Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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Framing Out And Caulking Exterior Doorways

As exciting as it was to remove the sliding glass doors from our sunroom, it left a very unexciting task (by comparison) next on our list.

Sunroom 11 After

Removing all of the metal door frames left lots of exposed raw wood along the edges of each opening. Not only did it look unpolished, but it was recipe for rot (that recipe being rain water + raw wood = rot). So we jumped on this to-do right away.

Boxing 1 Before

When we got our house painted, this room had a lot of rot repair on the outside so we’re hyper-vigilant to the issue right now. So instead of filling those areas with wood, I splurged on PVC (i.e. plastic) since it holds up better to moisture. It was about $5 more per piece, but I figured it was worth knowing that it would last for decades without any rot. I did save about $25 by buying the pre-primed wood for the tops of the door openings (since they won’t likely come in direct contact with standing water).

Boxing 2 PVC Wood

Each of my boards measured 1″ x 6″ x 8′, which was just a smidge too wide for the gaps that I was filling. So in addition to cutting them a bit shorter, I had to rip a little off the sides using my table saw. Once I set my guide to the right measurement it made for pretty easy work.

Boxing 3 Cutting

Once everything was cut, I put some construction adhesive on the back of my board and the nail gunned it into place. It had been a while since I had a date with my nail gun, so it felt good to be back in the saddle. I made super handsome faces like this.

Boxing 4 Nailing

For the ceiling boards I also reinforced the hold with a few screws. I just didn’t totally trust adhesive + nails to keep it from falling on our heads at some point.

Boxing 5 Screwing Ceiling

Installing the boards took me a couple of hours, only to be followed by an equally fun few hours of caulking. #YOLO

Boxing 6 Caulking

Our main mission was to caulk the gaps around the new boards (just say no to moisture creeping in there!) but we took the opportunity to fill any other cracks or gaps that we saw around the room. In addition to its rot-prevention benefits, this step also made the new frames look more finished.

Boxing 7 Before After2

When it came to caulking the bottoms, I learned from a similar experience on our last home’s porch makeover that I should use clear (not white) silicone caulk here. When caulking against brick it’s nearly impossible to get a straight looking line because the caulk gets smushed into the ragged surface of the brick. So clear caulk allows us to still seal things tightly, while the straight edge of the board still acts as the visual edge. Obviously it looks lumpy here since I didn’t smooth it with my finger yet, but once you do that it’s pretty clean looking.

Boxing 8 Clear Bottom

I know, I know, riveting stuff. But at least it made the room look a little less unfinished.

Boxing 9 After Inside

And as you can see, someone is enjoying the new open space quite thoroughly.

Boxing 10 After Outside

We still need to paint the inside of the room (right now it’s cream, while the outside is white) but before we broke out our paintbrushes, we couldn’t keep ourselves from breaking into the ceiling…

Boxing 11 Ceiling Tease

More on that once we finish poking around in there. Here’s hoping we can actually loft this baby!

Comments

  1. Laura @ Rather Square says

    Things are really coming together! We are working on a built-in bookcase project right now where we are customizing an existing structure, so we are also using quite a bit of caulk to smooth out cracks.

    How will you deal with any snow that drifts in during the winter? Do you get snow in Virginia?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We don’t get very much snow here (it doesn’t usually stick except for a few inches a year that usually melt by noon), but it’ll be a weather-proofed outdoor area just like the deck or an outoor patio. So it should hold up to rain or snow or hail. Now that you say that I’m excited to take a picture of it all covered by a dusting of snow if we get any this year!

      xo
      s

    • Karyn says

      Ohhh.. I can just picture it for Christmas: little potted pines sitting near the bases of the vertical supports all covered in lights twinkling under a dusting of snow!

    • Meredith says

      I have a similar question for heavy rains/winds and the occasional inland hurricane. I suppose you’ll just bring the furniture inside? Looking great!

