I think I’ve mentioned before that the DW and I keep a list of improvements/additions we’d like to make to the house and around the acreage. Some of them are fairly straight forward and are fairly major projects. There are days where it seems the list is getting endlessly longer instead of shorter, but we’re happy with the progress we’re making. Over the last couple weeks, the DW and I took another hard look at the list and made a list of what we wanted to accomplish this year – our 2014 Home Improvement Goals – you might say.

1) Insulate the Attic: This was at the top of the list prior to the recent cold snap and all the prerequisite projects keeping us from adding insulation to the attic are now complete. It’s no secret that most old houses don’t have enough insulation and our house is no exception. The only reason it’s not done already is because to do it right we need to hire a contractor to spray foam insulation against the attic ceiling. Unfortunately, that’s one project that I can’t do. The insulation will be the next step in finishing the attic for a family room somewhere down the road.

2) New Electrical Service: Like the insulation, wiring in an old house can be a little shady as well. And just like the insulation, this is also a project where I’m at the mercy of someone else – albeit my brother’s the electrician. I have no problem with outlets, lighting, new wiring, switches – even three way switches, but when it comes to replacing the entire box I’ll happily just assist. While most of the wiring is in decent shape, the box is an old style box still using fuses that we want to replace with a proper breaker box. It will give us a chance to spread out the electrical load appropriately. At that time, we’ll also replace the main service wire bringing electricity into the house.

3) Main Floor Flooring: When we tore up the carpeting in what’s now the dining room to find the hardwood flooring, the DW and I agreed we wanted to work on refinishing it soon. The floor runs into the kiddos toy room, so while we’re at it we may do both rooms at once. Once we’re finished making the dusty mess that always comes with refinishing hardwood, the stretch goal is to replace the living room carpet as well… we’ll see.

4) Refinish the Main Floor Trim: You’ll either love the idea or hate it, but the DW and I decided to trim the house in white – it actually already started with the work we did in the kitchen. The house still has about 85% of the original trim, but is missing some key pieces in places. The 85% is in 3 different shades of brown and the finish on some of it has broke down to an “alligator” finish. I can recreate most of what’s missing, but getting all of the colors to match would be a nightmare. Plus, the DW and I simply like the white trimmed farm house look – convenient, right?

5) Finish Fencing Off the Pasture!

6) Remove Old Trees and Plant New: The tree issue is still lingering from last year. The remaining trees should come down based on age and condition. Though that’s the hard work, it’s still the easy part. What’s difficult – at least for the DW and I to agree on – is what to plant and where to plant it. For shade trees, the list is fairly short: red oak, sugar maple, sunset maple, or maybe hickory. From there, it’s a question of where to put them so they’re out of the way of future plans. (There’s numerous other projects like this one that don’t require much capital or time invested to complete that we want to accomplish as well this year that we didn’t bother to list. This is the only one that will require extensive forethought so not to mess up.)

So there it is, our six major home improvement goals for the year – all subject to change based on a hundred different things that could come up between right now and the end of the year.