DECK DONE

Yesterday, Peter worked late to get our deck, landings and rails finished. At three o'clock he had finished the ramp and the first landing, put up Mary's clothesline and I thought he would call it a day. Not Peter. Since today the forecast calls for rain and Peter won't be available Thursday and Friday he forged  ahead and worked until 7. We are delighted to have the project completed and with how well it all looks and enhances the house and use of the outdoors.

Installing the railing on the ramp.

Next we installed Mary's clothesline, way up in the trees to catch the breeze. This location should dry the clothes in 10 minutes, lots of sun, lots of wind.

Can you see the chips flying? Peter routered all the edges to make them just a little smoother.

He even built a shelf for the laundry basket.

About three, Peter decided he still had time and energy to build landing number two.

Almost done.

East side

South side, all done. Thanks Peter, another quality job by "5 Star Innovations".

Today will be another tense day in cottage country. Our rivers and lakes are at their maximum and more rain is expected today. Many communities will be watching the dams very closely.

Thanks for stopping by.

EAST LANDING

We are approaching the last list of outside items in our house construction. One thing we plan to do this week is build two landings off the back deck for easier access to the ground below. Yesterday we started the landing on the east side and today we should finish the ramp. I decided on a ramp as opposed to steps as a way to make it easier to bring in firewood when needed.

First we removed the steps and cleared the area ready for construction. It was a perfect day for working outside, warm, sunny and no bugs.

Once we decided where the corner posts would be located, Peter cleared and levelled a spot for each footing.

The frame for the landing was quickly completed 

......checked for level ................

....... then the decking added. Peter is great to work with, always very particular, happy and precise.

Today we will finish the decking and railing on the ramp then start the landing on the south side.

Safe travels everyone. Watch out for the other guy, he hit my sister's car 3 times.

5 STAR

It's been a busy morning here with Peter getting the doors hung and the screen inserts for above the doors started. We are delighted with the progress, construction and appearance of the deck now that Peter has just about finished with the screens.

Peter always makes sure we are informed as it stage of the project develops. Here Mary discusses with Peter the hinge choice and how they will be applied.

Doors are being hung and they look good.

Our east wall of the deck is finished and we are so happy. Peter aims to please his customers and makes certain everything fits together properly.

Check out his web site at:

5 Star Innovations

Enjoy your day.

SCREENS INSTALLED

Monday Peter and I were able to get the screens attached to the porch. We are very pleased with the final results and we look forward to having breakfast on the deck without bugs this summer. 

Here I am installing the inserts between the panels on the doors. This fills the groove and gives the door a finished look.

Before we attached the screens Peter needed to add some trim pieces to the porch so the screens would fit tightly against the posts. We took great pains to make sure no gaps were left for the little flying pests to find a way to squeeze in and attack while I sleep in the hammock. I'm ready for a summer on the deck.

All the screens are secure and Peter is re-attaching the downspout.

We even managed to get one of the doors hung but we were not happy with the hinges and so will look elsewhere for more robust hinges.

Not sure if Peter will be here today as he has company and may take the day to show them the highlights of Bancroft.

To our friends and relatives in the USA, our prayers and thoughts are with you this morning as we watch the tragic news from Boston unfold. Let's hope the culprits are soon identified and brought to trial.

SCREEN DOOR CONSTRUCTION

Yesterday's plan was to finish the screens and get started on the construction of the screen doors.  These are custom built screen doors, made from 1" 1/4 cedar with a northern motif in the bottom panel. By the end of the day we were delighted with our design and the results of our labours. 

First Peter laid out the frame to see if we liked the proportions.

Next the bottom plate was grooved to accommodate the decorated panels.

Panels were glued in place.

Then the frame was glued and secured with 6" screws.

Moving outside, Peter routed out the inner edges to give it a finished look before we installed the screens.

Finally about 5 pm we had our first door finished. The other doors are waiting for their screens and we will do them this morning.  Now we just need to apply hinges and see how they hang. 

While we worked, Owen danced to the music supplied by the little frog Lee gave him. Owen is such a cute dancer.

Today we plan to get everything installed if the weather co-operates. Freezing rain and snow are in the forecast so not sure how much will get accomplished.

Thanks for stopping by and safe travels everyone.

Up-Date 10:30 a.m.

This is our view this morning. 

Hopefully this is our last winter storm for this year.

SCREEN SPLINE

Yesterday we worked inside where it was warmer.  Today will be much the same.

Owen enjoyed all the activity from behind the barricade. He loves the noise all the different drills and pneumatic guns make as we worked putting the frames together.

The frames went together very easily. Each corner has two stainless steel nails and a screw, each cross piece the same.

Next we rolled the screen out over the frame and used this tool to force the screen and rubber spline into the groove.

If you click on the pictures above you will get a better view of how the spline is forced into the groove to keep the screen taunt on the frame.

Thanks for stopping by. Today we build the screen doors.

SCREENS and RAILINGS

Peter was here yesterday and we spent the day outside working on the porch. We wanted to experiment with the design of the railing and see how successful we would be making screens from cedar 1x2.

First job was to cap the pressure treated post with cedar.

Not very difficult and the finished post gives a much more rustic appearance to the porch. 

Next we built the railing which went together very easily.

While we worked on the porch, Mary bundled Owen up and took him for a wagon ride. 

He loved it, pointing out things as they bumped along the frozen road.

This is a close-up of the screen. We were delighted at how tight we were able to get it on the frame. We think we may try making our own cedar screen doors.

First section is done and we are happy. We will make a few minor changes in the next section. On the beam above the railing you can see the trim we plan to use. I think the deck when finished will have a northern, lodge feeling to it.

Thanks for stopping by and safe travels everyone.