Reclaiming the porch

My wife and I have a punch list a mile long. The remodel has taken its toll on us both physically as well as financially. The momentum has slowed over the winter, but with the mild weather we have experienced recently we thought we would refocus our efforts to the outdoor spaces. Our grounds are really nice, with mature indigenous plantings covering most of the lot. We have camellias, azaleas, hydrangeas, jasmine and honeysuckle growing everywhere. Wisteria covers the entire canopy. We also have the largest Sycamore tree in town, as well as several Live Oaks, a Bald Cyprus, and two huge Magnolia trees. And in keeping with the Carolina tradition, we have a nice Palmetto tree out back. Since we converted the garage into our office space, all of those things you might normally find in ones garage have resided on our screen porch… for two years.

The screen porch was one of the biggest attractions for us when we purchased the property, but with no real storage alternatives we have yet to enjoy it. Our lawn tools have been rusting under the eaves of the house and I kept a large galvanized tub over my mower. The kid’s bikes have long since been consumed by the elements. Our goal has been to create some storage and reclaim our screen porch. As soon as I had saved enough money I began researching shed plans, but my initial idea of building my own storage shed was overruled by my wife who argued that it would take me the entire summer to complete. She insisted we could have it finished in a weekend for just a few hundred dollars more if we opted to purchase it from one of the home centers. I feared that the campy barn designs would not fit the character of our home but was pleasantly surprised to find a nice boathouse design complete with a cupola and weather vane. Not custom built, but considerably more character than that of the ubiquitous Dutch barn.

She was right; they finished the shed in one day. We painted it to match the house, which incidentally, took longer than it did to build. I completely filled the 8’x12’ structure and still had more stuff on the porch, so I decided to build a small lean-to garden shed. I planned it to fit a 4’x 8’ footprint, so laying it out was simple. I framed and sheathed it in one day. We took Sunday off to attend the Blessing of the Fleet at Alhambra Hall, the annual Shrimp Season kickoff in Mt Pleasant. We met up with friends and had a great time. The weather was nice and the breeze coming in off the harbor kept the heat bearable. When we got home, I still had a few hours of daylight left, so I went ahead and shingled the roof. Although somewhat inebriated, I still managed to finish it up without falling off the structure or shooting a nail through any of my exposed digits.