chuckography

A Project to DIY for....

Yes, Do It Yourself (DIY) projects are indeed booming here as the pandemic continues.

However, when you realize you may be in over your head, make sure you know someone who can put on a mask, wash their hands
and come over to help you reach your goals.

When the kitchen free-standing Island cabinet arrived, I was surprised it came in three boxes on my front porch. Hmmm, I had assumed "free shipping and a completed item" was what I had ordered.

Oh well, that is past history now. There it sits in my kitchen, a new countertop to place things on, two drawers, and storage that  I could move around as needed.

Several weeks into my stay-at-home isolation, a very large truck from Alabama carefully backed into my yard.

This was the delivery of my long-awaited shipment of a Screen Porch Kit I had bought.

I realized this was NOT going to be a simple snap together job with a few various large panels.

No,  we kept unloading many, many, long, narrow thick cardboard boxes of aluminum pieces that would have to be put together.

Did I mention they were heavy boxes?

I saw that even the screen door was in a small long box too. Damn, gotta put the door together too! I hoped it had hinges in a small box and maybe a door handle.

Two 13-foot long boxes held the extension for the roof of the screen porch. They were light though.

They would be cut into 6.5-foot x 4-foot pieces and attached to rafters in my existing roof of the house

Well, I understood now all those long pieces had to be cut to precise size and assembled into the thick corner post, the long slots screwed down along the edges of the deck and other parts that would have to be cut to fit together correctly.

I contacted a buddy who had helped me on some pretty major interiors jobs at my house and he said that Yes, he HAD built a screen porch before but it was made of lumber and he felt we could do it with metal.

The half of the deck where the screen porch would emerge was cleared and furniture and plants were moved to the other end.

It was time to start opening the boxes of various 16-foot long metal pieces.

But, first, we took down the yard lights and a ceiling fan that might be in the way.

Turned out, the 15-year old fan was NOT gonna be in the way but it will be replaced with a brand new one.

I ordered a Hunter brand with a slim flush design that hugged the ceiling better.

It only extends down 9.5 inches.

You don't want tall people to discover a whirling ceiling fan too late with embarrassing bad results.

Besides it was time to replace the solidly-performing, slightly rusted old one.

The plans and drawings were very precise.

Soon random pieces of metal were joined together and formed a channel on three sides of the floor of the deck.

Then firm thick corner posts were assembled and cross members and upright post began to form the shape of my anticipated screened-in area.

At my age, I don't do ladders anymore so my buddy was up and down it a lot.

 And he mentioned he sort of wished this whole thing was at ground level instead of walking up and down my steps.

He's a good guy though and worked steadily with me to get this thing sorted out!

Dang! There WAS a full-size complete screen door in one of the long, skinny boxes.

And a piece with the hinges attached.

And a door handle.

Oh, why was I so doubtful of this amazing screen porch-in-a-box kit!

We stepped back and it was gorgeous..even better than I had imagined it would be!

The last thing to do is to unfurl the thick roll of black screening and install it all around.

Then it'll be time to sit back, enjoy the view and the breeze from the new overhead fan.

I think I hear foiled mosquitoes buzzing outside!

Thanks for stopping by for a glass of sweet tea, sitting in the shade on my new screen porch. Oops, keep 6-feet apart until we get the All Clear.

Click on the photos for greater detail. I took some with a Fisheye lens so some lines may appear bowed. They aren't -  everything is straight and ship-shape!

Labels: Masks were worn when we got closer than 6-feet apart. Proper tools for the job! Experience counts., Pandemic DIY time while sheltering-in-place, Patrick Peck - my good buddy and expert ladder-climber

posted by chuckography @ 5:15 PM