Rollac Rolling Shutters

The screen porch on the front of the “L” Shaped is is almost certainly the favorite space inside the “L” Shaped House. Opening the french doors to the porch in the spring transforms the living room into a wide open space that includes all the outdoors. Many gatherings at the “L” Shaped House end with everyone crowded together competing for a comfortable place to sit. The only complaint has been the late summer afternoon sun shining directly into the space.
Our friend Dave Lommen at Shutters and Shades in Hopkins suggested rolling shutters as the best possible solution to this problem. He and his crew installed the Rollac Rolling Shutters in May (2015). They are a  fantastic addition to the front porch!

The shutters roll up into a metal enclosure that tucks up under the porch roof overhang nicely and are operated with a wireless remote.

       

The rolling shutters in action!

 

Carpentry…Breezeway porch fix

The Solid Construction folks came back early this morning to fix a stair tread consistency issue the building  inspector found during his visit the other day. The first step off the pavers fell just outside the 3/8” height variation required by the code. The Solid guys decided to carefully disassemble the treads and risers to allow access as they trimmed the tops of the stringers under the treads. The first photo shows the Solid guy working to reassemble a stair tread after trimming the stringer.

The second photo shows the breezeway stairs after with the “fix” applied. The tread adjustments are just barely visible along the left hand side of the stairs. Once we get the painters back to put another coat of white stain on the cedar no one will ever know the stairs were adjusted!

Carpentry…Three porches (wrap-up)

During a noon visit today I took a few photos of the front porch and rear breezeway porch at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows how Landon’s very nice work on the inside of the front porch carries through to the outside as well. I find this view of our new home particularly pleasing.

 

The next photo shows the front of the house from middle of the driveway with the side breezeway deck and barn lights along the front of the garage visible on the extreme right. The uniform railing and column details on the three porches tie these elements together nicely and really complete the farm house look.

The last photo shows most of the back side of the house with the rear breezeway entrance visible in the center. With the porches complete we can now see Mike Kloti’s vision for the house in the flesh. Everything from the MiraTEC trim wrapping the structure…to the railing defining the porches…to the Kloti Chops at the eaves…has come together with a sense of scale and proportion that seems nearly perfect!

Carpentry…Front porch (wrap-up)

Landon (Solid Construction) left late yesterday afternoon after finishing his work on the front porch at the “L” Shaped House. The front porch is probably going to be the “defining feature” of the house…especially for those who only see it as they drive by. Landon has done a particularly nice job putting together all the elements of both Mike Kloti’s original design and Paul Winter’s construction details. I took the photo here on my late night visit yesterday. In it we see many of the details of the screen porch including the railings, screens, and door hardware.

It is a very peaceful place at 10:00 pm…

The Screen Porch…

While working through the photos I took last night I ran across this photo taken inside the new screen porch. It was meant to be a just shot of the inside corner details on the porch but with the new White Pines and phase 2 plantings in the background it seems like a really good way show off the hard work of the landscape crew, the painters, and our carpentry guy…Landon.

Nice work guys!

Carpentry…Porches (day 12)

Landon worked today finishing the porch railing and installing screens in the screened-in section of the front porch. The first photo shows the front corner of the “L” Shaped House with all of the railings in place as Landon works to fit some of the trim on the porch framing.

The next photo shows the finished railing installed all the way around the screen porch.

The third photo Landon as he works to install the first sheet of aluminum screen material on the panel just outside the front door. The 48” wide screen material runs all the way from top to bottom as one continuous sheet on the flush face of the framing, and railing. In this system the spindles and railing are on the inside of the screen and the trim elements clamp the screen to the framing. The fourth photo shows the panel on the left side of the screen door after the screen and all of the trim have been installed.

The last photo (taken early this evening) shows the screened-in section of the front porch as Landon was packing up to leave for the day. The whole porch looks fantastic with the railings and screen in place.

Carpentry…Porches (day 11 evening report)

Landon worked his way across most of the front porch assembling railings this afternoon. The photo here shows the front of the “L” Shaped House at about 6 pm this evening with Landon hard at work on the last stair railing. He plans to have a helper tomorrow morning as he moves into the screen porch.

