anyway, back to the porch. we have a 18 X 8ft deck/step on the side of our house. if it was enclosed, it would make a great addition to our tiny house. right now, when you walk into our house, you enter directly into the middle of our cramped, tiny kitchen! if we enclose the deck, it would provide us with a mudroom as well as a place to start our seeds in the spring. here's a pic:
notice all of the trellising? that was the first to go.
some of the boards on the porch were rotten and needed to be replaced.
other spots needed some quick re-enforcement. several spots on the floor had to be jacked up as well.
then we did some framing all around the porch.
and framed two doors to put one in at each end. wait until you see what we are planning to do for the rest. it's going to be pretty interesting and we are doing it on the cheap which is always a good thing!
i'll be stopping by everyone's blogs and catching up on your posts this afternoon.
Your birds are mad at you! All that work, and you still can't remember to put a little food in their feeder! LOL
ReplyDelete"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them".
All very well and good, but they obviously had not been fussed at by a bird waiting at an empty feeder.
Smart and practical, I like it.
ReplyDeleteI have lamented many times in the past on my blog of how the covered porch is becoming a relic of the past. So many houses are going with exposed decks that are always too hot, too cold, too buggy and just lack functionality. Any house that I build in the future will have a large covered porch.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! I can't wait to see part 2. I am so impressed with how you are slowly and systematically transforming this to your Manor!
ReplyDeletexoxox
Jennifer
Good project, Are you going to use windows or glass to close it in? If you get a roof on it you could staple clear plastic around as a temporary 'green house' in the spring, granted it might look tacky but it would function for a little while.
ReplyDeleteI am still waiting on the WT you promised.
ReplyDeleteWell now, you are at the early stage here to be planning ahead. This is the business I worked for 35 years so a couple tips.
ReplyDeleteSomeone near you...Halifax if necessary...does retrofit windows. Every company that does ends up with new windows that did not work for some reason. One company I worked for simply gave them away. Others sell for cost. Check it out, a few phone calls could be profitable.
Size is not important at this stage. Buy what you can find and frame to fit.
Next, while you are at this pull those 2 by "headers" and put in one of correct dimensions. Make an inspector's day.
Lastly, over the years I've used everything known to man for roofing. Do consider a metal roof. They last forever and are cost effective.
Winston
Porches excite me. Enclosing them drives me crazy for them. How wonderful you are getting a porch that will work for you. I hope you consider leaving a bit of space for sitting with a couple of comfortable chairs and a table of some sort. That way, you can extend your "outdoor" time. I have a link somewhere that shows all the exterior walls as storm doors (glass) The people just used them like you would a window, installing just the framed glass. I don't know how far apart the framing things are, but it worked for them. I have several glass doors that I am saving for a greenhouse some day. They would be better off at your house right now. It cannot be more than 2000 miles to your house!
ReplyDeleteRussel - we have bird feeders all over our yard. we hung that one on the porch but the birds won't go there because the cats sit on the ledge. we are moving that feeder to another location out in the backyard. we have tons of birds that come here - we have "the mafia", which is 16-20 bluejays who come and wake us every morning to be fed, we have chicadees, crows, goldfinches, red finches, junkos and the occasional bald eagle. in the summer the yard is full of hummingbirds.
ReplyDeletewe love birds and feed them everyday.
Stephen - wait until you see the cheapo way we are enclosing it - teehee!
Ed - i am with you on the enclosed porch thing. where i grew up everyone had an enclosed porch that ran the length of the house.
Jennifer - thanks so much. we have spent the last year "clooging" stuff together just to make it work for us. we have full intentions of re-doing most of the clooges as time and resources become available.
Duke - your sense of smell is astounding! you are all over what we plan to do - and yes - it will be tacky!!!
MDR - just a few more days buddy and then we will unveil the WT porch. i am telling you - it is going to make you blush, buddy!
Winston - we currently have about 20 windows salvaged from other people's garbage. and there are companies here that do the retrofit thing, as well as people selling windows on kajiji for real cheap. we intend to build a ginormic greenhouse with those windows. as for doing things to spec, we fully intend to - LATER. for this year and some of next year, we are simply clooging.
