Porch Makeover in Progress

As previously mentioned, our plans for the long weekend primarily surround a grandiose DIY porch makeover undertaking: removing all exterior wooden slats, removing all 1960's (?) striped screen panels, scraping & wire brushing remaining wood trim & panels, painting remaining wood elements (interior & exterior), hanging new aluminum screen panels, and finally affixing new white vinyl slats for the finish.

Here's what we were working with to begin with: a screened-in side porch original to the 1956 house with what we think is original screen which has a striped pattern made at the time to add privacy (the idea being that it could be seen out of but difficult to be seen inside of) and original painted wood slats. All of the above was showing some age, wear and tear:

We (meaning Tim) began by removing all of the wooden slats from the exterior, then ripping off the screen panels one metal staple at a time. While Tim did much of the "heavy lifting" I started in on scraping, wire brushing, and wiping down the remaining wood elements that would need to be painted later.

As the screen continued to come down, we were both astounded at how much brighter the porch instantaneously became. By midday, we had all the slats & screen removed and had prepped all of the remaining wood in preparation for painting.

Detail of before and after chipping wood vs. smoothed down below. We heard time and time again when talking about this project how important it was to scrape and smooth down ALL chipping paint on surfaces we planned to paint - otherwise any new paint would simply chip off in the same way the old paint already was.

Basil, our supervising weimaraner puppy, wasn't quite sure what to think, but he kept the situation under control at all times with his curious nature trying to be right in the middle of everything. The funny part was - we were worried he might try to jump from the porch into the front yard now that the screen was removed (we don't allow him to run free in the front) but he actually stayed within the guidelines of the porch at all times. He enjoyed sticking his head outside where the old boundaries were with the screen but never once tried to leave the porch.

Tim hauled away all the debris to our local recycling bins since the old screen was aluminum - it was crazy seeing it all in once place once it had been ripped out:

At this point, we had met the goal we set for the day (removal and prep) but still had some momentum and energy left in us so we went ahead and cracked open the cans of paint to get a first heavy coat on the remaining wood elements. We used an exterior semi-gloss finish paint which claims to be a severe weather protectant and have a lifetime warranty - we shall see.

After taping off the porch, painting was the most fun I had during the work today. It was relaxing and one of those things that gives an instant feeling of gratification with the before and after effect.

So you can see we got further than we thought for the day - it feels great. Tomorrow we plan to touch up the paint in the morning, measure to make sure we know how much screen and how many slats to purchase and then head down to my mom's place on the river to spend some good old family time together. Monday morning we plan to get back to business by hanging the new screen and nailing in new white vinyl slats.

By the looks of it, our "supervisor" was pretty tuckered after a full day of work:

In case anybody is wondering - yes that is white paint on the side of his nose. He couldn't help himself. Any big plans for your weekend?

Little Surprises

We were so tickled to find this little fella peeping away in the brush under our bushes close to the house last weekend. After our big plans to tackle cleaning off the screened in porch, we were sitting out there for the first time this season sipping a couple Bloody Marys when all of a sudden I noticed what sounded like a little baby bird in distress. Actually, I think Basil may have noticed it first and I took note after trying to figure out what he was so curious about.

I went out searching for it only to discover the baby bird alone and calling out for it's mother. I was worried it may be hurt as it seemed to be hobbling about and trying to fly. I presume it may have been the first time it tried to fly out of the nest. Tim gently picked up the baby bird and it nestled in his hand right away. After a little encouragement, the bird tried to flutter it's wings unsuccessfully - then tried once more and caught some great wind flying like a little pro. He shortly landed back on the ground and we left him be to carry on - now feeling assured he wasn't in any major distress.

We discovered this baby bird almost a year to the week of finding this displaced bird's nest with robin eggs in our yard if you remember. While I can't attest to the outcome of those eggs, it was so heartwarming to know this year may have produced better results.

We've seen the baby bird throughout the week in our trees and around the yard and couldn't be happier that everything turned out to be fine - also knowing handling the bird didn't seem to harm him or ostracize him in any way from other birds eased my mind (I still can't get over that wive's tale).

For the long weekend ahead, we plan to take on a full porch makeover: ripping out old screen, scraping and painting the trim, hanging new screen, and fitting new vinyl slats in place. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and who knows what we might find this weekend! I hope the long weekend brings each of you some much needed R&R as well as some new surprises.