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, we’ll treat it like the deck, so anything we’d bring in for a possible storm outside on the deck or in the sunroom will get stashed in the garage.

      xo
      s

    • KarenH. says

      “We don’t get very much snow here (it doesn’t usually stick except for a few inches a year that usually melt by noon),”

      Oh, real fine, there. When we get hit with Snomaggedon 2014 along the Mid-Atlantic this year, at least we’ll know who to blame!!

  2. Anne @ Planting Sequoias says

    WHOA/WOOHOO to that last ceiling picture! I love demo. And, I also got to use a nail gun this week–my dad’s bajillion pound one that shoots out Regular Sized nails (read: big/scary). I felt powerful and made lots of funny faces.

    Reply

  3. Molly says

    I love your updates! We’re finally getting around to picking a floor for the kitchen… Can’t you two just come do it for us? That way I know it will be fabulous! ;)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We love the idea of adding breezy outdoor curtains, and we’re open to adding screens if we need them down the line, but so far with the fan on the mosquitoes are saying “ain’t nobody got time for that!” and avoiding the wind current. Yesssss!

      xo
      s

  5. Kristen says

    Those new boards definitely make the space feel more finished (or rather that there were never sliding doors to begin with!). Also, I’m very intrigued by this loft idea!

    Reply

  6. Sarah says

    Ooooh! I want to see what you find in the ceiling. This is such an exciting project, probably one of my favorites that you guys have done. So awesome!!!!

    Reply

  8. Rosemary says

    THIS IS VERY EXCITING. My fourth floor fire escape is my only “outdoor area,” so I’m living vicariously through you and your fancy veranda. It’s like a breath of fresh country air!

    Reply

  9. Sarah says

    That last shot of John digging into the ceiling is like a season finale cliff hanger! AHHH! Can’t wait for more…

    Reply

  10. Anele @ Success Along the Weigh says

    Is it weird I literally screamed when I saw John take down the ceiling!? I guess it was shocking because if you mentioned doing that before, I didn’t read it and I was all into the caulking (love to do it…weirdo) then BAM…rippin’ the ceiling!

    Waiting with baited breath to see more!

    Reply

  15. Diana Buchanan says

    How cute is that candid shot of Clara throwing up the ball?! You guys should totally add that to the photo wall! Love it!

    The revamped sunroom/porch looks great too! Please tell us you are doing something super awesome with that ceiling?!

    Reply

  16. Zvezda says

    Petersiks it’s amazing how much you’d already tackled on the outside of the house. It looks great, kudos!

    Has it rained yet, with the former-sunroom now being open? Does the area stay relatively dry? I was curious with the day bed being outside, how the matress and sheet combo was holding up to the outdoors…

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It rained between opening things up and adding the trim pieces. Thankfully almost everything under the roof stayed pretty dry except for about 6″ around the perimeter. I’m sure if it really blew things under there could get damp though, so our plan is to waterproof all the furniture (using deck or patio furniture so we don’t have to worry about it).

      xo
      s

  17. Lisa says

    This is your most cliffhanger-season finale like blog post ever! Whoa! Didn’t see that coming! Can’t wait for the follow up.

    True confessions… did you just do this to the sunroom/veranda over the last few days, virtually real time to the blog posts, or are we a week or two behind what has really been happening to the veranda?

    Reply

  19. Lindsay says

    LOVE it! The open-ish of the patio reminds me of a patio on a vacation house. DREAM! Can’t wait to see if you can “loft it” Good work guys!

    Reply

  20. Lizzy says

    I love the open space! We used one of those PVC boards for the window trim that sits directly behind our kitchen sink – you’d never know it’s not real wood.

