the mouse works logo

Porch Construction, July 2008

A porch was in the original house plans but got postponed due to time and money constraints.  I have been dreaming of making it since moving in to the  studio-house.  In July 2008 I finally was able to break ground. 
Here are the photos


Pre porch workshop.  The left side faces due west and really wants a porch to shelter the house from the hot summer afternoon sun.

 
Here is a mock up of the porch with 2x4s.  Notice the sheets over the windows and doors to keep the sun from baking the inside of the house.

I hand dug the footers.  Uggg. 
I insulated the slab with one inch of foam incase I ever close in the porch.
Ready for poring.  I recycled lots of old plastic for a vapor barrier and recycled heavily damaged metal mesh from a local building supply.  The forms are made out of plywood and old 2x4s.

 

I got some help for the poor.  Yes that is an orange pigment in the concrete. 
 
After the first coat of sealer to help cure the slab.  The siding is removed to allow for running new wiring and to connect the porch to the house framing.

 


Cutting expansion joints into the freshly poured slab.
Talk about dust!

 
I cut three white oak trees down and pealed the bark off with a homemade "spud".  The standoffs were a bit to tall for looks so I routed them in a bit. 
At this point I stood up all of the posts to mark the beam notches.  Then I lowered them back down to cut the notches with a chainsaw. 

Construction epoxy is fun!  The posts are held in place by a two foot threaded steel rod that was epoxyed into the post and slab. 

 
Standing up the very heavy posts onto the epoxy rods before it dries.


Four days of rain slow things down a bit
I worked mostly solo so I don't have many photos with humans in them. 

 
Putting up the hip rafters was lots of fun alone.

The entire roof was constructed from ruff cut green pine lumber from a local sawmill.  The hip roof is asymmetrical with the side slopes having a 5/12 pitch and the main roof  with a 3/12 pitch.  A great way to learn hip roof construction. 

 
Moving ruff cut poplar boards with a log cart.  These are for the roof sheathing so I dried them for six months to reduce shrinkage.

Part way though installing the standing seam roof. 
Finally finished!   The ramp is so I can drive my car in to load hats in the dry for festivals.

 

Headline 2

insert content here


 

Headline 2

insert content here