Another day’s work

 

After Jon arrived this morning, we continued building the deck for the porch. The task involved cutting 6x8 beams to the proper length, setting them in place, and ensuring they were level. I’m using 4x6s along the outer perimeter of the porch. The 6x8s butt up against the back side of the 4x6s on top of the block piers. They rest on the foundation wall on the house side and attach to the 2x8 box boards. Later, we’ll run 2x6s and 4x6s as floor joists between the 6x8 beams.

We built the frame across the front of the house and along the east side. That leaves only the porch on the back which extends from the corner to the root cellar.

I probably didn’t have to use 6x8s and 4x6s for the porch floor frame. One of my desires is that the porch be solid without flex in the floor. I also didn’t want to spend a lot of money. I bought the 4x6s from a sawmill previously and I had a few 6x8 beams left over from building the timber frame. I figured I would mill some more as needed. A friend gave me several beech trees out of which a friend milled 1x8s and 1x6s to use for the porch floor. There were enough logs to mill 14 6x8 beams also. So, the 6x8s were basically free.

If I had to buy dimensional lumber from a building supply place, the porch would have been designed a lot smaller. I want a nice, large porch. It will be an important part of our living space.