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    Home » Renovations

    Screen Porch Demo

    By: Jane · Updated: 12 Oct, '21 · This post may contain affiliate links · 17 Comments

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    Three months ago, we started renovating our front screen porch and today I'm sharing the old screen porch demo part of the project.

    Screen porch demo

    Hello everyone! It's been almost a month since I last posted. I had to take a break after my mother's recent death. I want to thank all of you for your kind and comforting comments that you left on my last post. It has been a difficult time for me and I'm adjusting to so many "new normals" at the same time.

    In March, after my mom entered a nursing home and after finding out that I could not visit her due to the virus, Leo came home and said I needed a new project to keep my mind off things.

    So he announced that we were starting our front screened porch renovation project. We were planning to do this project later this year but he thought this was a good time to get started.

    So that afternoon, our contractor stopped by to discuss the project and to give us some quotes. At first, I hesitated as it was the beginning of the quarantine period. But it was only our contractor and his brother and we were all very careful to keep some distance between us.

    Why a screen porch redo???

    You may be wondering why we decided to do a screen porch redo. Well, it had been badly and hastily built before we moved to the Crossroads and there were many repairs to be made.

    Leo and I had already made the decision to redo the screen porch rather than do a sunroom for two reasons: First, the house faces west so controlling the sun and the heat here in the South would have been an obstacle. Second, the screen porch is on the front of our house and aesthetically, I don't think a sunroom would have looked right on the front of the house.

    Pollen on furniture on the screen porch

    A real positive in beginning this project was I didn't have to clean all the pollen off the porch in early spring! Yeah!

    Our old screen porch had gotten in really bad shape.

    Sagging ceiling on a screen porch

    The ceiling was sagging and water damaged.

    Damaged screen door

    The screen door had rotted and was falling apart.

    Damaged screening

    The screening was falling down in several places and had numerous holes where bugs had chewed through it.

    Outdoor carpet on screen porch

    The outdoor carpet was faded and looking worn. The concrete floor underneath it was not level and you could see where the old stoop was.

    Screen porch

    And the pickets had been attached in such a way that leaves got stuck between them and the screening and were rotting.

    Screen porch tear down

    So our contractor and his brother started taking down everything!You can see some of the problems that I mentioned in the photo above.

    Old storm door

    Everything was removed including this old storm door.

    Ceiling repairs

    After the ceiling was removed, they discovered that the covering to the old stoop on the house had never been removed when the larger porch was created. My contractor found about 8 layers of old roofing shingles on top of it including the original wooden cedar shakes.

    He said that all that weight could have easily come crashing down on us at some point so he cut away and removed as much as he could.

    It was my hope that we could have a vaulted ceiling on the porch but this old roof structure was a stumbling block. Plan B was to raise the porch ceiling as much as he possibly could, and he was able to add about 8 inches to the height.

    Porch demo trash on a trailer

    Each day of the screen porch demo the trash was placed on this trailer and hauled away.

    Porch ceiling redo

    Once all of the debris was cleared away, work began on the new ceiling.

    Electrical box on porch ceiling

    An electrician came out to do some additional wiring so that we could add 2 ceiling fans. They are a necessity during the summer here in the South.

    Installation of new porch ceiling

    The photo above shows the new vinyl beadboard ceiling about to be installed.

    Vinyl shake siding on wall of screen porch

    They covered up the old asbestos shingles that are on one wall of the porch with vinyl shake shingles. Most all of our decisions on the materials that we used were driven by one factor:

    EASE OF MAINTENANCE!!!

    Leo and I are not spring chickens so we didn't want to face more painting in a few years and I wanted to be able to hose off the surfaces during spring cleaning.

    Screen porch redo

    In the above photo, you can see that we went with thicker posts which were clad in vinyl.

    Vinyl trim around the windows was removed exposing the trim color from many years ago.

    We weren't planning on doing this but the siding up top looked so bad that we had vinyl shingles added to that area as well. The color matches our new metal roof that we had installed last year.

