Fashionably green or shabby chic?We live in a rural setting with outbuildings that allow us to accumulate way too much junk. But one man's junk can also prove to be his treasure if he hangs on to it long enough! Hand-Hewn BeamYears ago, we tore down a dilapidated shed. We saved the beams, hand-hewn more than a hundred years ago from red elms that possibly grew here on the farm.The wall between the sunporch and kitchen is a load-bearing wall, so, in order to open it up, we needed to add a supporting beam. How about a hand-hewn beam from the old shed? The beam is a beautiful piece of history! It's a wonderful tribute to those who long ago handcrafted the homes and barns we cherish today. Beadboard CeilingYears ago, we replaced our old, sagging front porch. One of us—one who's full of cool and creative ideas—decided we needed a larger, wrap-around porch (no, it wasn't the one who does all the work...) This, of course, required a whole new roof with a whole new beadboard ceiling underneath. Of course.Well, we saved the douglas fir beadboard from that old porch and it's been laying in the shed rafters, with birds crapping on it, for about fifteen years. We decided this would make a great ceiling for the sunporch. We had to do a bit of stripping. One of us—the same cool and creative one—has the attention span of a third grader for this sort of thing so we decided the white paint (or bird crap...whatever) stuck in the grooves is okay. It gives it a shabby chic look! Hardwood Maple FloorYears ago, our neighbors built a lovely new home. Before tearing down the old farmhouse in which they had previously lived, they let us salvage some of its architectural details. Together, with one fascinated 10-yr-old son, we took out cool doorknobs, woodwork and...yep...you got it, hardwood maple flooring.Our kitchen has a great, hardwood maple floor. So did the walk-in closet. The sunporch, however, did not. After raising the level to meet the rest of the floor, we rummaged in the shed rafters for that old maple flooring from the neighbors. With a little sanding and refinishing, it will fit in beautifully! |
Less exciting, but equally as important...Our main concern as we opened up the wall to our new room was the cold. There was no basement under the porch, no insulation in the walls and no interior door. Both the closet and the porch had a history of being notoriously cold in winter. Major weatherproofing was definitely in order! Wall insulation• 5 1/2" fiberglass batting between the wall joists• Plastic vapor barrior• 3/4" styrofoam over allFloor insulation• 1 1/2" styrofoam between joists laid to build up difference in floor levels• Plastic vapor barriorUnder porch insulation• 1 1/2" styrofoam encasing complete space under porch• Plastic vapor barrior• Cedar panels between porch lattice and insulation to hide viewInterior door• Fir wood door with 3-over-4 paned-glass.February turned out to be a very cold month! With several weeks of temperatures and wind chills below zero, we realized the effectiveness of our insulating efforts. We're pleased to say we've got a warm and sunny room!
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