Final Front Changes

In the 1970s we decided to take out the wall that was on the left side when you walked in our front door. We put up an old barn beam that came from a barn my brother Paul had torn down on his Mother in laws farm. Part of the beam was placed under the Family room floor to support our wood burning stove that was installed in 1978. To hod up the old beam we installed two 4x4s about 8' long. The 4x4s were cased in 1x6 pine.

Move ahead 33 years and Judy said I always wanted to finish this off with some fancier wood work. Part of the reason for this is to add more support to the upstairs floor.So with me over the broken heel and finally retired we began working on the big finish. AS with all projects we get into that require new wood picking it out is one of the hardest jobs. We do not want warped twisted bent or overly knotted wood. We spend hours in lumber yards picking through piles of wood. We do leave it neat when we leave .

Judy is in charge of layout. I am very good at running the power equipment but Judy has the plans in mind as to how it should go together. We cut the carpet and then built a regular wall frame. The frame was anchored into the original wall and the 4x4	Wheelers Almost Fine Furniture is a name we use to say "We did it" It is not perfect as there is bound to be a flaw somewhere. We feel if you make 1 mistake it will drive you crazy so if you have a few you won't even remember them all. We do "Our best" and use the knowledge and Wisdom God has given us to achieve what we want in our home and or yard.	The front half of the project had it's own issues. It was more difficult as we had to accommodate a water heater mounted on the outer wall. As well in the front wall is one of six shut offs to control the flow of water through the heating system. As with the first part we had to build a solid wall structure held in place with bracing to the front wall above the heater.
When you walk in our front door along the front wall is a new shelf area. Judy used her talent with stains and finishes to help the new work match the wood work that has been there since the mid seventies	This shot is what is seen when you walk in and look toward the kitchen. It is what you walk by on the way. The decorating pieces were added by Judy and they do a great job of making it look just right. If you look near the top of the pillar you see some extra design trim. There are sixteen pieces of wood to make up that trim and I have to say it required a lot of walking back and forth to the garage to get each piece "just " right.	When you decide to go and exit the front door from the kitchen this is what you see. The wall paper around the front door is the same through the house. Judy did an excellent job matching the new finish with the old wood that we installed in the 70s.
The end is always so nice to see! We sit and just look and try to see how did "we" do this. We believe God guides us. Judy has the talent to design the work. I have the talent to keep on working until it is just what we want to see. I believe we all have wisdom to do what God calls us to. The important part is do we have to desire and knowledge to use the wisdom we have. When the two come together it can be so very exciting