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Category: Repairing the Porch (Page 3 of 5)

Repairing the Porch, Day Nine

This is the week I’m supposed to get back to work on the porch. I have a few more things to do before the boards can get screwed down.

The first order of business was straightening a joist. One of the old joists had a serious curve in it. In order to straighten it, I needed to put blocks of wood between several joists, so there was a super-block pushing against the warped joist.

Karl lent me a small jack, I jacked the joist straight, and put the final block of wood in. Success! The joist was straightened!

The curved joist was the one against the house.

The curved joist was the one against the house.

The second order of business was to get going on the railings. The posts for the railings will be attached to the undercarriage of the porch, and the floor boards will be cut around them, so I have to get those posts installed.

I have decided to go with Trex railings. They are synthetic, so they don’t have to be painted and they will last a long time. They are also available at Home Depot, which is nice. I could go and see them in person. The posts were easy to find, but the railings were a little confusing. Trex makes three lines of railing. I decided I like the look of the “Transcend” line, but they weren’t at home depot. I will have to special-order them.

Last night I did a lot of research and calculations. These railings are going to be expensive.

Repairing the Porch, Day Eight

After I went to church yesterday, I stayed to work at church a little while. I am the Storyteller in VBS this year. I am excited about it! The first order of business is to make my storytelling room look like a cave. I got a good start, then headed out for some supplies. I’ll finish decorating this morning. VBS starts at 9am, so I have lots of time.

When I got home, Karl and I talked about the next step. On Saturday, we had already determined how to cut the 45 degree joints and set them with some temporary screws.

Beautiful!

Beautiful!

The tricky thing is that the whole porch slopes away from the house to shed water. That means the 45 degree cuts also have to have a small undercut to them so the boards don’t form a ridge when pressed together. Brent and Karl and I figured out how to do those cuts on Saturday. Yesterday, Denis and I reproduced the cutting method and cut the rest of the joint boards.

Looking nice!

Looking nice!

We only had to do a couple more straight cuts to have enough boards to dry-fit the rest of the porch, so we did it. Then we cleaned up the work area and put all the tools away. After we leaned the old railings in place, and the porch almost looked normal.

I don't have the new railings yet.

I don’t have the new railings yet.

Karl and I are taking a day off today. I’ll be able to use the extra time to prep for VBS.

Repairing the Porch, Day Seven

Brent and I stayed up really late on Friday night, so we had a hard time getting up yesterday. Also, I think the week of hard labor was catching up with us. By the time we got out to the porch, it was already HOT. We chatted with Karl about how the flooring boards might be laid out. It’s a precise process, so you have to take your time. We only got a few things done before it was time for Brent to go to the airport.

At the airport, Brent and I realized we hadn’t taken a beard selfie yet. Both of us have been letting our beards grow while we worked. Brent had a head start, but his is longer than it’s ever been. Mine was only starting to fill in, and I hadn’t done any grooming, so it was just wild face hair. We took a quick picture as I dropped Brent off.

I have more white hairs than the last time I grew out my beard.

I have more white hairs than the last time I grew out my beard.

When I got home, I slept for an hour, then chatted with Karl a little bit. We agreed to meet later when it was cooler.

We got the first boards in place, and started spacing other boards out next to them. We have a question about the size of screws the company uses, and a question about screw spacing. There is some conflicting information. I’ll need to call them tomorrow. In the meantime, we’ve been tacking the boards down with smaller screws that we’ll take out later.

So exciting!

So exciting!

Repairing the Porch, Day Six

Phase Three is complete! Woo hoo! The joists are up and reinforced and solid. They will unquestionably support the new porch floor. I’m so happy! When we first pulled off the old boards, I was worried because they looked kind of rough. As it turns out, they are mostly really solid. There was a little rot in some places, but it was easily addressed and reinforced. Plus, we’ve put in a whole new set of joists that the new floor will be attached to.

It was careful work.  The joists had to be centered and flush with the surrounding joists.

It was careful work. The joists had to be centered and flush with the surrounding joists.

For lunch, we went to Subway. Brent discovered an amazing potato chip. I told him that on a less-eventful day, that would totally be a Bradaptation post. He said I should take a picture of it anyway.

It's perfectly round!

It’s perfectly round!

As we continued to work into the afternoon, I got a text from Beth. She sent me her current view:

Looks pretty nice

Looks pretty nice

She is in Belize making presentations to Belizean teachers. Yesterday was her “fun day”. Yay! I sent a picture to Beth of my view:

Less glamorous, but very interesting.

Less glamorous, but very interesting.

I have really enjoyed this porch project. I have learned a TON of stuff, and found out how little I really know about construction. I would see a problem, and think I could just fix it by screwing this one thing to another thing, but then Karl would show us how to really do it, and it would be amazing.

One thing we’ve all had a laugh about is the diagonal joist at the corner of my porch. It has a lot of splices in it. We have made it the most solid thing on the whole porch, and I have every confidence it will outlast everything else, but it’s still funny. Behold Frankenjoist:

Ugly and strong.

Ugly and strong.

Karl has put wood putty across the top to strengthen and waterproof it, so it’s hard to see all the splices. Here is a closeup:

Six boards, plus a shim.

Six boards, plus a shim.

Today we will begin putting the flooring down. Brent can only work until 1pm, so we’re really racing against the clock now.

Repairing the Porch, Day Five

For a long time, I have fantasized about having a rental dumpster at my house. I wanted to just go through my house looking for trash and throw it all in that dumpster. Maybe I would even throw things in the dumpster that WEREN’T trash. I would just clean out my house. It would be awesome!

Yesterday, my fantasy came true. My porch repair has generated enough trash that a dumpster rental was warranted. I decided to pay a little more and get a dumpster that was bigger than I needed, and I’d be able to throw extra things in as well. Woo hoo!

Lots of lumber and bushes.

Lots of lumber and bushes.

All the trash is gone, and there is STILL room!  Yay!

All the trash is gone, and there is STILL room! Yay!

While I was loading the dumpster with various household items, Brent was building a knee wall. A knee wall, as I learned recently, is a wall that is around the height of your knees. This particular knee wall is giving extra support to my porch so that, as Karl says, I can have a big party on my porch. Ha!

It's beautiful!

It’s beautiful!

The flooring requires joists that are at least 16 inches on center. My existing joists are 24 inches on center. We decided to double the number of joists and make them 12 inches on center. Karl helped us make some careful and precise calculations and to hang some guide-strings. Brent and I hung some joists, and then we cut some floor boards to do a dry fit. It was so exciting! We got a glimpse of the final product!

Spaces that are too wide.

Spaces that are too wide.

Actual floor boards!  Woo hoo!

Actual floor boards! Woo hoo!

Today we’ll do some more joist work, and hopefully get to securing the floor pieces. Brent leaves tomorrow afternoon, so the clock is ticking…

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