As exciting as it was to remove the sliding glass doors from our sunroom, it left a very unexciting task (by comparison) next on our list.
Removing all of the metal door frames left lots of exposed raw wood along the edges of each opening. Not only did it look unpolished, but it was recipe for rot (that recipe being rain water + raw wood = rot). So we jumped on this to-do right away.
When we got our house painted, this room had a lot of rot repair on the outside so we’re hyper-vigilant to the issue right now. So instead of filling those areas with wood, I splurged on PVC (i.e. plastic) since it holds up better to moisture. It was about $5 more per piece, but I figured it was worth knowing that it would last for decades without any rot. I did save about $25 by buying the pre-primed wood for the tops of the door openings (since they won’t likely come in direct contact with standing water).
Each of my boards measured 1″ x 6″ x 8′, which was just a smidge too wide for the gaps that I was filling. So in addition to cutting them a bit shorter, I had to rip a little off the sides using my table saw. Once I set my guide to the right measurement it made for pretty easy work.
Once everything was cut, I put some construction adhesive on the back of my board and the nail gunned it into place. It had been a while since I had a date with my nail gun, so it felt good to be back in the saddle. I made super handsome faces like this.
For the ceiling boards I also reinforced the hold with a few screws. I just didn’t totally trust adhesive + nails to keep it from falling on our heads at some point.
Installing the boards took me a couple of hours, only to be followed by an equally fun few hours of caulking. #YOLO
Our main mission was to caulk the gaps around the new boards (just say no to moisture creeping in there!) but we took the opportunity to fill any other cracks or gaps that we saw around the room. In addition to its rot-prevention benefits, this step also made the new frames look more finished.
When it came to caulking the bottoms, I learned from a similar experience on our last home’s porch makeover that I should use clear (not white) silicone caulk here. When caulking against brick it’s nearly impossible to get a straight looking line because the caulk gets smushed into the ragged surface of the brick. So clear caulk allows us to still seal things tightly, while the straight edge of the board still acts as the visual edge. Obviously it looks lumpy here since I didn’t smooth it with my finger yet, but once you do that it’s pretty clean looking.
I know, I know, riveting stuff. But at least it made the room look a little less unfinished.
And as you can see, someone is enjoying the new open space quite thoroughly.
We still need to paint the inside of the room (right now it’s cream, while the outside is white) but before we broke out our paintbrushes, we couldn’t keep ourselves from breaking into the ceiling…
More on that once we finish poking around in there. Here’s hoping we can actually loft this baby!
Things are really coming together! We are working on a built-in bookcase project right now where we are customizing an existing structure, so we are also using quite a bit of caulk to smooth out cracks.
How will you deal with any snow that drifts in during the winter? Do you get snow in Virginia?
We don’t get very much snow here (it doesn’t usually stick except for a few inches a year that usually melt by noon), but it’ll be a weather-proofed outdoor area just like the deck or an outoor patio. So it should hold up to rain or snow or hail. Now that you say that I’m excited to take a picture of it all covered by a dusting of snow if we get any this year!
xo
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Ohhh.. I can just picture it for Christmas: little potted pines sitting near the bases of the vertical supports all covered in lights twinkling under a dusting of snow!
Ahhhhh! So cute.
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I have a similar question for heavy rains/winds and the occasional inland hurricane. I suppose you’ll just bring the furniture inside? Looking great!
Oh yes, we’ll treat it like the deck, so anything we’d bring in for a possible storm outside on the deck or in the sunroom will get stashed in the garage.
xo
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“We don’t get very much snow here (it doesn’t usually stick except for a few inches a year that usually melt by noon),”
Oh, real fine, there. When we get hit with Snomaggedon 2014 along the Mid-Atlantic this year, at least we’ll know who to blame!!
Oops! Please insert a wink in my post above :)
WHOA/WOOHOO to that last ceiling picture! I love demo. And, I also got to use a nail gun this week–my dad’s bajillion pound one that shoots out Regular Sized nails (read: big/scary). I felt powerful and made lots of funny faces.
I love your updates! We’re finally getting around to picking a floor for the kitchen… Can’t you two just come do it for us? That way I know it will be fabulous! ;)
Ding dong! I’m outside ;)
xo
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Of course ya’ll already see the real opportunity here once you completely settle into your house and things slow down…Decorator Consulting.
Are you planning on keeping the veranda completely open or adding removable curtains?
We love the idea of adding breezy outdoor curtains, and we’re open to adding screens if we need them down the line, but so far with the fan on the mosquitoes are saying “ain’t nobody got time for that!” and avoiding the wind current. Yesssss!
