The Porch in Progress

The porch has been a welcome addition to the house! I was reluctant, but have transformed to a believer.

The only thing it lacks is shade. The sun can leave you feeling parched.

The heat seems to pool right outside the sliding glass door.

Grandpa and Grandma had a solution. They ordered an awning.

Grandpa did some fact finding on one of their garden trips.

Then on another trip he came with shims and a plan.

It happened to be on my final day of work, so I took a virtual meeting break.

We pulled down the soffit, installed shims, replaced the soffit, and then put up brackets.

"Any work done over your head is three times the effort," I said.

I was wrong.

It was at least five times harder!

"There's a reason they pay overhead welders more than welders!" Grandpa said.

We had to be really careful to keep everything level. The awning had a motor, so we kept the braces closer on the side with the plug.

The next step was going to take a bit of muscle.

Delivered, the awning weighed around 250 lbs. We took it off the pallet, pulled out brackets, bolts, and everything we could to lighten the load.

I waited until one day the heat faded and shifted and pushed the awning up onto the back of the gator. I drove it over and then slid it off directly onto the deck (work smarter, not harder!).

Carrie was shocked. "What the hell, Mike!?" I don't know if she was more worried I'd hurt myself or bent the awning!

I'd just intended to move it into position, but Carrie got over her shock and wanted to finish the job. We got a pair of ladders, set the awning on top of them, and then climbed up to slide it in.

Once we got a couple of the bolts in we could put the rest in at our leisure. The rule for working overhead still applied!

It worked!

Only batteries weren't included.

The remote wanted an A-27 battery and our Food Lion only carried A-23s. Go figure.

Grandpa and Grandma picked one up on their way to visit. We officially have shade on the porch!