Little front porch

[WarnerConstCo.]

The customers had their basement waterproofed, lifetime warranty [unsure] and the old porch was in the way.

HO was smart enough to leave the front steps in place.

The set back from the middle of the street, is 1 foot inside the front door. [blink]

I was able to get a similar size porch approved (this one is wider).

The weather in NE Indiana has been ridiculous.  Warm and rain, then cold and snow, then warm and rain.  rinse, repeat.

I dug footings the day after christmas.

Ipe decking, crushed powder coated balusters, Excell (pvc) trim,  new door with pvc jamb and trim.

Just waiting on HO to pick out new lights, get new house numbers, and a mail box. 

Will go back in spring and touch up paint, plug holes, light sand and oil.

Now they want a big one out back. [big grin]

All pictures are from my cell phone.

 

[deepcreek]

I like it.  Nice work!

 

[Theshipstore]

Nice Job, really goes well with the house

Sal

 

[fatroman]

What kind of deck wrench is that?

 

[Kristian]

Very nice! Good choice of colors and contrasts. Interesting slope on that roof!

 

[BarBuilder]

Nice work! The replacement of that front door really adds to the curb appeal of the home - and the deck is very nice too. I have admired your work both here and over on the CT forum.  Wish I had your skill set - If I did, I'd be doing construction full time rather than serving in my current capacity as a desk jockey.

 

[Sparktrician]

What kind of deck wrench is that?

It's a Hardwood Wrench. 

[smile]

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Thanks guys.  The HO's did  a great job picking out what they wanted for a door and the porch.

It does not take much persuading or salesmanship to get a customer to choose a SA hardwood for an exterior project.

I am really happy with the transformation of the front of the house.

I will get some pictures after it is oiled and they get their landscaping done around it.

 

[sean_hogan]

I've never seen that wrench thing for decking before that's a great tool, how did you fix the ipe boards down too the joists. Really nice work btw

 

[Steve R]

What kind of deck wrench is that?

It's a Hardwood Wrench. 

[smile]

Thanks for the link. I booked marked that for summer deck season in MN.

 

[Bob Mircetic]

Very nice.

Pardon my ignorance, but can I ask why do you say "HO was smart enough to leave the front steps in place."  What would have been wrong with removing the old steps?

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

I've never seen that wrench thing for decking before that's a great tool, how did you fix the ipe boards down too the joists. Really nice work btw

Thanks.

There are cheaper versions of that wrench out there.  I got this one for free, through my SA Hardwood supplier.  On that note, I would still fork over the 200.00 it costs.  It will last me a life time, all machined billet aluminum and a nice hardwood handle.

I order my decking in 3 variations, grooved both sides, grooved one side and no grooves.  You can't eliminate face screws in certain places, those get a plug and then sanded.  For the field boards, I have been using tiger claw hidden fasteners, but I decided to try something different this time.

I used these: http://www.ipeclip.com/ipeclipExtreme.html

It is an extra step pre-drilling each hole before running the screw in, but I like them.  Nice and solid. The tiger claws don't have the screw go through the deck board, just into the joist.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Very nice.

Pardon my ignorance, but can I ask why do you say "HO was smart enough to leave the front steps in place."  What would have been wrong with removing the old steps?

It was a way to prove to the BI and zoning department, where the foot print of the original porch was.

The set back is 50' from the center of the street, nothing can be built that encroaches that.

The front door is 1' over the set back.  See the issue?

The steps just showed where the old porch was (they were without a way to get in the front door for a couple months before I started the porch).

 

 

[Sparktrician]

You can't eliminate face screws in certain places, those get a plug and then sanded.  For the field boards, I have been using tiger claw hidden fasteners, but I decided to try something different this time.

I used these: http://www.ipeclip.com/ipeclipExtreme.html

Ever try the Camo System?  I haven't, but saw them being used on Ask This Old House.  Seems like a decent, no-clip possibility. 

[smile]

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

You can't eliminate face screws in certain places, those get a plug and then sanded.  For the field boards, I have been using tiger claw hidden fasteners, but I decided to try something different this time.

I used these: http://www.ipeclip.com/ipeclipExtreme.html

Ever try the Camo System?  I haven't, but saw them being used on Ask This Old House.  Seems like a decent, no-clip possibility. 

[smile]

That system has been talked about a lot on another forum I am on.

General consensus out of users was, it was more suited to DIY people. 

Plus you can see the screw heads on the edges of the boards, and I do not believe for one second you can just drive a screw in these hardwoods without pre-drilling.

Everyone seems to be in two camps, face screw and plug (I like that look) or clips. 

 

[vwdave]

I used the camo system on a little mohogany deck I just did. I was really surprised that I didn't have to predrill and no boards were damaged. The gap it leaves is 3/16 which is what is recommended for hardwood but seams a little big for a composite deck. You can see the screws but they aren't that bad, once the deck is oiled or darkens I think they will blend in good. The camo system is about $50 and I feel it's much easier to use then the kreg jig system.  I'm eager to see how it holds up on this little deck before I go using it on a larger project. We have a 3000sqft ipe deck coming up and for that one we will be using the hidfast decking gun.

The project turned out really nice, and using real wood for decking is always a treat.

Dave

 

[Hoover]

What kind of deck wrench is that?

It's a Hardwood Wrench. 

[smile]

Thanks for the link. I booked marked that for summer deck season in MN.

I made mine own from square tube stainless steel, i knew an excellent ss welder.  The original tool is bowrench.  They all work the same, bowrench is much less expensive then the one used here.  http://www.amazon.com/Cepco-Tool-BW-2-BoWrench-Decking/dp/B0000224UP

 

[honeydoman]

hey nice job and yep that is sucky weather. question... did you use any festools to build this?  [poke]

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Today was oil day.  Next I start a large Garapa deck behind the house with an Ipe gate.  This stuff sells itself.