Framing the New Gable Porch

With the old sagging porch out of the way, (see this post) it was time to frame a new one. The goal was to better support the structure, but also match the old porch style as much as possible.

I started by finding my center lines and cutting back a little more roof decking so that I could make a place to tie in my ridge beam. The old porch didn't have one which was one of the main problems with it. I sistered a couple 2x6's to one of the rafters where I would attach the ridge beam. This will secure it and support the weight of the porch.

You can see in the pictures where I also added some braces to add more strength to this structure. It's a little unusual to think that the ridge is holding up the porch- usually there are posts or walls holding up a roof. There will be brackets attached below for some support, but I want those to be mostly decorative.

I was able to save and reuse the old rafters which were bulky, old-fashioned, 2x6s. This means that they measure 1 5/8 instead of the modern 1 1/2. This will match the upstairs gables and stay with the look of the home, especially since the homeowners wanted to leave the vinyl off the porch and expose the eaves.

I made the ceiling with doubled-up 2x6s on front and back. I attached one to the house first above the door, making sure it was completely level and solidly nailed to the house framing. Then I added the rest of the ceiling framing to that.

Having two 2x6's around the perimeter of the porch will do the job structurally, but to match the old porch it needs to end up around 5 inches thick. To achieve this I put a piece of 3/4" plywood on the sides which will be covered with 3/4" trim inside and out. That should do the trick.

Next will be roofing...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Recipe for a Sagging Porch

This week's exciting project is to replace a porch before it falls down! Seriously, when I began today it was sagging by a few inches, though it had been that way for a while. The homeowners thought they should be proactive and take care of it before it lands on their front door.

As I removed some of the beadboard ceiling, I noticed a couple immediate reasons for the sag. First, there was no ridge beam. A ridge beam is a large piece of lumber that runs perpendicular to the rafters at the very top. It's so important because it would join the rafters to the main house and prevent movement of the porch.

Secondly, where the 3/4" roof decking had been nailed into the main house roof's decking, there was now a large gap. This means that there had been a couple inches of movement and these important connections were no longer providing any support.

The entire weight of the porch was now being supported by the two 4x4 brackets that were angled back to the house.

The fix for this involves totally removing the porch and building a new one, matching the old one and the upper dormers of the house as closely as possible.

I dismantled the porch, starting with some of the trim and then removing the shingles. I made a simple 2x6 post to support the front of the porch so it wouldn't move on me while I was working. With the shingles off I removed the decking, rafters and the rest of the trim.

As I went along, there were a couple more reasons I discovered for the weakness of the structure. For one, the sides of the porch didn't have any supporting members. They were just made out of a box of 3/4" material with blocks in the corners. I also found that the brackets (that were now supporting all the weight) were only nailed with 2 finishing nails in each end!

With the porch off and all the debris cleaned up, I'm ready to frame a new one tomorrow.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Replace the Cracked Garbage Disposal

I had a client complain this week that there was a leak under her sink. I started to investigate and look for any drips from supply lines or the drains. I traced the drip back to the garbage disposal.


It was an old disposal and it had some corrosion around the seam in the middle of it, so I thought that it may have developed a leak there. Anyway, we decided to replace it with a new one.

Once I got the old one off I could see it clearly, it had a crack in the side of it! I guess it died of natural causes. Whenever there was water running through it, it would just drip out the side into the sink cabinet.

It was fairly easy to replace and I was glad to be free of the drips when I got done.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Set A Post For A Birdhouse

This must be 'odd jobs' week... After doing some siding repairs on their sunroom, a homeowner wanted me to put a birdhouse in her backyard on a post. They have quite a bit of wildlife back there and the birds had been kicked out of the house... (remember this post?)

So I bought a 10' pressure treated 4x4 and dug a 2' hole that was probably 10" across or so. I leveled the post and braced it using some spare lumber and a couple 2x4 stakes that I made. This would hold it in place while the cement set up.

I used Quickrete's fast-setting concrete mix that you can use for posts without even mixing! You just pour the mix into the hole and add 1/2 gallon of water for each bag you use. My hole took 2 bags.