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Those new boards definitely make the space feel more finished (or rather that there were never sliding doors to begin with!). Also, I’m very intrigued by this loft idea!
Ooooh! I want to see what you find in the ceiling. This is such an exciting project, probably one of my favorites that you guys have done. So awesome!!!!
love it!
two things- first, double check your fan is made for outside/wet use. we had an issue with an existing fan at our new house and had to replace.
second, sherry, have you tried this tea? with some sugar and some milk it is like a lighter version of a chai latte. yummmmm.
http://www.amazon.com/Twinings-French-Vanilla-Chai-20-Count/dp/B003XMDECS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377180518&sr=8-1&keywords=twinings+french+vanilla+chai
Sounds so good! I’ve never tried it so I’ll have to!
xo
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THIS IS VERY EXCITING. My fourth floor fire escape is my only “outdoor area,” so I’m living vicariously through you and your fancy veranda. It’s like a breath of fresh country air!
That last shot of John digging into the ceiling is like a season finale cliff hanger! AHHH! Can’t wait for more…
yesss!! Exactly what I thought: cliff-hanger. A good way to end a blog post, guys! :)
Gaaaaa! I know!
Is it weird I literally screamed when I saw John take down the ceiling!? I guess it was shocking because if you mentioned doing that before, I didn’t read it and I was all into the caulking (love to do it…weirdo) then BAM…rippin’ the ceiling!
Waiting with baited breath to see more!
#YOLOceiling
Haha!
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It looks AMAZING already!
It’s looking great — I can’t wait to see what y’all do with the ceiling, though!!
I am IN LOVE with this space and completely envious! I can’t wait to see where you guys take it!
How cute is that candid shot of Clara throwing up the ball?! You guys should totally add that to the photo wall! Love it!
The revamped sunroom/porch looks great too! Please tell us you are doing something super awesome with that ceiling?!
We want to loft it and then add light blue beadboard (we linked to an inspiration room in Monday’s post). Ahh, so excited!
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Petersiks it’s amazing how much you’d already tackled on the outside of the house. It looks great, kudos!
Has it rained yet, with the former-sunroom now being open? Does the area stay relatively dry? I was curious with the day bed being outside, how the matress and sheet combo was holding up to the outdoors…
It rained between opening things up and adding the trim pieces. Thankfully almost everything under the roof stayed pretty dry except for about 6″ around the perimeter. I’m sure if it really blew things under there could get damp though, so our plan is to waterproof all the furniture (using deck or patio furniture so we don’t have to worry about it).
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This is your most cliffhanger-season finale like blog post ever! Whoa! Didn’t see that coming! Can’t wait for the follow up.
True confessions… did you just do this to the sunroom/veranda over the last few days, virtually real time to the blog posts, or are we a week or two behind what has really been happening to the veranda?
This is as real time as it gets! We just finished caulking yesterday and the ceiling is half-open as I type this!
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Awesome room! Your daughter looks like she is in heaven. So glad I got the chance to meet you in person at Haven. Have a great day!
Aw, thanks so much! Loved meeting you too!
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LOVE it! The open-ish of the patio reminds me of a patio on a vacation house. DREAM! Can’t wait to see if you can “loft it” Good work guys!
I love the open space! We used one of those PVC boards for the window trim that sits directly behind our kitchen sink – you’d never know it’s not real wood.
Isn’t it crazy how real it looks?! I assumed it would be extra shiny or something but it looks exactly the same as the pre-primed wood ones!
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Nicely done!
I am excited because I just learned yesterday what YOLO meant! I feel hip.
Haha, I just taught my friend about it a few weeks ago. It was so funny. I especially like the ironic application. Like “I’m doing my laundry. YOLO!”
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I just had to Google it. I can’t keep up with all these acronyms.
I just googled it as well. I`m getting too….
I love this project. Already it’s such a great transformation and I look forward to seeing how you finish the space. You’ve mentioned the living room being dark because of the “veranda” and it loos a bit dark in these photos. Have you considered skylights to brighten the whole space and living room up?
So funny you should say that! We were just talking about that but we’re not sure if we like the shade that the “veranda” provides (if we want sun we can just sit out on the deck, so we like the idea of being able to hide under the roof to get shade for now). We’ll have to see though. We could definitely add those down the line!
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Wow! I love how this project is coming along. I wish I lived in a warmer climate where this would be a good option for us. Can’t wait to see it finished!
its AMAZING what a few finishing pieces can do to a space!! i love this! every deck post makes me more envious of your large deck! I’ve got 100 sq ft and it just never seems like enough!
