Composite Decking or faux wood decking upgrade

There have been a lot of changes  since we moved in almost 30 years ago.  The latest is composite decking to replace the warping splitting existing deck.  The last wood deck was put on about 5 years ago and had already starting to rot and needed cleaning every season.  

We are not getting any younger so we bit the bullet and purchased the materials to replace 65 feet x 10 feet of decking.  CHA-CHING 16 dollars each for 8 foot and 24 dollars for 12 foot boards and the two 5 lb boxes of screws cost 38 dollars ea. This did not include the boards we needed for a few joist repairs.  

Yes Daddy I fixed that Flag.

I think it was well worth the investment and in 5 or 10 years hopefully it will still look this good!

You have a blessed day!

Sheryl

 

Good things take time...20 year Mobil home make over

We live in a world of instant gratification and frankly the only instant gratification that I have found is chocolate and it does not last.  We moved in to our current home a little over 21 years ago with the intention of buying an older farm house and "fixing it up".  However  God changed our plans and this is now going to be our forever home.

  IT took 20 years to go from this, warning really bad photo but you will get the point:

To This:

And this:

and this:

and finally this:

Now there is a lot of sweat in this home and Mr RTI did all of it...every brick he laid by hand, the front porch ..the pergola..the fence , the woman cave (read about it here)and the Screen porch you can read about it Here..He built . .  And the inside has also gotten a few over hauls as well, this is my department.  I can honestly say that we have new home one gallon of paint at a time.  I hope to share a few updates later on.  The moral of this post is to remind you that it takes time to create a home, especially when you do not have the money to hire a contractor.  The changes to this house took time and a lot of effort on our part.  Nothing was jumped into lightly or with out planning.  However you look at it today and would never think it was hauled down the interstate and brought in on wheels.  It is our paradise we staycation here.  This is where we want to be!  You home is the largest investment you make  ,,,Take the time to enjoy it and make it where you want to be.  If we can ....You can!

Happy planning!

Sheryl

Sharing with:
http://piecedpastimes.blogspot.com/2014/10/saturday-sparks-link-party-84.html
http://www.pinkwhen.com/diy-sunday-showcase-1011-favs/
http://www.findingsilverpennies.com/2014/10/silver-pennies-sundays-link-party-features-90.html

http://www.dwellings-theheartofyourhome.com/2014/10/amaze-me-monday-80.html

http://distresseddonnadownhome.blogspot.com/2014/10/make-it-monday-6_68.html

http://www.craftyspices.com/hops/wwhop/816-wwhop114

http://cupcakesandcrinoline.com/2014/10/13/project-inspired-link-party-week-88/

http://knickoftime.net/2014/10/vintage-inspiration-party-162.html


http://www.frommyfrontporchtoyours.com/2014/10/treasure-hunt-thursday-177-and.html

http://www.seasonedhomemaker.com/2014/10/project-parade-15.html

http://bacontimewiththehungryhypo.blogspot.com/2014/10/anything-goes-linky-177-coupon-code-and.html

http://thecottagemarket.com/2014/10/diy-projects.html

http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2014/10/before-after-wednesday-week-32.html

http://bellarosaantiques.blogspot.com/

http://liverandomlysimple.com/totally-terrific-tuesday-link-party-5/

Winterizing your screen porch

I know its not even full tilt summer yet and I am posting about winterizing.  If your household budget is like mine then you may have to start pulling the finances together early to pull it off.  

We love to enclose our screen porch for the winter and, if we can stand the green house effect ,through the early pollen days of spring.

Porch without 

Hand Hubby and I decided the best a most economical way to do it was to make frame inserts for each section of the screen porch supports.  Then we would attach plastic to those screens.  ..Sounds like a doable plan....  So we took 1 x 1's and metal brackets and built the frames.  So each square "window" on the porch had a frame that would set inside of it.  Handy then headed to Lowe's and purchased a roll of "clear" plastic.  He covered the first frame with it and dropped it into its designated square on the porch.  Lets be clear on one thing "clear" is not always clear.  The plastic was opaque and you could not see out of it at all. Handy is one smart Hubby...He stopped and waited until I saw it before he continued.   I hated it!  So some other options was Plexiglass ...too expensive and break easy....so I headed to Joann's with my coupons and found vinyl film that is used to make furniture covers and table cloth covers and it is clear.  Make sure to you are satisfied with the thickness there are different gauges and that the film is wide enough to fit inside your frames.  I bought all the film for this project at 40-50% off .  

This is not a crystal clear view however you can see out.

I will have to say the first year we had them up we were impressed with the added heat on the porch.  It would be sometimes 20 more degrees warmer on the porch than out side.  The puppies really enjoyed the sun on less than comfortable days (for the south). 

I did not worry about the sagging too much.  The changes in  humidity and temp made the wood expand or shrink so some days the vinyl was tighter.

If your porch does not get direct sunlight you may not get the warmth that we did however if you hate cleaning up the snow, or pollen from your porch this idea is a winner. It took some time and planning, however once it is done, you  just pull them from storage and drop them in. You are done and ready to enjoy your porch year round.

Thank you for stopping by hope you can come again!

Sheryl

Screen porch in phases: adding a screen porch to our mobile home

If you enjoy the outdoors then you will love a porch and if you live in the south you prefer it screened.  Two years ago Handy Hubby and I decided it was time to make the investment and add one to our humble abode.  Now it took almost a full year to complete and it went up in phases.  When all was said and done we had a 12 x 18 foot screen porch that was paid for.  The structural design follows the rules ..the rest we made up.  Please note my photography skills are not that great I am working on it though.

Phase one:  ripping out the old deck and moving the brick walk way this was an family affair...

I was surprised the teenager handled physical labor well. As a note that metal  buiding in the back ground ...it will be my next post...Handy Hubby and I had a plan!



Phase Two:  Adding the foundation and flooring:
Handy Hubby had help again.

We had a little break after these phases Plywood is expensive as well as the joist boards and Handy Hubby has a full time job so he took a mini break so that he could rest and we could replenish the porch stash.


Phase Three:
Removing the existing windows on the end of the house and moving the doorway and installation of new door.  Handy Hubby called the new door a @##@## Door..  That door was a long project and PLUMB is defined only one way.

We had to take a break after the door and window phase for two reasons: 1.  To replenish the porch fund the door alone was over 300 bucks and 2.  to give Handy Hubby a break.

Phase Four:  Completion of wall framing and adding the roof.  Note smart move..
2 foot overhang.  It really has to be a BLOWING rain for water to make it on to the porch.
After some research we decided to add metal.  It matched the red roof on our home and believe it or not it was very competitive in cost.  Handy Hubby also prefers the much easier installation and the longevity of TIN.

And yes there is "crap", if I may Quote Handy Hubby, on it already...Final phase of course will be screen, lattice and a door. If you notice we went through Fall, winter and spring before this was finished.  The first photos were of bare trees and leaves on the ground notice this last photo the trees are green and full.

Complete!