Next, I built a couple brackets to hold the birdhouses out of pressure treated 2x4 and attached them using some 3" and 2 1/2" deck screws. By the time I had these brackets cut and assembled the concrete was solid and ready to go! The bag said 20-40 minutes to set up and it was right.

I attached the brackets and the birdie's new home. Now it's ready for it's first residents...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Camera Platform for PBS Special

An unusual job came along this week. Some clients of mine, who are incredible musicians and performers, are preparing to record a live concert to be broadcast on PBS later this year. There's a lot that goes into production of such an event.

My job was to build a large platform that would hold the 'jib' camera. That's the camera that has a 30' boom arm on it to get those sweeping-long-angle shots. The platform would be 9' x 9' and need to support 1000 lbs. It would need to be extremely stable so that as the operator moved it would not bounce around. It would also need to span 3 rows of theater seats and be level even though the floor is sloped.

Whew! What an order, eh?

The basic plan was to build two 4.5' x 9' platforms that bolted together in the middle. I would make it using 2x6 lumber with 16" spacing covered with 3/4" plywood. The legs would be bolted as well to make it easier to take apart and move.

I started by building the basic platforms. I added some braces across the middle where I knew the plywood seams would be. Because of the large size, a single piece of plywood would not span the entire frame.

I built legs for each corner as well as two at either end of the middle joint where the two platforms were bolted together with 1/2" carriage bolts. These center legs would hold the majority of the weight.

This morning I painted it black and moved it to the venue. At this point, all the legs were the same length. However, once it was set up in the auditorium I had a couple of guys lift up the low edge and hold it level, while I 'sistered' each leg with another 2x6, making them the right length to level the top.

I added an extra brace under the middle to reduce the 'wiggle', but now it's ready for action.

If you're in the area, I hope you'll check out Annie Moses Band on July 9th at Lipscomb University's Collin's Auditorium (more info on their website). If you miss that, you can catch them on PBS this winter.

All brought to you by a special camera platform made with love...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Carpentry Basics- Make Accurate Cuts

One of the basics of any type of construction work is to make accurate measurements. Many people can get by with "close enough" but sometimes, the cut needs to be perfect in order to fit.

To get accurate measurements, you have pay attention and think a little more as you measure and cut.

First, measure the length to be cut exactly. For instance, I was cutting several pieces today that needed to be 51 inches long. They all needed to be the same in order to fit snugly. So, I marked the lumber at 51 inches... -WAIT!

This is the important part- How do you mark it??

To get accurate cuts you have to watch where you put the mark. Is it right on 51"? Is it just above/below? This is very important.

I've developed the habit of always marking just above the measurement. This way, you will cut "on the mark" leaving no pencil line on the finished piece. So, for a 51" cut, my pencil mark is to the right of the 51" line.

When I make the cut on the miter saw, I line up the left edge of the blade with the left edge of my pencil mark, assuming I measured from my left. This way, the remaining piece is exactly 51".

Once you start paying attention to this it will become habit. You'll probably be surprised at how your cuts will get better and you won't have to "re-do" as often.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Get a Ladder Stabilizer Before Climbing

I thought I'd highlight a tool that is super-helpful when I'm working from my ladder in any precarious positions- a ladder stabilizer.

The stabilizer is just a horizontal cross piece that attaches to the top of my extension ladder using brackets and wing bolts. It's fairly easy to take on or off.

There are couple huge benefits to using one of these. First, of course, is that it 'stabilizes' the ladder making it less likely to move on you. It really does help the ladder feel more solid and increases my confidence so I can work faster from it.

Secondly, it allows the weight of the ladder to rest on the shingles where the stabilizer is, rather than on the gutters, where leaning the ladder on the gutter might damage them.

Finally, I'd say that with the stabilizer I can reach a wider area around the ladder, meaning I have to move it less. This was certainly true at my recent roof repair (see this post) where I was working along an eave from the ladder. I can be more certain that the ladder won't spin on me if I'm leaning more to one side to get a nail out or paint some trim.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Install a Garbage Disposal from Scratch

Replacing a garbage disposal is a pretty simple process, however it can get more complicated if you're installing a garbage disposal where there was none as was this case for this project.

