October 22, 2008 ~ Back porch project.

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Building the back porch took some turns we did not expect. At first I was going to repeat what was done on our front porch when my dad came and helped during the summer. I figured continuity would be best. Later, we simply did not do it that way, as it was not worth the trouble to me. But we started out by preparing to attach the porch to the cinder block wall that runs underneath the outer walls. To do so we needed to get underneath the house, get rid of any spiders, and then drill holes through the cinder blocks and affix a support board inside...

Always be prepared. ;) Spiders are only your friends...



...when they are not crawling up your pant leg...



...or in your hair.



GOING IN!




WITH a spider stick, of course.



But it was only good for gathering cobwebs, as we didn't find any spiders. We still set off the bug bomb for low areas. You can't use a regular bug bomb or it will just spray straight up and drip down from the ceiling. There is a special type made for crawl spaces. Make sure you use those.

It was pretty clean in there.



We got out and began sawing the threaded rods to use for securing an inner board through the walls to an outer board, or ledger, that the porch itself would rest on and be affixed to on the outside of the house.




And then we began setting up to saw the boards we would need for the framing. We don't have a workshop or garage or anything, so we make do with what we have. We used some of the boards as a table, laying them across the trailer. It worked well, despite being on a slight slope.



We let the fogger do its job, and we took a little time to cover that table frame. The one that had blown over in the wind and shattered. We cut a cheap Dollar Store vinyl table cloth in a circle and tucked it around a scrap piece of wood we cut for the top. Nice enough to sit at and enjoy a cold drink and a book while the BBQ is heating up.



And that was one day of work.

Yours,
Faith
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