Monday, June 12, 2017

5 Things About Me - and the New Back Porch


1. I decided to get voice lessons. I have thought about doing this for YEARS. I found someone on Thumbtack.  And now I am making strange noises with my voice.

2.  I don't pay attention to detail.  Sometimes, this works out to my advantage.  More on that later.

3. I make up songs all the time.  I can't say I write songs because I rarely put them down on paper.

4. I am easily frustrated.  That might have something to do with #2.

5. People confound me.  Sometimes, I think hermits have the right idea.

So about #2 and that new back porch....

Our enclosed back porch had not been renovated since it was enclosed around 1926. 
The original porch railing and posts were still visible.  Above that railing two tall sets of windows had been sort of tacked in place.  This filled the porch with sunlight making it an oven in the summer.  BUT, since the windows weren't weatherproofed, the porch was a freezer in the winter.

I decided to get rid of those big drafty windows and replace them with a sliding glass door and put a window in where the original door was.

What I envisioned was a space full of sunlight in which I could grow plants during the winter.

The contractor did not offer me drawings of the finished project. We just talked it out.  (See #2 above.)  I expected a tall window where the door had been but I NEVER gave a size and he never offered a size to me.  He suggested a small overhang over the sliding door to minimize rain and snow hitting the glass,  but he did not explain what that would do to the quality of light.

With the overhang and the smaller window, what I HAVE is a clean, cool shaded area.  It's a wonderful mud room with built in enclosed storage.  It is not a quasi-greenhouse.

Right now, it is 90 degrees outside.  As soon as I step onto my new back porch from the deck, I feel the temperature drop. 

Maybe, it's not the back porch I envisioned. This back porch will keep us cooler this summer and that is no mean feat.  It is weather tight and that will keep us warmer in the winter.
Taken from my new kitchen window.


HOWEVER, I hope I learned something.
1.  When significantly remodeling an area, (changing door  or window or plumbing fixture placement), INSIST on drawings.
2.  Make sure you understand how the light or airflow or water runoff will be impacted with any built on improvement.
3.  Pay attention to details.  (In my case? HA! to that.)



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