March 8, 2011

Porch Door: Before, After, & In-Between

The pre-kitchen work on the porch has commenced.

Before:

Old porch door

After:

New porch door

In-Between:

This side of the house gets some heavy rain 

After taking off the old porch door and tearing out the frame, we discovered that the studs and sill on that wall were rotted. We also got a better peek at what the vinyl siding is covering up.

This will give the porch a whole new look

That meant the entire short wall to the left of the door had to be torn out.

At least there's some insulation

Because of the way that part of the porch was constructed, some of the siding on the inside porch wall had to be removed. This is where the dryer used to be and where we will put the new kitchen door, so the siding had to come down anyway. What's interesting, is the blown-in insulation. It was blown in from the attic, and there are evidently a lot of places it couldn't fill.

Framing out the new wall

We decided to sacrifice the window and rebuild it as a solid wall. The window was a flimsy aluminum storm type, and the light it offered wasn't really necessary.

Ready to install the new door

Rather than make another trip to the lumber shop, we used some of the 9/16" OSB we'd already bought for the porch floor. Dan had some heavy duty tarp type plastic he'd found blown into the yard, which we used to cover the raw wood. Eventually we will have to make a decision about the siding. From tearing in to the kitchen, we know the siding under the corner kitchen window (just to the left of the above photo) is also rotted out.

From the inside, the new door looks like this...

New porch door, inside shot

The only other thing we plan to do is to add a screen door on the outside.

We are both pleased with the look of the new door. Even though we'll probably have to live with a tar paper look on the outside for awhile, the old house is finally starting to show some TLC on the exterior too.

23 comments:

Dani said...

Love, love, love the new door. Almost like a facelift for that side of the house :-)

And clever you - you put in a stable door - we have one too, and it helps to keep out any snakes, as well as being a source of air when it's too windy to have the complete door open.

Renee Nefe said...

I'm so glad you're able to fix all the surprises you're running into with your house...can you imagine what a mess it would be if you were happy to live with it as is?

Don't forget the kitty door.

Lynda said...

Awesome door. With all the glass in the door you should get plenty of light...very nice.

Donna said...

Love the new door a perfect choice. I always wanted one of those doors they also seemed so appropriate for a country home.

Phoebe said...

Leigh, I can totally sympathize about the domino effect every project seems to have. We went through the same thing. That siding can hide a lot more than one would think!
The new door looks great. I love new doors, they make everything feel so much better even if what's around it still needs work.

The Mom said...

It's really looking good. Things are never as easy as they appear!

Leigh said...

Dani, confession. It looks like one, but actually it's a one piece door. Hopefully the screen door will serve the same purpose!

Renee, we hope so! It's hard to believe that previous owners would let it deteriorate so. Simply to paint would have preserved so much!

Kitty door is still in the plans. In fact, DH and I were just discussing that yesterday. :)

Lynda, I love light. I can't stand having a room, any room, with no windows! We plan to put the same type of door in the kitchen too.

Donna, thanks! I agree about the styling. It's one of the reasons I liked this door.

Phoebe, we're finally learning to count on that!Can't help but wonder though, how many "surprises" we'll find when we finally get started on the kitchen.

Heather, thanks! And ain't that the truth.

Nellie from Beyond My Garden said...

The new door is MUCH better. You are doing a lot of work but country living is worth it, right? I'm glad I've found your blog. I look forward to browsing through some past posts.
nellie

Jane @ Hard Work Homestead said...

Looking good! It looks like things are really moving along. Love the door.

Anonymous said...

What a difference! You must be happy to see the beginning of so many great improvements. I am still amazed at how slack house builders used to be be about insulation - seems such a basic thing.

Anonymous said...

The door will give you some light too! I can now see how certain renovation jobs can quickly become bigger ones, like your rotted stud for example. I guess you always have to be prepared for extras, good lesson! :) Hope it doesn't cost you an arm and a leg though.

Leigh said...

Nellie, welcome! Thank you for your kind words. I was delighted to discover your blog too.

Jane, seeing something completed is such a boost! It's both satisfying and motivating. And this is the first thing we've done to improve the outside of the house.

Evelyn, I wonder about that too. Actually, there are a number of things that were done with the construction of this house that we shake our heads at. Of course, things might have been different in the 1920s.

Rain, we've come to realize that's our new normal, LOL That little wall is the same as the one under the kitchen window, so we suspect a lot of structural damage will be found once we tear into that. (sigh). Cost is a big concern of course. Since this is a pay as we go project, unexpected things like that slow us down considerably.

DebbieB said...

I love it! Great that Dan is able to repurpose things like the flooring and the 'found' plastic. You've already increased the warmth of your home, just by getting rid of the old window and door and changing out that wall. It's coming along!

My DH did some electrical and some wall repair this weekend - perhaps spring fever?

luckybunny said...

It looks really good!

Theresa said...

The new door looks great and what a job. Hanging doors is never pleasant and that was a lot of work before you could get to that point. Well, at least the rot wasn't a total surprise, let's hope there are no more surprises waiting in the wings on the remodel. I'd say you've had plenty enough! :)

Mama Pea said...

What good taste you have in doors! We're using exactly the same one(s) in a couple of spots in our remodeling! You wouldn't think something as basic as a door would make such a difference in appearance but it sure does.

Woody said...

It can be downright befuddling what can be found covered up by siding. The great part about doing a job yourself is that you can make it right before you cover things back up. Your work loooks great.

Leigh said...

Debbie, sounds like you have a motivated DH too! We're really happy with the new door, and with the way things are turning out.

Luckybunny, thanks!

Theresa, we learned that first hand and that's a fact. All I can say is, it's a good thing that door is to an unheated porch!

Mama Pea, great minds think alike! It's a great door, isn't it. I agree at how much difference something as simple as a door makes.

Woody, the credit for that goes to Dan. About all I do is hand him nails and go fetch what he needs. Honestly, we're amazed at some of the things we find tucked away where no one can see. And it's true, by doing our own repairs we can make sure the job is done correctly!

Tina T-P said...

That is EXACTLY what our back door looks like - I love being able to see out! The only difference is ours has a cat door in it :-) T.

Benita said...

One nice thing about you rblog is all the pictures you are taking along the way of fixing up your house. When it's all done, you can go back and check out where you started - and be amazed!

Anonymous said...

love the new door, it's really pretty. isn't it amazing how something so simple can make your day? week? etc. when we put a new door on this old vegas house we are re-doing i was so happy i cried. i love your old house, you guys are doing great.

Leigh said...

Tina, it's a great door style, isn't it? We're putting in a cat door too, but not in the door, in the wall!

Benita, when we look back at our pictures, we're amazed at the progress. In fact, I have my screensaver set for a slideshow of my photo folder. It has all my pix and I love looking at them.

Anonymous, thanks! It's true about something as simple as a door. It's made a huge difference both in looks and personal enjoyment.

Robin said...

Face lift indeed. The new improvements looks very nice.