It all looks fantastic!

Carpentry…Porches (day 11)

Landon is back today working on railings for all three porches at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the back breezeway porch after he finished installing all of the balusters in the the railings. Once the painters finish putting the second coat on everything this porch will be done!

The next photo shows the side breezeway porch with all of the elements of the railing system in place. Landon was heading off to start on the front porch as I left around 1 pm and expects to be moving on to the screen for the screen porch sometime tomorrow.

Carpentry…Porches (day 10)

Landon (Solid Construction) is back today starting work on the porch railings. The first photo shows two deck rails for the stair section of the side breezeway porch with stair baluster connectors attached. The stair sections are presumably a lot tougher to lay out and assemble than the straight runs across the porches.

The next photo shows the first section of balusters installed on the front side of the stairs leading to the breezeway entrance to the “L” Shaped House. This system of aluminum balusters and connectors creates a nice clean looking railing.

Carpentry…Porches (day 10)

Landon and his Solid Construction crew are back today working on the side breezeway porch. The first photo shows Landon as he installs the last few screws holding the “code Rail” on the right hand stair railing. This set of stairs is pretty much the last major item they will build before moving on to the spindles in the railings and the screen for the screen porch.

The next photo shows the sample section of railing Paul Winters put together to help us as we selected a spindle color. After looking at this assembly in a few positions around the front porch we chose the white ones!

Carpentry…Porches (day 8)

Landon and his crew from Solid Construction were back today working on the porches at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the side breezeway porch after they finished setting the stair treads and porch railings. They plan to install the decorative lattice and trim tomorrow morning.

The next photo shows the PermaCast column on the back breezeway porch after Landon and his crew added the new (and improved?) base and cap. After a fair amount of study we decided to abandon the Tuscan base and cap assemblies originally supplied with the columns and replace them with these simpler “wraps” made from Azek material. The last three photos show some of the detail work involved in producing the Azek wraps installed around the front porch. First…an inside corner at the far end of the porch.

Next…part of a cap assembly installed on the inside corner of the screen porch. Lastly…the base of the column on the front wall outside the screen porch.

Carpentry…The front porch

The very first item on our list of things to include in our new home was a “Big Front Porch”. The photo below shows the view across the front porch from the top of the stairs late yesterday afternoon. With the bead board ceiling, stairs, railings, screen porch framing, and screen door in place the porch is really coming together. I spent a few minutes sitting on the little ladder by the front door watching the birds feasting on the serviceberry bushes and pagoda dogwood trees.

The front porch is everything I hoped it would be…and more!

Carpentry…Porches (day 7)

Landon and his crew from Solid Construction are back today working on all three porches at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo below shows the new door leading into the screened-in section of the front porch as well as the newly installed trim around the ceiling. Almost everything on the front porch is ready for paint.

The next two photos show the stairs leading to the front and side breezeway porches. The first shows the finished railings and trim on the stairs to the front porch. The second shows the side breezeway porch with the decking installed and the stringers for the stairs in place.

 

The last photo shows the back breezeway porch with the beginnings of the stair and deck railings in place. We plan to build all three staircases with the same cedar railing and trim details and finish everything using a white stain.

Carpentry…Porches (day 6)

The Solid Construction crew continues their work on the front porch at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows front corner of the house from a spot on the edge of the paver driveway half way down the hill. The new railing running up the stairs and across the deck is visible on the right while the framing in the screened-in section is seen on the left.

The next photo shows the screen porch corner on the front of the house with the framing for the screens installed along the front side and West end. The railing and spindle details will start at the opposite end and will run through these sections all the way to the music room wall on the left.

The third photo shows the end of the screen porch from inside the window in the music room. The fourth photo is a straight-on shot of the stairs that lead to the porch from the sidewalk off the paver driveway. This stairway leading to the front porch is going to be the main entry into the “L” Shaped House.

The last photo shows the new screen porch on the West end of the house from the top of the stairs. The decking on the front porch extends almost 12’ from the front wall of the house. The inside dimensions of the screened-in section are approximately 11’ x 15’. With the framing for the screen porch and railing in place and the decking installed on the floor the front porch has been already transformed into a special place!

