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Do you have a screened-in porch that your family only uses in the summer, and one that even then can get too hot or too cold?
When you're finished with this project, you'll have all the light and airiness of a porch, plus a cozy room that's comfortable and inviting even during the dead of winter.
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Start by prying off the wood stops that are holding the screen panels in place. |
Once the inside stops are removed, a few taps with a mallet from the outside nudges the panels free. Then you can just lift them out. |
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| If your porch construction is pretty straightforward, like this one (eight columns supporting the roof), then the only other demolition you have to do is to remove some trim from the posts. |
Now it's time to switch from DEstruction to CONstruction.
Begin by putting a short wall between the posts at about three feet high (everything from there up is going to be windows).
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To create that wall, grab a few two-by-fours for the sill and bottom plate, then cut them to length so they'll fit between the posts.
The bottom board is pressure-treated. On top of that, lay a standard two-by-four. |
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| Attach the two boards together with woods screws, then drill through both of them, in-place, with a carbide-tip masonry bit that also bores through wood. The idea here is to put the boards in place and drill through just far enough to make a locator mark on the stone below. |
Then switch over to a hammer drill, also equipped with a masonry bit and finish boring the holes. A piece of tape on the drill shank acts as a depth guide.
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After driving expansion anchor-bolts into the holes you've just drilled,
make an airtight seal by laying down a strip of foam insulation pierced by the bolts. |
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Then slip the screwed-together two-by-fours over the bolts. Install washers and nuts, and tighten everything with a socket wrench.
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As the nuts are tightened, the bolts expand inside the holes, jamming themselves in place and securing the boards to the floor. Finally, trim away the excess foam. |
Repeat this process for the other wall sections to complete a secure double base for your short wall. The next step is to cut all of the vertical studs to the appropriate height. |
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| The end studs are nailed to the posts... |
...then the top plate (or "sill") is set in place. |
Check for level, then nail the top plate down. Next, install studs every 16 inches or so, making sure they're plumb or vertical. Make sure to end-nail them at the top and toe-nail them at the bottom. |
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