Weekend Warriors: A Neighborly DIY Porch on the Cheap
Katherine Sharpe
Welcome to “Weekend Warriors.” Every Friday, we run a shining example of a reader’s recent makings—to say TGIF and send you off right into your own weekend’s projects.
The corner porch on Jeremy Little's home in Alliston, Ontario looks so good, it's hard to imagine the house without it, but in actuality it's the product of the well-applied energies of a few weekend warriors.
Built in three weekends with the help of Little's brother-in-law, and landscaped by Little's wife, Melanie, the porch took shape for a mere $800. Little, who has "no formal training, just wood shop 101 in high school" and a few builder relatives to ask questions of, even constructed the custom, aqua-blue Adirondack style chairs out of old fence boards given by a neighbor.
Read on for "before" shots and some "afters" that will make you want to spend the weekend on a deck near you.
Before the porch went up, the corner of the house was "a really bad boot room. We took down the two walls, windows and doors that were there." The door between the boot room and the rest of the house now serves as the exterior door.
Little wanted to reclaim the area for more enjoyable uses: "We have a pretty small place so the more space we can make the better with three kids and only two bedrooms!" He installed columns on the left-over foundation of the boot room...
...and attached floor joists...
...put on flooring and then performed some finishing touches.
He dressed up the triangular section above the outer two columns with cedar shingles (visible in the first and last photos).
Three weekends after starting, voila!: the perfect place to kick back and read ReadyMade.
Little is a freelance graphic designer part time, and a church pastor in Alliston the other part. He is originally from Texas (check the sweet Texas ornament on the side of the house), and writes a blog called "The Fine Art of Fathering."
A close-up shot of the reclaimed fence chairs. The table is "a black Ikea metal table we spray painted yellow."
Aww yeah. I'd be inspired to call this one "Portrait of a Happy Man."
Photos: Jeremy Little
The corner porch on Jeremy Little's home in Alliston, Ontario looks so good, it's hard to imagine the house without it, but in actuality it's the product of the well-applied energies of a few weekend warriors.
Built in three weekends with the help of Little's brother-in-law, and landscaped by Little's wife, Melanie, the porch took shape for a mere $800. Little, who has "no formal training, just wood shop 101 in high school" and a few builder relatives to ask questions of, even constructed the custom, aqua-blue Adirondack style chairs out of old fence boards given by a neighbor.
Read on for "before" shots and some "afters" that will make you want to spend the weekend on a deck near you.
Before the porch went up, the corner of the house was "a really bad boot room. We took down the two walls, windows and doors that were there." The door between the boot room and the rest of the house now serves as the exterior door.
Little wanted to reclaim the area for more enjoyable uses: "We have a pretty small place so the more space we can make the better with three kids and only two bedrooms!" He installed columns on the left-over foundation of the boot room...
...and attached floor joists...
...put on flooring and then performed some finishing touches.
He dressed up the triangular section above the outer two columns with cedar shingles (visible in the first and last photos).
Three weekends after starting, voila!: the perfect place to kick back and read ReadyMade.
Little is a freelance graphic designer part time, and a church pastor in Alliston the other part. He is originally from Texas (check the sweet Texas ornament on the side of the house), and writes a blog called "The Fine Art of Fathering."
A close-up shot of the reclaimed fence chairs. The table is "a black Ikea metal table we spray painted yellow."
Aww yeah. I'd be inspired to call this one "Portrait of a Happy Man."
Photos: Jeremy Little
Julie
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Marilyn
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