PracticalP - we will definitely leave some room for some of our patio furniture to sit out and be "outside" and inside all at the same time in order to enjoy the outdoors. we are planning to either use half of the porch as a greenhouse, or build a greenhouse somewhere else out of the windows that we have collected. for now, enclosing the porch to me is getting all of the boots and shoes and scarfs and mitts and workclothes OUT of the kitchen.
thanks everyone for stopping by!
I didn't mean to make it sound bad, but I guess great minds think alike.
ReplyDeleteDuke - it's true that great minds do think alike! we plan to to a proper porch enclosure next fall. but for this winter and spring we are doing it on the cheap! and i am pretty sure it is going to be saddest-looking, tacky, little porch known to man. but i know that i will love it!
ReplyDeletethanks for stopping back in buddy!
your friend,
kymber
I thought you were swallowed up by your monster bed, and we would come up and find your body's inside.
ReplyDeleteJust be safe working outside please..;)
Remember the recent windstorm? Be sure you use tie-straps, if you haven't already. (I can't help myself; I'm such a know-it-all!)
ReplyDeleteIt needs a smurf theme wind chime I think. You are making progress... Looks good!!!
ReplyDeletenice! that will come in handy for sure!
ReplyDeleteAha! Good for you. I have windows and doors, all intended for a greenhouse. Probably no one will ever make it for me unless I come across a small fortune. I think I will strap all the doors onto the hens' cage to make it warmer for them. I know it will bake them in the summer, but they can be removed then. I am just going to use wire to hold them against the pen. Tacky or not, if it works, that's all that counts.
ReplyDeleteOK, I'm not going to go to the smurf thing. And you need a HUGE wind chime. And add a little more space to your porch. You never know who might want to come visit.(with some Dinnty Moore Stew with beans.)
ReplyDeleteLooking good! Totally jealous here! I always wanted a screened in porch.
ReplyDeleteLooks great so far! Can't wait for our mudroom to be used year round :)
ReplyDeleteYou work so hard on your home! I can't wait to see the next stage. Are you both self taught, or have you had training? I'd love to do more stuff in our home but lack the knowledge.
ReplyDeleteRob buddy - thanks for the concern! but the monster bed is our friend - bahahaha! we try to be very safety conscious when we are out doing stuff! but it never hurts to be reminded!
ReplyDeleteMuddy - i think we have had 3 or 4 snows so far this winter but none of it stays on the ground! we had some tiny styrofoam-ball kind of snow yesterday but it's gone now! there will be plenty of room for a hammock for you - on the porch and down at the river! your sista from anotha mista!
Mr. Smythe - we always appreciate your suggestions and advice - please always keep it coming! we are using a concept similar to tie-straps - you'll see what we mean in upcoming posts.
PioneerP - i will find a smurf windchime just for you!
egb - thanks - you know how many jobs always need doing when you are out in the middle of nowhere!
PracticalP - before we left the city jambaloney had salvaged about 50 windows and doors - all to build a greenhouse! we left them with the young couple who bought our house as they were very interested in building a greenhouse too. jambaloney has gotten about 20 windows from around here - but we are sure that we can get more in the spring/summer. and you are correct - tacky or not, if it works that's all that matters!
Flier - you and Kathi are always welcome for a visit! but you will be searched upon arrival and all Dinty Moore stew with beans will be confiscated - and burned!!! bahahahah!
Wendy - we won't be "screening" it so much as "enclosing" it - you'll see what i mean in the next few posts. and it is going to look pretty funny!
Donna - i hear you! your kitchen is coming along fabulously - our porch will look nothing like your kitchen!
Joey - we kind of know a little and then wing the rest. jambaloney did a lot of renovation with his step-dad growing up - so he knows quite a bit and we do have a lot of tools that make doing stuff on your own a lot easier. as for me - i have been watching home improvement shows for years - i love them! and it's amazing how much you can learn simply from watching the telly! (i said telly in my best British accent - bahahah!)
thanks everyone. you all come by and are always so supportive in your comments - it really means a lot to both of us!
Ha ha, is telly a Brit word then? :D
ReplyDeleteJoey - i thought all Brits called televisions "the telly"?!?!? seriously! i have had a few British friends and that's what they call it!
ReplyDeleteyour friend,
kymber