Once home, Rick started by going around the base of the porch and drilling holes for Tapcons to refasten the structure to the cement patio. Over the years, both sides had worked their way loose. Then we draped the porch and Rick started to work on the boards that we either scraped the loose paint off yesterday or the ones that showed signs of water or rust damage.
 |
| Rick drills holes for Tapcons to resecure the porch to the cement floor. |
We probably should have replaced the board on the north side of the house, but neither of us was in the mood to do so. Instead, I freely admit that we put a bandage on it by liberally slathering it full of Kilz paint.
 |
| The rafter ends needed some serious attention. |
The rafter ends that were on the outside of the porch also were in pretty bad shape. I had scraped them yesterday, and today Rick put on two coats of Kilz to try to protect them from further damage. The good news is that the porch is not a major structural component of the house, so we are not terribly concerned about walls falling down or ceilings caving in. For now, the boards are protected for another year or two.
We would love to put in a new roof, but the solid roof that we like is both too expensive, and it would be so solid that it would make both the dining room and the kitchen very dark. For now, we will take the cheap way out and just stay with the translucent roof on the porch.
 |
| The rafter tails look much better now that they are primed with Kilz. A fresh coat of paint will be added on Thursday if we don't see rain. |
The Kilz in various places on the porch was as far as we could go today. It has to dry at least 24 hours, and tomorrow we will be out of town all day. We will have to see if the weather cooperates with us on Thursday because that is the next day we will have free to work on the porch.
For right now, that paint must dry while I go to wash the kitchen floor and to cut the grass. The joys of home ownership just never end!