    Vinyl shakes above the screen porch

    You can also see that we chose to repair and paint the concrete floor which I plan to do a separate post about that.

    At this point, we had to wait a few weeks for another crew to come and install the pickets, the screening, the doors, and the finishing touches.

    I'll be back soon with more details about the floor and other design choices. In the meantime, stay safe.

    More Renovations

    • Hole in wood floor in dining room 1
      Repairing our old Southern Pine Floors
    • Desk in craft studio square
      Turning my Mom's Apartment into a Craft Studio
    • Screen porch 2
      Sweet Summertime Screen Porch Reveal
    • Porch floor paint 1
      Repairing and Painting a Concrete Porch Floor

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    Comments

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    1. Dolly

      June 21, 2020 at 8:54 pm

      Jane and Leo I love the work you're having done! It is so pretty and can't wait to see the rest!

      Reply
    2. Anne

      June 17, 2020 at 2:32 pm

      Now this is exciting! It looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
      • Jane Windham

        June 18, 2020 at 3:03 pm

        Thanks Anne. It looks a heck of a lot better!

        Reply
    3. Shirley @Housepitality Designs

      June 17, 2020 at 2:12 pm

      In remodeling, there are always surprises and so glad you found the problem with the ceiling. It looks great Jane. I’m sure you can’t wait for it to be completed so you can decorate and enjoy great times on the porch.

      Reply
      • Jane Windham

        June 18, 2020 at 2:58 pm

        Shirley, the porch is pretty much finished now but I'm still working on the decorating part!

        Reply
    4. Jo Johnston

      June 17, 2020 at 1:40 pm

      Really looking forward to the finished porch since the midway changes are already wonderful. We had to have a back porch screened as it was attractive but totally unusable without the screening. Too many Southern bugs!

      Reply
      • Jane Windham

        June 18, 2020 at 3:02 pm

        It's impossible for us to sit outside here due to the mosquitoes. They would carry us off!!!

        Reply
    5. Kris @ Junk Chic Cottage

      June 17, 2020 at 10:22 am

      Oh Jane it looks so wonderful. I can see you decorating out there with the cutest stuff and what a great place to relax and enjoy. Glad you are feeling a little better after taking a break after the loss of your sweet mom. Sometimes in life we have to take a break from the world and just have time to grieve. Glad to see a post pop in my email from you. Hugs. Kris

      Reply
      • Jane Windham

        June 18, 2020 at 2:58 pm

        Thanks so much for understanding, Kris.

        Reply
    6. Janice

      June 17, 2020 at 9:55 am

      Jane!
      Welcome back! You were missed! 😉
      I absolutely LOVE a porch & yours was always a lovely, homey spot. Can’t wait to see how you decorate your new one!!

      Reply
      • Jane Windham

        June 18, 2020 at 2:59 pm

        Thanks Janice! I'm in the middle of decorating the porch but it is slow going!

        Reply
      • Jane Windham

        June 18, 2020 at 3:01 pm

        I'm using a new color on the porch! Surprise!

        Reply
    7. Deborah Dickens

      June 17, 2020 at 9:02 am

      It rrally looks good. I know you will really enjoy your porch once again.

      Reply
      • Jane Windham

        June 18, 2020 at 3:00 pm

        We've recently had some good porch sittin' weather, Deborah.

        Reply
    8. Francis C. Moore

      June 17, 2020 at 8:42 am

      Glad to see you back. What a mess demolition makes!

      Reply
      • Jane Windham

        June 18, 2020 at 3:01 pm

        Oh yes, but our contractor stayed on top of the mess and removed it daily.

        Reply
    9. Susan H Whetstine

      June 17, 2020 at 6:53 am

      Your porch is looking so good!!! I know you will be excited to finish and be able to enjoy sitting on it and visiting.

      Reply

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    Jane @ Cottage at the Crossroads

    We're Jane and Leo!

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