Creating a Sunroom in the Craftsman Cottage

A sunroom in Maine is an incredible luxury.  Our winters are long and cold, so to have a sunny spot to curl up with a book and look out at the cold outside (after you've pushed the dog/cat out of the way, because that will be their favorite spot!) - is a wonderful thing.     

Sunroom Concept

We've been able to include a sunroom in a couple of properties (including our own home), so I was excited to create one at this house too.  The front porch faces southwest, so it's the perfect location for this room.

But first we had to assess the existing porch.  Just looking at it, you can tell it has problems.  It droops on the left side, the shingles where the roof attaches to the house are coming off, and the decking is covered with plywood - which still doesn't hide the distinctive trampoline bounce on the floor.

So we started to open it up.  First discovery - the porch was held up with a log, with a big split in it!  It was sitting on a concrete block, but under that block there was just a bunch of rocks - there wasn't a true footing.  That explains how it kept drooping over the years.  The other discovery, the joists ran the long way across the front of the house (so they were overspanned for the length of the porch).  Oh, and one of of the joists had fallen out, which probably explained the trampoline bounce.

So we decided repair didn't make sense.  The guys had to pull apart that side of the porch, pour true concrete footings and rebuild.  But once we did that, I started to wonder if that part of the porch was original.  You see, the foundation has mock stonework.  The original builders molded the concrete as they poured it to look like large stones.  They didn't bother with that on the back of the house (where the public wouldn't see it), but they did where the long porch was.  So it must have been a public space.  There is also a window there, which doesn't make much sense if it was under a porch.  So our guess is it was added at some point.  The porch in front of the door with the steps is original (no mock stonework under there).

Once the guys got the porch squared up with the new footings and supports, we had to address the porch roof.  It was slipping off of the front of the house, which explained the tilted roof and unattached shingles.  It had dropped a few inches, but thankfully we discovered the root cause and got it repaired.  But geez.....that's a lot of issues for one porch!

Going

 

In addition, we had to address the dangerous front porch steps.  Dave tackled them with a jackhammer and soon they were a pile of rubble.  We will rebuild with wooden stairs, once the new walkway is in place.

Going

Gone!

Kyle got the rest of the sunroom framed in and it was exciting to see it start to take shape.  One of my favorite features is the new location for the original stained glass window.  I have to admit, I held my breath as it got moved.  But I love it next to the front door.  It's the first thing you notice when you come up the porch.  And on the interior, when the sunlight hits it, it brings those glorious colors into the sunroom. 

The rest of the windows were installed and it really started to feel like a room.

New windows going in

And here's the first peek, as the guys started to cut the opening between the living room and sunroom.  Isn't it great?  It makes the whole living room seem brighter, now that it's not in the shadow of the front porch.

And the exterior view???  It's looking good!  Next we will have spray foam insulation installed underneath, to keep it nice and warm.  And then we can start trimming it out - with front steps!

No more sloping porch! 

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