There are two main parts to this project: First, getting power to the disposal with a switch so that the homeowner has a way to control it, and then reconfiguring the trap to hook it up.

It's best if the disposal can be on it's own dedicated circuit. This was not practical for this project, so the next best thing is to add it to the dishwasher circuit. This circuit should be 20 amps with 12/2 wire with only the dishwasher and disposal on it.

This worked well for this project because I would have to pull the dishwasher out anyway to have access to the wall and run the wires to a switch above the countertop. I used a junction box below in the basement to make all the connections and ran new wiring from there.

To put in the switch, I enlarged the opening next to a single switch box and replaced it with a new 'remodeling' double switch box. The 'remodeling' boxes have little flaps that go out when you screw them down and secure the box to the drywall. Fishing the wires through the wall went well once the dishwasher was out of the way and I could make a couple small holes in the wall behind it.

Under the sink I ran the disposal's wire into a small plastic junction box with a cover. From here I was able to hardwire the disposal into the junction box.

NOTE: Many garbage disposals come with a 'power cord' connector with a plug on the end. In this case, I would install a 20 amp plug in the junction box and just plug the disposal into it.

Now for the plumbing part... I started by removing all the trap fittings under the sink because they needed to be replaced anyway. The tube that comes out of the disposal joins up with the pipe from the other sink and then goes down into the P-trap and out. It's always a puzzle to find the right combination of pieces, but it helped to get the disposal in place first and then see how it would lay out.

It took an afternoon, but now this homeowner has a monster under the sink waiting for leftovers.

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Spruce Up Those Windows!

I spent much of last week working on a sunroom that needed some repair. After fixing the cedar siding (read this post), I went to work on the windows.

The wood casement windows mainly just needed to be scraped and painted, however there were a couple small trim pieces that had rotted and come loose.

I would have to make the replacement pieces using my tablesaw to rip a small board down to a 3/8" x 1/2" moulding that would replace the one around the window. After replacing the trim, I caulked the gaps which were mainly around the sill at the bottom.

Then, I scraped all the loose paint off, trying to catch as many of the paint chips on a drop cloth below and gave the windows a coat of paint.

This homeowner was wise to attend to these windows now before they deteriorated more. If they had waited much longer, it's likely that more the wood would have been damaged and needing to be replaced. Now their sunroom is all spruced up and ready to go!

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com

Repair for Stinky Cracked Cast Iron Drain

Some friends of mine just bought a new house full of old cast iron. During the home inspection, the inspector warned them that it was getting older and should be closely watched and possibly replaced.

Wouldn't you know that within a week of them moving in one of the 4" cast iron drain pipes in the basement developed a huge crack in one of the sections coming from the master bath. Unfortunately they didn't notice until the next day and their basement was wet.

I was asked to repair the pipe while they consider just replacing it all.

The basic idea of this repair was to remove the busted pipe and replace it with PVC. Here's the process:

1. Before cutting out the damaged section, make sure that there are supports in the appropriate places so that no pieces of cast iron come crashing down on you. Also, make sure to have a bucket ready in case some of the stinky stuff leaks out.

2. I used my reciprocal saw with a carbide-tipped blade to cut through a 2" drain and the 4" drain. Because of the cracks location I would have to replace a T and part of the intersecting lines.

3. I took one end of the damaged pipe apart at the hub. I first used a sledgehammer to break apart the already cracked pipe back to the hub. Then, with a few careful blows I was able to get the hub to crack and I knocked it off. The lead joint compound came off with my cold chisel.

4. Dry fit the PVC parts together to make sure it will fit. Where the PVC joins the cast iron I used the appropriate rubber coupling. Then, once I knew the pieces fit, I glued it all together on the floor.

5. Slide the PVC into place and join to the cast iron using rubber couplings.

6. Check for leaks and clean up.

The hardest part of it is probably cutting out the damaged section. PVC is generally easy to work with, especially when you're just replacing a a section like I was.

Oh yeah, #7. Go take a shower to get the stink off...

-Peter

www.CarpentryGuy.com