By the time my Dad and I got around to addressing the front porch, we did not have enough left over cypress lumber at the right dimensions to build it like I had originally planned. After the initial shock on my part, a few minutes of rechecking my plans and the general acceptance of a new problem solving strategy, we laid out the pieces we did have for the project. Directly on the trailer we constructed a plan for a porch landing that looked more like a boat’s swim platform than a typical deck. It was a solid new plan and design so we proceeded with overall measurements and put the lumber in our ‘take to the shop on our next trip’ list.
Once at the shop, the following weekend, we got busy constructing.
Using spacers keeps the gaps uniform
Drilling many, many pilot holes
In case you are wondering: the porch deck in the photo below already has 80 of the 3-1/2″ stainless steel screws. That’s 2 per side, per slat. And it’s not finished…
The landing is stained and in place
Shaping the porch post
Porch post in place
More stained cypress was added to the outside edges to bring it out to the the same dimension as the house trim. It is secured to the trailer frame via stainless steel brackets. In the end, I think it turned out even better than my original design. It just goes to show that good things can happen if you are willing to stay flexible.
Verdant Passages 