Home Improvement Today?

One recent project repairing a rotten porch post. Original to the house from 1913 and just resting on the porch deck boards (those were PT and obviously not original). Jacked it up just 3/16" to relieve pressure so my saw wouldn't bind. Square section on the bottom was 4.5" x 4.5". I purchased a rough sawn 5x5 piece of cedar and milled it down and scabbed in a 16" piece on the bottom. For anything being painted, I've been doing simple butt joints versus miters on trim lately. Mainly because I can glue and screw the corners and shoveling snow always seems to destroy the corners. A little light sanding and paint and you can't tell. All cut edges are spray primed with white shellac based primer. Of course for stain grade, it's miters all the way. Tried to match the existing trim detail with off the shelf stock. While not an exact match, once painted up with 20+ coats , it'll be barely noticeable. Customer was thrilled. I asked about the missing post and was told that's where the stairs were originally. They were moved to the side at some point.

 

And at the house next door, I rebuilt/recreated two stair posts due to rot. Also used stock products to match nearly perfectly. Everything glued and screwed/nailed with 18g SS brads. Porch needs a lot of work, but they only wanted me to replace the two posts and the treads on the lowest step (cedar). I was able to salvage/reuse the original caps. Customer is sanding and painting them and I'll permanently attach them next week.

 

Old houses in New England = Job Security.

I do really enjoy working on them. So much character. It's often not about Plumb & Level (cuz nothing rarely is). It's about making it fit and look good.

 

My rancher here in Pennsyltucky needs plenty of love, so get on over here!

 

Not New England, so sorry.

 

Well, it was worth a shot! Probably the real reason you didn't stop by on your way back from Texas

 

Step is level, now my porch isn’t.

 

Making the trusses is no joke, about 45 min each. Only 10 more to go. They are 18'-6" wide.

 

i'm really surprised you made them!

i thought it worked out cheaper, even with the delivery fee, to get pre-fab's built to your spec...

 

Time and cost was a problem. 6-8 weeks and $1500. Doing them myself for $500.

 

Hahaha I did the same thing to my front steps. I think that we had some settling. But in me case it was wood and easily fixed.
I don't know much about building but the only other reason would be so water ran off.

 

The front porch settled years ago and pulled away from the house, long before we moved in. It hadn’t moved in 18 years, so I filled that gap also.

 

Ready to roll joists in the morning. Long day, but weather is only in the 80s.

 

If anyone is interested in a 4 zone Rachio 3 sprinkler controller, I was emailed a code to drop the price from $149.99 to $99.

https://rachio.com/products/rachio-3-4-zone/

Code is MYSTERY99.

 

I've got a 130'ish year old house myself and I can attest to that. I rarely try to make anything actually plumb and level, I focus on making things "look plumb and level".

 

Got them up.

 

How did you get them up there?

 

2 6' ladders and a friend. Took about 3hrs.

 

Thats great!