Porch Project...Summer 2008

Click a picture to Supersize it.

Ok so I didn't take any pictures of the original steps or how we got it this far.

My father built the second set of steps after they had the porch closed in back in the 70's.

Me and my cousin took over the framing job after the guy that was building it quit (and he was doing a real hack job!) He was so bad, my father was out telling him how to do it correctly but he would not listen (dummy).
Anyway, turns out my father did a really great job on the first set. Everything was precisely cut and thought out. In the end, it was just time to replace the wood.

We spent about two days on it and got it framed. I finished off the rest a few hours at a time after getting out of my day job.

I opted for the Trex-like boards to really make it last a long time. I also stole an idea from my cousin's steps where the deck boards were used to cover the railing. I liked it.

Today is the day the balusters go up.

First of all I picked up this sweet Ryobi Chop saw
(with laser!!)

It was on the HD As-Is table for $35!
It was missing the bag but I made on up from a coat hanger and an old pillow case (sorry mom).

I rigged up a heavy board with a adjustable stop to set the length of the cut. The heavy board butts up against the saw and just kind of sits there.

There is no excuse for not having a few Sears Craftsperson 19.2 V power drills hanging around. These drills work like a dog! They will put a 3 inch Deckmate screw into a 2x4! (see shed story)

Chop chop!

I started chopping after I set the angle for the cut. (the bottoms come pre-cut.)

The 2x4 set the space between the sticks.

Ah finished side one and the sun had not cooked me today!

Here is side two. Yes that's an electric drill. I didn't want to kill my batteries today. They don't charge well if the sun heats them up. The charger just say's "Charged" if the batteries are too hot.

Thanks for looking.