So here's where we left off last time.
- How to fasten the wood flooring to the concrete
- The levelness gap between the old porch and the new. The old porch slopes away from the house, while the new floor does not.
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| Picture from last post. |
Then there were questions about the porch roof posts and the downspout.
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| Photo from January 2020, before Dan replaced the knee braces. |
The little roof is narrow and only there to keep the rain off your head when opening the back door. The posts sit on each edge of the concrete porch. Since we're extending the porch to the house, we wondered about the farthest post. It might be in the way; something to have to walk around when the new porch is finished. Both porch corners have a knee braces on the ends, so Dan wasn't sure we needed both posts.
The remaining center post would have to be shortened because the floor will be raised by the thickness of the boards. Another detail to tend to.
I have no idea if that description makes sense, but I think the pictures explain it better than me!
The shims took several fittings and trimmings for snug placement. Once he was satisfied, Dan glued them in place with adhesive, weighted them with bricks, and let sit until the next day.
To install the boards, he predrilled holes with a concrete drill bit.
So here it as at the moment, with a new porch post.
The other item in question was the downspout.
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| Photo from when we were just getting started. |
To leave it he would have to cut the floor to accommodate it and he wasn't sure he wanted to do that. And then there was the idea of crawling around under the porch if the downspout needed maintenance. Instead, Dan decided he would move it to the other side of the porch roof where it can drain into the driveway.
Decisions made, it was time to get to work. Here's what Dan did to install the wood boards over the old concrete porch. He made tapered shims.
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| Violet |
To fill in the space where the first concrete step made a hole, he fitted the board in the space as a joist with a long tapered end.
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| Gracie and Violet are playing ambush-and-pounce. That's Gracie on the concrete, while Violet is below, hiding under the board floor. |
The shims took several fittings and trimmings for snug placement. Once he was satisfied, Dan glued them in place with adhesive, weighted them with bricks, and let sit until the next day.
Concrete screws were used to secure the boards in place.
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| Adhesive flashing along the edge of the exterior wall. |
So here it as at the moment, with a new porch post.
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| The new porch floor is very solid underfoot. |
Cat trivia: One feature you might have noticed is our kitty door. I have to mention an interesting historical tidbit I picked up while listening to Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery on audiobook. He spent his early childhood as a slave on a plantation in Virginia. He noted that every house, from mansion to shack, every house had a cat door. Kitty doors are nothing new.
Porch railing is next.
That sounds like a complicated project, but it's looking great! Very interesting, about the kitty doors.
ReplyDeleteLaurie, I agree about complicated. Fortunately, Dan's mind works in a way that figures things out!
DeleteIt looks just beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYes, I noticed the cat door and was going to ask if that was what that was before I finished reading!!
I've lost track Leigh, but do you not still have an older cat? and how does it put up with the shenanigans of the kittens?
Rosalea, we still have four cats. But we lost Riley (16 years and not in good health) and Sam (13 years and just disappeared.) So our two oldest cats are Katy (13) and Meowy (11). The kittens were the strays I've recently blogged about. We weren't looking for replacement cats, but here they are.
DeleteMeowy is none too happy with them, but Katy is tolerant, which is a surprise because she's never been tolerant of Meowy or Sam. She expects them to mind their manners, however, and treat their kitty elders with respect.
Another well done post and Dan certainly knows his stuff. One silly (perhaps) question....what keeps non-kitties from using the kitty door?
ReplyDeleteNylon12, keeping non-kitties from using the kitty door can be a problem! Multiple videos on youtube attest to this.
DeleteYears ago we had it open both in and out, but the cats would bring their live game into the house to play hunt-and-catch. I've had them bring in chipmunks, birds, and young rabbits. At that point we switched to out only.
This particular kitty door has a locking mechanism that can open both ways, one way only, or locked. With the kittens, it's both ways for now. I lock it at night so they have to stay in.
What a blessing it is having a handy man around. Our home has one too! It's coming right along.
ReplyDeleteDaisy, it's very satisfying to be able to do your own repairs and work. It saves a lot of money, but also, we can have things the way we like them. :)
DeleteIt will be interesting to see how well the shims hold up. I've never had good luck with modern treated wood holding up for long periods of time when sitting on wet concrete. Hopefully your treated wood is better than ours. I suppose whatever adhesive Dan used is likely waterproof and will keep the shims from direct contact which will help.
ReplyDeleteEd, I guess time will tell. The shims did get a good coating of waterproof adhesive underneath, and most of it is protected by the porch roof. Hopefully it will last a long, long time.
DeleteWow, it looks sooooo good. I ca't wait to see the finish! I want a little cat door in my place when I move!
ReplyDeleteBarbara, thanks! Cat doors are very convenient. Just make sure you get the kind that you can set the direction (or not). Being able to enter the house can lead to unwelcome visitors. :)
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