Thursday, May 21, 2015

Another first


So…. I needed a new screen door for our sunroom.  Two winters ago it was one of those glorious -30degC Canadian days (or nights) and Pokaroo quickly scooted outside to go pee and… SNAP.  Her dog door broke clean off.  At any rate, we didn't bother getting a new one at that time as the screen door itself needed to be replaced anyways.  15 months later is a logical time to build a new door, right?

It was the right schedule for me, as for the second time this month, I was the lucky attendee of a Daughter Do Day - this time, it was a Dad'n'Daughter Day!  I busted my buttocks to get the door built this week, so while my Dad was here, he could help me hang it.  I won't go into all the painful details, but I'll say that building it seems easier than hanging it on a pre-existing 1939 door jam…

The only wood I bought was three 1 x 4 x 8 pieces and one 1 x 3 x 8.  The 1x4 were used for the vertical pieces, and the top and bottom.  The 1x3 was for the horizontal pieces in the middle.  The rest of the wood I used was scrap from the basement.  I measured the space where the door would go, did some high school math, and got cutting… and 'kregging'.




The dog door was a bit of creative mastery (if it holds).  I found a plastic cutting board at Home Hardware, and grabbed some hardware to mount it to the hole.  Taa daa.  Seriously, that's it.  The screen door isn't a security door to the house, so we aren't worried about it being a certain size, safety, etc.  Let's see how long it holds up, yes?


I also had the trick of adventuring to get a paint colour.  I walked down the street to the local Benjamin Moore store, and with only a photo from inside the sunroom, I pseudo-blindly chose and took home the paint colour for the door.  As I didn't have a car to use, I was certainly hoping that the paint I chose was right… and I think I did okay.  For the first time (I have a lot of tester pots in the basement).


Taaaa Daaaaa! 

I have to say, this is one of the first projects where I look at it and think, "hunh, I made that".  My brain (and body mostly) recognizes the hours of work in all I do, but I think because this is so…. green, and because it took so long to hang, it's all that much more gratifying.
You'll also notice the door now opens from the opposite side - taaa daa!  Oh, AND it sounds like a cottage screen door, so neat!

And now, with a belly full of prime rib burger (also masterfully cooked by my Pa!), I'm going to catch up on some girlie tv with Pokey.


It adds a certain pop to the area, doesn't it?
Now, if I can find the time to redo the rest of the woodwork (*shudder*)

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4 comments:

  1. Brilliant! was the doggy door always on the original screen door? I forget. Love the sound of a screen door "bouncing shut" :)

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    1. I think GW and my Dad put the dog door in for Poka, so after your time ;) We're trying to keep the door from bouncing too much… at least until I repair the wood window beside it (I dread hearing a pane of glass 'bounce' to the ground). But it sure feels cottage-y!

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  2. I enjoyed being part of this project though my biggest part besides holding the door still while you installed it was cooking the burgers. Great job Beth.

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    1. Holding it still… the second, third, and fourth time was the real key ;) Thanks again for all of your help!

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