Porch Project

Monday, 02 August 2010

Sometimes being a homeowner can be more trouble than it's worth, but the big upside is that it's your house. If there's something you want to change about it, you can do it. From the little things like painting to the bigger things like new toilets, you're in complete control of what gets done with your place. I've been kicking an idea around for a while now and I think I'm on the verge of going through with it. I'm not an extremely handy guy, and although I've handled a few things around the house like installing a garbage disposal, dish washer, and a ceiling fan, I'm always a bit wary about doing new projects like this.

Really, it's not a major project at all. We have a really nice front porch on our house that we love to spend time on in the summer months -- at least when it's not sweltering out. This past week has finally been tolerable enough, at least in the mornings, to spend a little time outside. What I would really like to be able to do it bring Gus outside with us, but because the porch is not closed off, there's nothing keeping him from rushing any random squirrels or dogs that catch his eye. He's a good dog, but somewhat impulsive, so when do bring him out with us he has to be leashed at all times, which is kind of annoying.

So what I'd really like to do is build a gate that can fill in the entry area in order to keep Gus on the porch with us. I've never done anything like this before, though, so I want to be sure that whatever I end up installing doesn't have to be permanent. This is, after all, the front of our house and we don't plan to live here forever. Another tricky thing to consider is that we need to be able to pull the gate inward when we're not outside so that guests -- and more importantly, the mailman -- can come right up to the door. The width of this area is a bit over 48", but the area to the right, where the gate would need to be kept when open, is only 25", so I'm envisioning a sort of gate with a hinge in the center, that can be doubled up on itself and tucked away when we don't need it.

I'm sure that to anyone who has done any level of contruction before, a project like this sounds simple, but I'm a little nervous about it. I know it should only require some two-by-fours, some wood screws, a circular saw, and some sort of matching siding on the outside, but I'm a little daunted by the task. I thought I'd write up an article on it, though, as I'm sure I could use any advice you may have, and maybe there are other people who haven't done "simple projects" like this that would be interested in my experience. I'm going to head over to the hardware store tonight to take a first look at what I may need; Keep an eye here for future updates and please, let me know if you have any words of wisdom. Or maybe just a circular saw I can borrow.


Tags: daily  homeownership 

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