What about gorgeous weave blinds? :)
Those sound pretty too!
xo
s
What are you guys planning on doing to the line of brick between the concrete and desk?
Looks great!
I love that brick border! Unfortunately it’s covered in glue and holes from those sliders being installed (boo!) so we are thinking when we tile the floor (we want something rough so it’s not slippery like the concrete) we’ll just go flush to the deck with the new tile. It’s inspiring me to add a border detail though, so we might go for that!
xo
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What about “brick” tiles for the whole area, like you see in fancy farmhouse kitchen remodels? A lighter (not super-red) brick color might be really pretty.
That does sound pretty! Not sure since the facade of the house is brick if that would clash, but we can’t wait to bring some samples home and see what we like!
xo
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I’m having a tough time selecting the links in the header for some reason. I wonder if anyone else is having the same issue or if it’s just me.
Oh no! Anyone else having any issues clicking the links under our header?
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They didn’t work for me either. :(
What browser are you guys using (ex: Internet Exporer 6, Chrome 3)?
Also, are you on a smart phone?
Oh and if you clear your cookies/cache/data and try again then do they work? Thanks!
xo
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I’m in Google Chrome, tried clearing everything, but no luck. On my lap top that I usually read on. Strange, because it seems to have just started today.
Yeah, they didn’t work for me either this morning. Chrome 3, cleared cache! :)
they don’t work for me in either safari or chrome.
So strange! Thanks for the info guys! They’re working for us in Firefox (and on our smart phones too). We didn’t change anything on our end today (we redid them about 3 days ago but they seemed fine then). Maybe it’s just a regional glitch? John’s on the case!
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Nope, not working in Safari after clearing either… Hope it’s a quick fix!
Sorry guys, John thinks he knows what’s up and hopes to have it fixed within a half hour or so. Wahoo!
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Is it working for everyone now? We think we have it figured out. Here’s hoping!
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Yes, it’s working!
Thanks :)
So glad.
xo
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Maybe you have fixed it by now, but mine works. I use Google Chrome!
Great post guys!!! Love the new look!
I love how you guys are putting more Clara in your pictures. I am not usre if it’s on purpose or not : trying to get a three year old to stay out of a shot I can imagine is difficult. But it just makes everything seem more homey! Thanks for sharing little glimpses of your life.
I am curious about 2 things:
1. You can still see some exposed wood around the edges of the new tops that you put in each opening (pic #6), any plans on painting that or something else to protect that wood?
2. What are your plans for the concrete floor now that this will be an open sunroom (how will it differ from the approach to the concrete floor you had in house #1’s sunroom)? Will you try to blend it with the brick edging? In the full shots (like pic #1 & #10) the brick edging is tricking my eye in that it looks like a strip of unstained deck boards.
Oh yes, we still have to paint the edges and the entire interior of the room! As for the floor, we’re planning to tile it just because the concrete is really slick and we want something with more grip. I think it’ll look like one of those swanky tiled cabanas when we get to that step!
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Caulking is horrible work, but the payoff is amazing. And the ceiling is a Bravo cliffhanger if there ever was one. Off topic, but Gretchen’s face when she was trying to cry on the part two of the reunion was SCARY. Let it be a lesson about the dangers of Botox, children. .
HOLY COW, that entire part was so crazy! And then it was like a cry-off because Alexis started going and I was like “what is happening?!”
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Ohmygosh, I thought the same thing! I wasn’t sure if I was being judgmental, though. Very scary looking. I’m glad someone else thought that, too.
I thought so too! It was almost like she was forcing herself to cry, but maybe that’s the dangers of Botox! It’s been a crazy interesting reunion! I’d love a Real Housewives post through Sherry’s eyes…just sayin’ ;)
Haha! I feel like my commentary would go something like this: “and then ___ and ___ started fighting and I was like “what’s going on?!” and then _____ came in wearing something crazy and it made me smile and then ____ was crying in the background and I felt bad but then I wondered if it was even real. My underlying thoughts are “is this really happening?!” “how did this happen?” and “is this for real?”
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OOh!! Exciting!
Wow! You guys know how to do a lot of stuff! I want to vault the ceiling in our living room, but I DO believe that would be a bit more intense. It looks like that outdoor space won’t have any insulation/electrical issues when you loft that baby? Also, Sherry, I wanted you to take a look at our house tour. Thanks for all the inspiration Young House Lovers! http://realhomelove.com/home-tour/
Love that house tour! Thanks so much for sharing, Lindsay!
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Nice caulking job – I always make a mess of it and often go back, remove certain areas and redo. I also love the nice sneak in of the #YOLO hashtag, by the way.
