July 1 (post-dated for order display on page)

Saturday afternoon, after getting my work done I thought I would relax out in back of my house, then I remembered I don’t have a deck, patio or outdoor entertaining area - YET. Just after noon on Saturday Jamie and I headed to Home Depot to scope out materials for building a deck and after gathering the “intel” and pricing, we returned home to make final measurements and design.

One obstacle was the 40-year-old concrete porch and steps in back so just after 4PM I headed to the local rental center to get a jackhammer. I thought it would take under an hour but instead took about 4 - my forearms, back, hands are still sore and vibrating! See below:

Here I am chipping away at the concrete porch, chipping the outside edges all around and continuing. The last time I used a jackhammer I was 13 years old (17 years ago) when taking out the porch at my aunt’s house for her remodel - I guess I didn’t remember how much time it actually does take - my porch was solid concrete (no hay bale in the middle, uggh).

Here I am proud of chipping away the top step. Unfortunately I have to take out more so the deck joists will fit (I’m using 2×10s for added strength).

4 hours later, as the sun is setting, I finally destroyed the old porch enough to build my new deck. Then I had this great idea, why don’t I first install a 6-foot sliding glass window in the kitchen.

The first thing I have to do is remove all trim and moulding, plus tear away enough of the drywall to know what size studs and header exists. This will help me pick up the necessary lumber to frame out the opening for the new door.

Some necessary tools for the demo and framing. I had other tools like a speed square, pencil, circular saw and level outside for cutting the lumber to size and making sure everything goes in straight.

After taking measurements needed for the rough opening of the slider, I tore out enough sheetrock (a.k.a. drywall) and removed the studs that used to exist. I tried to salvage them but there were so many nails through them from all angles I had to beat them out and they split, etc.

Enlisting the services of my trusty helper Jamie, we “fished” in a new header. Normally I would spend another hour trying to break apart the old header but they built this house so solid, it’s a nighmare (I learned with the bathroom remodel). I built another header and butted the two against each other and used a LOT of 3 1/2 inch screws to secure them together and to the top plates. After I had the king stud (next to header going floor to ceiling) and the stringer (under header supporting load), I proceeded to use my reciprocal saw (sawzall) to cut out the opening.

I decided to cut from the outside as I learned when cutting out the opening for the bathroom window that the saw really grinds up the surface on the opposite wall. As such, I used chalk lines to guide my cuts since I couldn’t see the studs on the inside. Be sure to keep a couple charged batteries on hand - I went dead midway and had to wait for batteries.

After cutting out the siding and sheeting, I gave Jamie the fun task of kicking the wall out. I took a short video clip of it that I may upload later. It took her about 3 kicks and then the wall crashed down.

Now my house has a large hole in the side of it. I next had to prepare the threshold to get the floor level. Also, I had to use my circular saw to trim back the siding a couple inches from the opening so the nailing strips will fit flush against the sheeting (plywood). After that was all ready, my neighbor across the alley helped me carry the door and hold it in as we nailed it tight.

The slider is installed. Given I still have to build the deck, I will wait to trim it all out at once, finally trimming out my window outside the bathroom as well. Give me a week and our outdoor dining area will take shape.

A nice view from the inside. I need to stuff some insulation and fur out the top plate, then will install, tape, texture and paint some new drywall. Since we will be remodeling the kitchen too, I will leave the left-hand side a little rough given we’ll do demo later this summer when time permits.

I hope you enjoyed my step-by-step of how to demolish a concrete porch and install a new sliding glass window. During my next segment, you will learn how to assemble a new deck (as I learn too, ha ha).

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 4th, 2007 at 1:30 am and is filed under Knowledge, My Projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. This post has been viewed 611 times.