Summer Projects: The Screened-In Porch

Since today is the last Saturday of summer break, I've been painting like mad trying to get all of our last-minute projects on our summer to-do list wrapped up.  While painting, I reflected on what we all were able to finish this summer, because it felt like it flew by and we hardly had time for anything!  In June we began a lot of projects, but then we went on vacation in July and I had Girls Camp and everything got put on hold.  By the time we became un-busy, there were only two weeks left until school!  Aaaah!  All in all though, I think we got a good amount accomplished, considering we had a new little helper this summer who actually deterred us more than she helped :)

So we have a screened-in porch on our house that has set empty and gross for the past five years.  Because it's not something we use on a consistent basis, we left it for last on our interior remodel list.  It was an inexpensive fix overall compared to the other projects, and relatively easy, but a headache because it's sort of an interior/exterior room (there's no glass over the screens) so we could only work when it was nice out.

Here are some pictures we took when we started the process:

Kyle had to tear down the original ceiling because our old roof leaked and warped the entire thing.

Audrey watched while he worked.

Enormous wasp nest (it was empty) above the ceiling!

I'm kind of sad to say I didn't think about taking pictures before we started the entire process.  But after we tore down the ceiling, we replaced it with OSB, which was VERY difficult handling with just the two of us (I held while Kyle drilled).  It was hot, sweaty work!  We put a new, thicker ceiling up and primed and painted it twice before we left for vacation.  Afterwards, Kyle put new lumber up over the top of the existing lumber.  We couldn't tear the old down because it was load-bearing but there were some spots that were also rotting.  At least with new stuff up in front of it, it can help to hold the load of the ceiling while also looking better.  I painted this new lumber as well as the walls, and it took a whole nine hours of painting to prime and give everything one coat.  It took so long because the walls of the porch are faux brick, and I had to handpaint the "mortar" instead of using a roller.  I was exhausted.  

The next day, it took four hours to give everything a second coat.  

The day after that, I painted all the exterior doors (including the screened-in porch door) red.  Also took all day.

The day after that, I painted the ugly teal cement floor gray.  That took two days to dry completely.  However, I think out of everything I've EVER painted, floors are the best!  You just dump some paint on the floor and roll it out!  It even only took one coat!

After that, we attached the screens.  We bought some bulk screen from Menards and used Kyle's staple gun to attach it to the lumber.  This was a much cheaper alternative than installing new screened windows.  Thanks HGTV for the idea!  The hardest part was keeping the screen taut while Kyle stapled.  It also took a TON of staples to ensure that there were no gaps between the screen and the window to keep bugs out.  Have you ever tried to cut screen ends in a straight line?  It's hard and my eyes got all crossed.   

Then, Kyle cut and painted some additional lumber to cover a gap between our cement and the house under the door.  We moved our completed furniture out, and we called it finished (finally)!  We've had some meals out on the porch already, and we love it!  We even move Audrey's high chair outside and she loves to watch the cars go by while we all eat.

Placemats were $2 apiece at Target.  Pillows are outdoor pillows and were $15.

It was so worth all the hassle, even if we don't use it very much.  It looks SO much better from the outside of our house and it's nice to be able to keep my dining room blinds open because I'm not ashamed of the fact that we have a nasty porch.  Yay!