Repairing Our Reputation – Day 1

First of all, let me say that I have a wonderful brother. I have two, but one lives closer and has helped more in the Cape of Dreams and through many moves. He can be seen here helping me remove paneling and two layers of wallpaper from my living and dining room four years ago, long before I started this blog. I do pay him, so it is not slave labor.

You may remember that back in October, I wrote about the rotting beams on our back porch in the post One Failure and a Few Successes. Things looked really bad back there, and I was afraid that our neighbors would hate us with the plastic and duct tape fix that we rigged. By the time we got back to this project a couple of weeks ago, the plastic was hanging off and it looked even worse, but the demolition  had begun before I had a chance to take a picture.

That is where my brother came in to help. He has worked in construction for over a decade, so he has the know-how and tools that Douglas and I lack. We really could not have done this without the Sawzall Reciprocating Saw. Now Douglas really wants one, and no, I was not paid to say this; I wish I had been!

Justin did most of the work on the ladder.

Douglas was his assistant and ladder holder.

I was the official photographer of the project. I did not do as well as I would have liked. We were blessed with beautiful weather that weekend, but it was still chilly to be standing outside holding a camera. I also had things that I needed to do in the house. like installing the tip out trays in front of the kitchen sink. I am glad that I missed the part where both of them were standing on the porch railing and it broke. Luckily, they are both part cat and landed on their feet.

That meant an additional trip to the lumber yard to buy a piece for the railing.

The first part of this project involved destruction, as is often the case with construction projects. We had to get rid of all of the rotting wood.

As the removal progressed we realized that the boards were not only rotting in front corner, but also where the porch connected to the house.

After the demolition was complete, they started replacing the rotted boards with treated lumber that will withstand the elements. The top pieces were particularly challenging because they could not nail into the roof. We had a new roof put on in November 2012, and we did not want to put holes in it. Justin used a lot of PL Premium Construction Adhesive to adhere everything well.

Because the demolition took a lot longer than they originally planned, it started to get dark before they finished. Is that not how it always happens, or are we the only ones that totally underestimate the length of projects?This was the last piece that was put in before they called it a night.

Check back in on Friday to see day two of the porch renovation. Wednesday is the day for the kitchen update, but I have something else even more exciting to discuss with you this week. I cannot wait to share!

Happy Homemaking!