Yesterday we began Phase Three – working with the joists and other wood structures. But before we could do anything to the understructure, we had to remove the floor. Brent and I started pulling the nails one-by-one. It was slow and tedious. Then Karl came along and showed us a pry-the-board technique. It was WAY faster. We were done with the floor removal quickly.
Yay mechanical advantage!
This is the most dramatic change to the look of the porch so far. I will now show three befores and afters.
Front Before
Front After
Side Before
Side After
Top Before
Top After
We planned for a little while, then went out to get some lumber for various repairs and reinforcements we would be doing. Karl came over in the evening, and we switched into high gear. Karl was a whirlwind. Brent and I helped where we could. We worked past dark and got a LOT done. Whew! And yay!
I held the flashlight. It was a very important job.
Wow! Such progress! Karl is a wise, wise man. For a minute I was regretting not sending along a cool nail-pulling tool Lloyd’s dad gave me, but I see Karl’s method outshines it anyway. You got so much done!
It’s so cool seeing beneath the porch, too. It would be tempting to look for buried treasure, but I know you guys are on a timeline. Have a great Thursday!
Brent’s going to end up doing his by himself, isn’t he?
It’s all so awesome!
What a big deal! Wow at all the hard work. Maybe you could leave a time capsule!
You didn’t find any, say, decomposing matter under your porch, did ya’? I only ask because, apparently due to tag team felines at our house, I spent the cooler part of this morning sweeping and bagging the carcass of a robin and another of a starling out of the basement stairwell. There was, amazingly, no odor…but they were pretty far gone/dried out, so perhaps all the “good stuff” has already decomposed. (You go away for a week on vacation and look what the children do while you’re gone – I thought we’d raised ’em better. At least clean up after yourself, boys!) Anyway, I support the “find buried treasure” idea over all that any day. Congratulations on your major achievement – and thank you, Neighbor Karl, for throwing in with it all!