    Reply

  22. lynn says

    I love this project. Already it’s such a great transformation and I look forward to seeing how you finish the space. You’ve mentioned the living room being dark because of the “veranda” and it loos a bit dark in these photos. Have you considered skylights to brighten the whole space and living room up?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      So funny you should say that! We were just talking about that but we’re not sure if we like the shade that the “veranda” provides (if we want sun we can just sit out on the deck, so we like the idea of being able to hide under the roof to get shade for now). We’ll have to see though. We could definitely add those down the line!

      xo
      s

  23. Julie says

    Wow! I love how this project is coming along. I wish I lived in a warmer climate where this would be a good option for us. Can’t wait to see it finished!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I love that brick border! Unfortunately it’s covered in glue and holes from those sliders being installed (boo!) so we are thinking when we tile the floor (we want something rough so it’s not slippery like the concrete) we’ll just go flush to the deck with the new tile. It’s inspiring me to add a border detail though, so we might go for that!

      xo
      s

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That does sound pretty! Not sure since the facade of the house is brick if that would clash, but we can’t wait to bring some samples home and see what we like!

      xo
      s

  27. Sarah says

    I’m having a tough time selecting the links in the header for some reason. I wonder if anyone else is having the same issue or if it’s just me.

    Reply

  28. Susan says

    I love how you guys are putting more Clara in your pictures. I am not usre if it’s on purpose or not : trying to get a three year old to stay out of a shot I can imagine is difficult. But it just makes everything seem more homey! Thanks for sharing little glimpses of your life.

    Reply

  29. Karyn says

    I am curious about 2 things:

    1. You can still see some exposed wood around the edges of the new tops that you put in each opening (pic #6), any plans on painting that or something else to protect that wood?

    2. What are your plans for the concrete floor now that this will be an open sunroom (how will it differ from the approach to the concrete floor you had in house #1’s sunroom)? Will you try to blend it with the brick edging? In the full shots (like pic #1 & #10) the brick edging is tricking my eye in that it looks like a strip of unstained deck boards.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, we still have to paint the edges and the entire interior of the room! As for the floor, we’re planning to tile it just because the concrete is really slick and we want something with more grip. I think it’ll look like one of those swanky tiled cabanas when we get to that step!

      xo
      s

  30. Jess says

    Caulking is horrible work, but the payoff is amazing. And the ceiling is a Bravo cliffhanger if there ever was one. Off topic, but Gretchen’s face when she was trying to cry on the part two of the reunion was SCARY. Let it be a lesson about the dangers of Botox, children. .

    Reply

    • jillian says

      Ohmygosh, I thought the same thing! I wasn’t sure if I was being judgmental, though. Very scary looking. I’m glad someone else thought that, too.

    • Abby says

      I thought so too! It was almost like she was forcing herself to cry, but maybe that’s the dangers of Botox! It’s been a crazy interesting reunion! I’d love a Real Housewives post through Sherry’s eyes…just sayin’ ;)

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha! I feel like my commentary would go something like this: “and then ___ and ___ started fighting and I was like “what’s going on?!” and then _____ came in wearing something crazy and it made me smile and then ____ was crying in the background and I felt bad but then I wondered if it was even real. My underlying thoughts are “is this really happening?!” “how did this happen?” and “is this for real?”

      xo
      s

  32. Lindsay says

    Wow! You guys know how to do a lot of stuff! I want to vault the ceiling in our living room, but I DO believe that would be a bit more intense. It looks like that outdoor space won’t have any insulation/electrical issues when you loft that baby? Also, Sherry, I wanted you to take a look at our house tour. Thanks for all the inspiration Young House Lovers! http://realhomelove.com/home-tour/

    Reply

  33. Dena says

    Nice caulking job – I always make a mess of it and often go back, remove certain areas and redo. I also love the nice sneak in of the #YOLO hashtag, by the way.

    Reply

  35. Mary | Lemon Grove Blog says

    We are currently adding trim to our screened in porch, so I hear ya on the finishing deets not being quite as exciting :) It looks really great though – this room would look a-mazing with a nice vaulted ceiling.