What a great space. I can only imagine how beautiful it will be once its finished!
We are currently adding trim to our screened in porch, so I hear ya on the finishing deets not being quite as exciting :) It looks really great though – this room would look a-mazing with a nice vaulted ceiling.
Been thinking of you guys & that ceiling. We are in the process of putting bead board panels on our porch’s ceiling. It’s lofted and I didn’t think we would EVER get the panels installed all the way to the top of the peak. Can’t wait to see how yours turns out. Great work so far.
Is it wrong that I am SO excited about this project. I do not even live with you guys and I am SO excited. :)
The picture with Clara is just beautiful, you are so lucky to have that not only that big beautiful deck but now this area as well. I love every single thing you are doing with this house. This is like the dream house. I cannot wait to see where you go with the ceiling. I am sure it will be great. I would love to just sit out there in the shade and NAP! LOL
Thanks so much Vanessa! That’s so sweet of you to say. Come on over – let’s nap together.
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Cant wait to see more! You are going to use the heck out of that space this fall – so great!
You know, I’m always a fan of y’all’s projects, but this one might be my favorite. What an inspiring project. It makes the space look so… expensive!
Holy baleep…did I miss where you guys said you were going to loft the ceiling? I am returning my number one reader card if I did. That will be sooooo amazing!
It was just sort of an off-handed mention in Monday’s post (we linked to a room with a pretty blue beadboard ceiling that had been lofted). Oh man, here’s hoping we can do it because I’m in love.
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I’m confused – isn’t it a problem to have the drywall just open to the elements, even on the inside side? I’m in Canada and I can’t imagine that that would be ok, but maybe it’s ok where you are?
Sorry Meg, we touched on that in the bottom of the post on Monday but forgot to refer to it again here. It’s actually not drywall on those walls – it’s wood with exterior paint on it! We believe this used to be a screened porch, so it’s made with outdoor-friendly elements.
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So completely off topic, I had a dream last night that I ran into Sherry and John in a park with Burger. I went to pet Burger and accidentally ‘shocked’ him with a little static electricity. Sherry was so mad and grabbed him and stormed off and I was so upset with myself lol. Where do our brains come up with this stuff??
I love the veranda, in more related news :-)
That Dream Sherry sounds like a real jerk! Haha!
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Yep, I’m not having any luck with those links under the header, too.
Boo! So sorry guys. Don’t know what’s going on. It would be helpful to know your broswer info, if you’re on a smart phone, and if things work again if you clear your cache/cookies/data. Thanks!
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WOW, I really love this. It’s one of those things that I would have NEVER thought of…but it’s amazing. I feel like it actually elevates the house. I think that’s one of the best things about having experience moving doors, walls, etc…you can start thinking outside of the box.
It’s also so great how having a problem leads to a creative solution that you may have not designed yourself if you were doing it in the first place…but ends up being so ideal in the end! Nice job guys! :)
xo
Clara looks like a little woodland fairy in that last picture of her w/the ball! she’s so cute!!
also, where did you get your white outdoor table w/the chairs and umbrella? looking for one like that myself and just can’t seem to find it! thanks! :)
Thanks Renee! The table is from World Market and the chairs are from Joss & Main and the umbrella is a recent clearance find from Home Depot.
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Ugh. I really just want to email this post to my landlord, who thought it was a good idea to hang WOOD 2x4s on the shower walls as makeshift shelves. On all three shower walls! Who knows how long ago he did it but the paint is chipping and some of the wood has major cracks (and I’m assuming rot/mold) in it. PVC would have been a much better option considering it is constantly wet. Or ya know, no shelves at all?
His DIY ideas are making me count down the days until I can buy my own house and do it right.
Thanks for being my therapist for the day. :)
Oh man, so sorry Kim!
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Wow! Super jealous of that space, I don’t think I would ever be inside. Living up here in the Adirondacks the chance of snow mid-July would put a damper on a space like that. Not to mention the black flies. Oh and John, it’s a TABLE saw better for the back and much safer if you actually put it On a TABLE! :) New house looks great can’t wait to see the rest of the make-overs!
Haha! This is a good point. No one’s more excited about turning the side of the garage into a workshop than John – so here’s hoping that table is around the corner.
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I’m looking forward to seeing how you’ll work out the ceiling! I love vaulted spaces.
First time comment (as I usually start, then chicken out): Love following along on your new house projects. It’s inspiring to see the progress! This room is looking so dreamy that I can just imagine how much enjoyment you will get from it!
Thanks so much Jen!
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Nice cliffhanger at the end there! ;)