My wonderful carpenter guys, Paul and Donald, finished up the porch underpinning. They made gates - 3 of the them - and new post caps, too. It looks fabulous, but is
not truly complete. I'll wait a month or two for the wood to cure, then I'll add deck sealer. Picture the new wood much darker - the same color as the rest of the porch, so it won't stand out so much. I've wanted underpinning (a.k.a.
skirting) for so long - pretty much since we moved in (2008).
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| View of the Highest End |
There are three sets of steps leading to the porch. The guys made traditional gates for two of them. The front one (below) is a double gate. The other (not shown) is a single.
The third entrance leads to a section set aside for the dogs. It's a great covered spot to feed them and they like to hang out there, too, and keep an eye on things. Paul got creative with this "gate". It slides open. I won't need to open it often. I can easily step right over it.
You may wonder why I am trying to protect so much of the porch from the dogs. Let me explain...
The dogs swim in the pond most every day. Next, they roll for a while in the red Georgia clay with the goal apparently being maximum mud coverage. After they are good and dirty, they want to relax on the porch. The mess is awful. It's most noticeable when they lean up against the soft green house or the white columns. The mud stains are almost impossible to wash off (hence, my recent paint job). I'd like to keep most of the freshly painted porch looking nice as long as possible. Dirty dogs are not part of that equation.
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I loved my carpenters! Donald did a few board repairs to the existing porch without even being asked. Paul made new post caps. He had some wood left over and made extras - also without being asked! Post caps are the first boards to show signs of wear. It'll be nice to have some replacements on hand.
If you live near me and need a good carpenter, let me know!
I highly recommend Paul and Donald!
Odd Side Note: I took some really nice photos showing the whole house and intended to use them in this post. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to show them. It felt like I was exposing too much of myself. Silly, right? Using logic, I can argue against that, but I've lately I don't let a little thing like logic alter my course. I seem to feel better going with my instincts.
