New Front Porch

[Chadzeilenga]

I'm finally getting around to this after 8yrs, and like all fun summers, I start my projects in the fall...

We had to take the giant white oak down that was growing into our house ~5yrs ago, but the service stump grinder couldn't handle the stump...

IMG_0918.JPG (95.14 KiB) Viewed 1110 times

While we were busy in the inside of the house, the stump made a great seat for our kids etc. ha ha. I had to remove most of the porch to allow access to the stump grinder.

IMG_0927.JPG (60.39 KiB) Viewed 1110 times

Now with the stump removed, I was able to start reframing the structure of the porch. I located some really nice quarter sawn 3.25" face width T&G porch floor boards with very little wear at a local salvage place. They were much harder to find than interior flooring. Also, I dug down over a foot and put a solid stone down to rest the structure on once it is built.

IMG_0929.JPG (77.41 KiB) Viewed 1110 times

[Lily left the valley]

Nice find for the porch. Although the seat might be missed, I'm sure you're thrilled to have the stump out of the way.

Looking forward to watching this project progress.

[Gothichome]

Any idea why an oak tree was planted (or allowed to grow from seed)so close to the porch. I'm pretty sure they would have known how large oak trees get.

[Nicholas]

Any idea why an oak tree was planted (or allowed to grow from seed)so close to the porch. I'm pretty sure they would have known how large oak trees get.

I'm feeling it, I have a huge Blackjack Oak, with the same trunk size as depicted above, 12 feet from the main structure in back. Very close to screened in porch. You can see it poking above the roof in my avatar to the left. It has a wider canopy than it does height, and when the outer bands of Hurricane Hermine touched our area, I had 60- 80 mph wind for 20 minutes.

When it started I heard branches hitting the roof of the screened porch, I opened the door and was like holy crap, as a blur scooted by my feet that was determined to be two cats running inside for their lives. I thought I was going to lose the porch. Around the hood several large trees broke and fell, but the only thing that fell off this tree were dead branches.

I currently have a quote of 400 bux to trim some of this back before next storm season.

[Chadzeilenga]

Any idea why an oak tree was planted (or allowed to grow from seed)so close to the porch. I'm pretty sure they would have known how large oak trees get.

Hey Gothichome,
From what I can gather the tree pre-dated the house by about 50yrs or so. When the tree was cut down I counted the rings to around 1860 or so. I really wished it was about 3-5ft further from the house (really nice shade!).

I also found this picture below. I'm not sure on the date, but likely not too long after the house was built in 1904.

1322 Benton St. Front.jpg (153.06 KiB) Viewed 1027 times

JC Doescher.jpg (86.72 KiB) Viewed 1027 times

Also, another interesting thing to support this is the foundation at the front of the house is off-set and forms a ~3ft shelf. I'm wondering if this is due to a large root being present when the foundation was being dug.

Basement.jpg (66.81 KiB) Viewed 1027 times

[Chadzeilenga]

Hi All,
Made quite a bit of progress on the porch rebuild.

image8.JPG (143.54 KiB) Viewed 1024 times

I framed out the structure with pressure treated wood and lag bolted to the house.

image9.JPG (163.96 KiB) Viewed 1024 times

I dug down ~3ft for the supporting stone at the corner.

image7.JPG (151.32 KiB) Viewed 1024 times

I was able to pick up some 3.25" T&G boards at a salvage place in Maywood, IL and have most of them on the porch. There are a few holes from nails and some gouges. Any one have a suggestion on a good filler to use that can be painted over?

[Lily left the valley]

Wooo, look at all the screens/storms(?) in that basement.

Old photos are a wonder for what so many of us do. Is it possible that maybe somehow they just didn't know when they were building the home that the tree would just keep on growing? [I can imagine the builders, "Well, you see, we don't think it's a good idea..." Then the owner, "Well that's the way I want it, so do it that way." Builder, "Suit yerself, you're the boss."]

It would be interesting if the shelf was due to that. It made me think of that one post with the ginormous boulder that led to the wine cellar.

[Nicholas]

Hi All,
Made quite a bit of progress on the porch rebuild. Any one have a suggestion on a good filler to use that can be painted over?

Those are great pics of the tree and house.

There is a woodfiller at your Lowes Depot store that is very similar to "Bondo" for auto body work, comes with hardener, in fact I am pretty sure it is Bondo. Says right there that it adheres to metal and fiberglass. If you need a lot it may be cheaper to buy bondo at an auto store.

I used it to fill in some rough areas on my porch.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Minwax-High-Pe ... /999916297

[1806 Colonial]

I highly recommend http://www.abatron.com/buildingandrestorationproducts/woodrestorationmaintenance/woodepox.html?vmcchk=1. After it sets up it can be sanded, hand planed chiseled etc. I've used it for both interior and exterior repairs.

Jeff

[Mick_VT]

Hi All,
Made quite a bit of progress on the porch rebuild. Any one have a suggestion on a good filler to use that can be painted over?

Those are great pics of the tree and house.

There is a woodfiller at your Lowes Depot store that is very similar to "Bondo" for auto body work, comes with hardener, in fact I am pretty sure it is Bondo. Says right there that it adheres to metal and fiberglass. If you need a lot it may be cheaper to buy bondo at an auto store.

I used it to fill in some rough areas on my porch.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Minwax-High-Pe ... /999916297

I can confirm that bondo works extremely well as an exterior wood filler. I used it in several places about seven years ago and it is still holding strong