able to maintain all of the areas I had cleaned up previously. I also cleaned up a few new areas around the coop, so we are mowing all the way around the barn for the first time since we moved to the farm. My other big clean up, both inside and out, was a large quantity of Matt’s stuff. This project fell into the not easy, not fun and not bloggable category. But now it also falls into the done category.

Personal goals

I also had some personal goals last year that were about some of the other things that are important in my life.

Walking: 469.5km (39km per month. The same as last year and a bit shy of this year’s goal of 42km per month–though I still don’t track on-farm field walks, which I do at least once a day with Cigo)
Monkey bars: I still do them every week.
Reading: 37 books (didn’t hit my goal of 50 books)
1,000 Hours Outside: 939.5 (close, but this is a challenge that even if you lose you win)
Family albums: I completed 2020 and 2024, so that leaves 2021 and 2022 to catch up on.
Rest: Still my hardest challenge. I’m more conscious of my need to rest and I feel like I’m doing a better job of listening to my body. Though I still need to go to bed earlier.

Looking back at 2024, I’m proud of what I accomplished. Everything I did set us up for what I want to do this year, and I’m really excited for what’s ahead for 2025. Stay tuned for Home Goals 2025 coming up.

Did you have any home goals last year? How did you do on projects around your house? What was your big accomplishment for the year?

The coop has a door

Posted on November 4, 2024 by Julia at Home on 129 Acres

The coop has reached another milestone. It has a door.

For a reminder, this spot in the barn foundation used to be a window. Part of the wall under the window collapsed in 2018, so anticipating the coop I had our mason reconstruct the wall into a door. He tacked some plywood over the opening, and that’s how it stayed for the past 6 years. Bananas that it’s been that long.

Now that the coop is finally on track, I needed a proper door. Especially now that new coop wall is up, I don’t have an easy way to get into this part of the barn.

I wanted to reuse the door of the old coop. The wood is amazing. This beautiful weathered grey. And huuuuuuge boards. Just two boards make the whole door. One is about 16 inches wide. The door was close to the size we needed and relatively sturdy. Plus you know I love the symbolism of using a piece of the old coop in the new one.

But after thinking it over (and lifting it in and out of the doorway multiple times), I decided it wasn’t close or sturdy enough. A lot of the nail holes have expanded over the years, so it has a wiggle that would have needed reinforcing. I also would have had to extend the height. All of that felt like it would take away from the character of the old door–which is what I loved.

The deciding factor was the hinges. From the wear patterns on the wood, the hinges have been on there for a long time. But they were crooked, and I didn’t feel like dealing with that on top of the other issues.

So I took some of the leftover siding and built a new door. (The old door will find a spot some day.)

I was a bit intimidated about framing the opening and building the door. Growing up with my Dad, a professional contractor, he had two types of projects that always required extra figuring: stairs and doors. So I had that in my mind as I was working.

I framed the opening and the door at the same time, so I made everything to the exact dimensions I wanted. It took me a couple of tries to figure out how I wanted to build the jamb, but now it is sturdy and plumb. I made the door bigger than the opening and then carefully cut it down–after measuring many more times than twice.

I installed the hinges so they’re square and when it came time to hang the door, everything went together smoothly.

Ellie selected the best spot for the handle and latch and she screwed them into place. Then she modeled the new door in action for photos. I’m glad I’ve been able to include her in so many parts of this project.

I also did a little more clean up around the outside. I had one spot covered with a tarp for most of the summer. This is my preferred method to kill the weeds and grass so that I can then see what’s lying on the ground.

As you can see below, the tarp revealed mostly rocks and sticks. But there were also 5 1/2 fence posts (one wrapped in wire), a hunk of metal and a length of wire fence. None of this I want to mow, so in a mystery area, clearing the weeds, picking up the mess and leveling the ground is my preferred technique.

I have now slid the tarp over to cover a new spot.

While I had my rake, shovel and tractor, I laid some patio slabs in front of the door to make a little landing area. I spread some dirt around the stones to hold them in place and even sprinkled some grass seed. I might be a little late on the seed, but I’m hoping to keep this spot from getting too muddy as I continue to work on the coop.

Every step on this project feels like another milestone and gives me more motivation to keep building. I’m very proud of the door. Proud of the coop. Proud of myself.