    Reply

  36. Laughing Abi says

    Been thinking of you guys & that ceiling. We are in the process of putting bead board panels on our porch’s ceiling. It’s lofted and I didn’t think we would EVER get the panels installed all the way to the top of the peak. Can’t wait to see how yours turns out. Great work so far.

    Reply

  37. Vanessa says

    Is it wrong that I am SO excited about this project. I do not even live with you guys and I am SO excited. :)
    The picture with Clara is just beautiful, you are so lucky to have that not only that big beautiful deck but now this area as well. I love every single thing you are doing with this house. This is like the dream house. I cannot wait to see where you go with the ceiling. I am sure it will be great. I would love to just sit out there in the shade and NAP! LOL

    Reply

  39. emily says

    You know, I’m always a fan of y’all’s projects, but this one might be my favorite. What an inspiring project. It makes the space look so… expensive!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      It was just sort of an off-handed mention in Monday’s post (we linked to a room with a pretty blue beadboard ceiling that had been lofted). Oh man, here’s hoping we can do it because I’m in love.

      xo
      s

  41. meg says

    I’m confused – isn’t it a problem to have the drywall just open to the elements, even on the inside side? I’m in Canada and I can’t imagine that that would be ok, but maybe it’s ok where you are?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Sorry Meg, we touched on that in the bottom of the post on Monday but forgot to refer to it again here. It’s actually not drywall on those walls – it’s wood with exterior paint on it! We believe this used to be a screened porch, so it’s made with outdoor-friendly elements.

      xo
      s

  42. Laura says

    So completely off topic, I had a dream last night that I ran into Sherry and John in a park with Burger. I went to pet Burger and accidentally ‘shocked’ him with a little static electricity. Sherry was so mad and grabbed him and stormed off and I was so upset with myself lol. Where do our brains come up with this stuff??

    I love the veranda, in more related news :-)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Boo! So sorry guys. Don’t know what’s going on. It would be helpful to know your broswer info, if you’re on a smart phone, and if things work again if you clear your cache/cookies/data. Thanks!

      xo
      s

  44. Henna // HENNA BLOSSOM blog says

    WOW, I really love this. It’s one of those things that I would have NEVER thought of…but it’s amazing. I feel like it actually elevates the house. I think that’s one of the best things about having experience moving doors, walls, etc…you can start thinking outside of the box.

    It’s also so great how having a problem leads to a creative solution that you may have not designed yourself if you were doing it in the first place…but ends up being so ideal in the end! Nice job guys! :)

    xo

    Reply

  45. Renee says

    Clara looks like a little woodland fairy in that last picture of her w/the ball! she’s so cute!!

    also, where did you get your white outdoor table w/the chairs and umbrella? looking for one like that myself and just can’t seem to find it! thanks! :)

    Reply

  46. Kim says

    Ugh. I really just want to email this post to my landlord, who thought it was a good idea to hang WOOD 2x4s on the shower walls as makeshift shelves. On all three shower walls! Who knows how long ago he did it but the paint is chipping and some of the wood has major cracks (and I’m assuming rot/mold) in it. PVC would have been a much better option considering it is constantly wet. Or ya know, no shelves at all?

    His DIY ideas are making me count down the days until I can buy my own house and do it right.

    Thanks for being my therapist for the day. :)

    Reply

  47. Jenn R. says

    Wow! Super jealous of that space, I don’t think I would ever be inside. Living up here in the Adirondacks the chance of snow mid-July would put a damper on a space like that. Not to mention the black flies. Oh and John, it’s a TABLE saw better for the back and much safer if you actually put it On a TABLE! :) New house looks great can’t wait to see the rest of the make-overs!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha! This is a good point. No one’s more excited about turning the side of the garage into a workshop than John – so here’s hoping that table is around the corner.

      xo
      s

  49. Jen says

    First time comment (as I usually start, then chicken out): Love following along on your new house projects. It’s inspiring to see the progress! This room is looking so dreamy that I can just imagine how much enjoyment you will get from it!

    Reply

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