Carpentry…Porches (day 5 evening report)

Landon and his crew from Solid Construction started building the screened-in section on the West end of the front porch at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the front porch from just beyond the new sod in the front yard. Here you see the beginnings of the four panels that will make up the front wall of the screen porch.

The next photo shows the doorway into the screened-in section the porch just after Landon finished the framing. A screen door installed in this doorway will lead into the screened-in area outside the living room from the front porch.

Carpentry…Porches (day 5)

The Solid Construction crew is concentrating their efforts today on the porch across the front of the house. The first photo below shows two of the Solid guys installing Azek decking on the floor in the screened-in area of the front porch. All of the 4 x 4 cedar posts for the porch railing are now installed along the front edge of the porch.

The second photo shows the front porch from the West end about an hour later. Here you can see that they have nearly all the Azek decking installed including the section running up to the front door. Landon and Paul worked through the plan for the screen porch and he and his crew were just starting to work on boxing in the ceiling elements as I left around noon.

The last photo shows a close up of the Azek decking installed on top of the insect screen in the screened-in area of the front porch. This will hopefully keep the hungry mosquitoes from across the street at bay!

Carpentry…Porches (day 4 evening report)

The Solid Construction crews worked well into the evening on the porches at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows one of the guys stapling the screen material that is being installed under the decking in the screened-in section at the West end of the front porch. We’re doing this to ensure a “mosquito-free” zone in this important area of our new home. They also have all of the posts for the railings in place and will probably get most of the decking installed tomorrow.

The next photo shows the side breezeway entrance after the Solid crew finished installing all of the staircase stringers and posts for the railings. In the original design for the “L” Shaped house there were only three steps up leading to the side breezeway porch. The compromise we reached as we worked to accommodate the City of Minnetonka Natural Resources Department caused us to set the elevation of the garage floor 16” lower and pull the driveway further away from the house. The first two (8”) steps in this staircase will be the most obvious remembrance of this change.

Carpentry…Porches (day 4)

The Solid Construction crew is busy working on all three porches at the “L” Shaped House. The photos below show the progress made on all three as of about noon today. The first photo shows the back breezeway entrance to the house with almost all of the porch in place except the railing. Here we can see…for the first time…all the elements of the design coming together. I like the simple, rugged look of the posts and have become very comfortable with the brownstone color of the Azek decking.

The next photo shows the East end of the front porch with more posts for the railing in place and the newels at the bottom of the stairs installed. The railing system will include aluminum spindles in-between the cedar posts and a cedar 2 x 6 top rail. We plan (at least so far…) to use dark spindles and paint the cedar elements using a white stain.

The last photo shows the work on the side breezeway entrance just getting underway. Here the Solid Construction guys have cut the first stringer for the stairs and placed it along the porch for Paul and I to approve. In this configuration we will have five steps to the decking and one into the house. We approved and they have set about building!

Carpentry…Porches (day 3 evening report)

I stopped by the “L” Shaped House on my way home last night and took a few photos of the progress being made on the front porch. Here one of the Solid Construction guys is laying out Azek decking as he works toward the front edge of the of the porch. They have five of the new posts for the deck railing set at the top of the stairs and will continue working their way around toward the music room end. The front porch is starting to come together and even with only 1/3 of the decking in place already “feels” really nice.

Carpentry…Porches (day 3)

The Solid Construction crew is back today working on the porches at the “L” Shaped House. The first photo shows the back breezeway porch with the stairs, the decking, the decorative lattice, and beginnings of railing all coming together.  All of the porches are going to big enough to set a couple of chairs in place and enjoy the “outside”. This porch will be especially nice with a dog (or two) sitting in your lap!

The second photo shows the back breezeway porch from the far corner. Here we can see the brownstone Azek decking against the cloak grey siding. The last photo shows the front corner of the front porch as the Solid Construction crew starts to assemble the railing system Paul Winters has designed. The railings will tie into the PermaCast columns and will wind all the way around the deck…through the screen porch…to the music room wall at the West end.