Our Neat House: Porch Remodel: demolition of the old porch

Ye Olde Porch

One of the things we had to do soon after we got the house was a porch remodel. We started by tearing out the old porch. We considered building right over it, but as it was in a corner that would mean the new porch might become unstable. Especially if the old one kept moving and tilting. So, the old one had to go.

Before we begin I have to thank my partner, Nathan, and my dad, Ray, for they did most of the demolition. I carried away little trash pieces and bricks and helped where I could but they provided the heavy labor that this project called for. Thank you both so much!

Meet the Old Porch

Porch

It sure was fun walking down those steps and feeling like you just might drunkenly stumble off the side… whether you had consumed alcohol or not! A combination of a nearby cottonwood tree growing roots into the structure, and the upper platform being mostly hollow and gathering rainwater, made this porch lean and crack.

Porch Remodel: let’s tear it up!

Demolition began with that upper platform. Sure enough, it was just a thin layer of cement poured over dirt.

PorchPorch

After we tore that layer of cement off, we had this temporary setup in order to still use the backdoor.

Porch

It had to be carefully chiseled and pried off of the house.

Porch

Then, we dug… and dug some more… turns out the inside of the porch was filled with dirt, large rocks, tree roots, gravel, and trash. There was an astounding amount of material to remove!

PorchPorch

Then we had to start dismantling the framework of bricks.

Porch

Where even more roots lay in wait!

PorchPorch

Then, it was time to get the steps out of the way… they were solid cement with some gravel mixed in.

Porch

More giant rocks.

PorchPorch

More roots, more trash…

PorchPorch

Such a mess…

Porch

The large rocks and some of the broken slabs of concrete we set aside to use in future projects. We also made a trash pile and, as I spoke of in the cleanup entry, we tossed it out little by little through weekly trash pick up.

PorchPorch Porch

It felt a little surreal to see the insidey-parts of our house…

Porch

There, that’s better… prepped it for new stucco and paint.

Porch

The new facelift. It isn’t perfect, but as a new porch would be going there I think the stucco guy did a fine job.

Porch

Now What? A New Porch is Coming

I’ll be writing a new story about the adventure in building our brand new porch later. In the meanwhile, please consider supporting us by purchasing something from our store. We offer art for as low as $1! Seriously, check it out.

Author: Colleen

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