I've mentioned in some previous threads a desire to do more with a pergola built by the previous owner of my home. It appears my best course of action is to tear the structure down.
How about enclosing my covered front porch? Here are some pics:
Some neighbors have enclosed their porches with screens. Others have fully enclosed this space and have it heated.
Here is what I'd like to do:
I've never done a job like this, but I think it is doable. What would be my first step? Framing, I assume. Would I use 2 X 4s? Any help is appreciated! Thanks for taking the time to look!
Joe! I love it - it looks great and inviting. At my house - I wish I had one so I could enjoy the snow or storms without being in it! Sometimes summer is the only time that you can use an open porch. I love your door - that's classy.
You sound like how I am sometimes: If I have to go back and redo something I try to do it when hubby's not home - like when I changed the paint color in the kitchen or added in more joists to the deck because I worried that I spaced them too far apart.
Still have a bunch of work to do to make the landscaping look better. And I also have some finishing work to do on the inside of the screened porch. I chip away at it here and there. Money is tight right now, espcially with a trip to Disney on the horizon. I lost the vote on that 3-1
Though finished, one of the big issues I am going to face is going to be maintaining the screens, especially since, as the project progressed, I ended up improvising a bit, not liking the way the ScreenTight kit looked.
The picture below shows that in order to replace the screen I am going to have to remove some of the molding, which is doable but more hassle than I would prefer. I am considering building screens that I can easily remove to repair, tighten when necessary. These screens are large, so that may be a factor. They are roughly 5' X 4 ', or something close to that.
this is just an idea.. but you could use magnetic tape around the screen window frame (sticky on one side, magnetic on the other). on the window frame you install some flat stock 1/16" thick steel to give the magnet something to grab on to. then you just lift the screen into place and SNAP it is held there. easy to remove at any time.
On screens that size you may want to consider adding chicken wire. I worked this out after my dog kept shoving her paw through the screens! Remove the screens and staple up chicken wire first, then overlay the screens on top of the chicken wire. You can't really see the chicken wire from a distance, only when you get up close, but it adds a lot of strength and cuts the maintenance down quite a bit on the screens.
It's been almost 5 years. Porch still looks good, but I really underestimated how having to see even little mistakes I made would drive me nuts. Also concerned that as times goes on it will start to look less good. Moving forward biggest maintenance issue will be the screens. Up to this point haven't had to replace any but the door.
New siding soon. Going to tear the screened porch down. And honestly, as much as I enjoyed doing it and as good as it still looks from the street, I am glad it is coming down. Enough evidence, especially on the inside, that a novice did it, that it drives me nuts. Was a fun project! Cost me a lot more time than money. And I ended up with a nice used contractor style table saw.
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