Porch Patio Update

The latest

All the trim is up and nails holes filled so the patio cover is ready to be primed and painted. I ripped off the old cedar trim that was secured with the non-galvanized nails the store gave me, primed/painted and put on the new trim. The roof shingles should be going on today.

Project Drama

On Sunday I went to Menards to pick up my Fypon PVC post wraps only to get them home, open them up, and find that the store had somehow miraculously screwed up my special order. Yet another issue I had to spend time correcting.

I called the store and this time I spoke directly to a store manager. I recounted the entire history with him - that I had spent a good 4K over the last month with them, that they had screwed up my order now three times and that I had to spend my time correcting their mistakes. The store manager ordered new posts for me, discounted the new post order by $100, credited back my card for the old posts, and is delivering the new posts and picking up the old ones personally when the new posts arrive.

To Menards credit every issue has been resolved quickly and at no cost to me. Although Menards have screwed up three times, I will continue to shop there because they have been very good in correcting their mistakes every time.

So What’s Left to do?

- Cedar Trim where the new structure meets the house

- Finish Wiring the Ceiling Fan

- J-Channel and Vinyl against the house

- Shingles (today)

- Stamped Concrete: We need to picks colors, patterns and textures. Hopefully this will all be done by Friday

- Paint

Family

Let me tell you that I could not have done any of this without the support of my awesome wife Ange. She is truly the best person I know and my best friend. She is an awesome mother, wife, not to mention one of the best cooks on the planet. I know she and my two boys are ready for this project to be over. I have missed spending time with them and I am anxious to get this done also. Ultimately this will all be worth it when next year we will get to spend countless hours as a family watching storms, staying cool in 100 degree weather, roasting marshmallows on cool fall evenings and entertaining friends regularly.

Portfolio

ebloggerStream, a set on Flickr.

Some of my photography work from over the years...

Porch Project Update...

We had the concrete guy come out last night and decided on a shape for the new patio.  Looks like the pad will be poured next week sometime.  So excited!!  I have the roof completely sheathed now and the architectural supports built at the gable end of the roof (shown below).  

I am waiting on estimates from roofers to come out and gutter and shingle the roof which will hopefully happen over the next couple of weeks.  The electrician will be coming out to finish wiring the fan to the ceiling this week also.  You can see that I have added trim to the front of the roof.  It looks a little funny right now but I will eventually cut is flush with the end of the rafters.

I had a little set-back last week when Ange noticed that, what I thought were exterior grade nails were actually not.  I went back and checked my original order to the hardware supplier and found that I indeed order galvanized nails.  The supplier had given me the wrong trim nails for my project.  You absolutely cannot use framing nails for Cedar trim.  Over time the nails will rust and react with the oils in the cedar leaving brown stains through the paint.  I had to rip off all the trim I had put up so far and replace it with new trim.  The supplier admitted fault and is replacing all the wood and nails for free but I still have the time and labor that it will take to paint and install the new trim. 

So whats left? 

1. I have cedar trim to put on all the framing you see in the pictures. 
2. I have to trim the vinyl siding against the house
3. The roof has to be guttered and shingled
4. The ceiling fan has to be wired
5. The structure has to be painted
6. The concrete has to be poured
7. Once the concrete is poured I will put post wraps around the posts.

KEEP TUNED FOR MORE UPDATES.....!

Well, its the end of a long week but we have accomplished a lot.  Still have trim work and roof shingles to go on.  Keep posted for the next update.