The Fancy Porch Pieces

The time since putting down the porch floor has held some thinking time, some interrupted time and other life situations, so the report of this part of the build matched by also being interrupted. But, we're back at it ...

I will confess to a wee bit of intimidation about building the porch railings. They are small pieces that have to be just right, or they will look make the house look like it's falling down before Hal and company ever move in. It's one of those projects I have to just think about while I walk past it a few hundred times until the right moment hits me to be completely engrossed.

I seized that moment on Sunday. I really didn't have an exact plan, but I could tell I would be able to work my way through it. I was, like, one with the porch. Weird? Yes. True? Yes.

I believe my original thought was that I would make the sections of railings, let them dry, then assemble them. It seemed to make sense that if most of the pieces had some stability that it would help me put them upright in their correct positions. So, I began ...

Out of nowhere, I hit a total groove of just how to put the pieces together including keeping everything upright and even making sure the bottom rail was uniformly above the porch floor all the way around. So, I amended my plan mid-stream because the new one was better:

I used a stack of paint sample cards under
the bottom rail to keep it in place just long
enough for the glue to take hold. Then I moved
the stack to the next set. This kept all of the
bottom rails the same distance from the floor.

Once that groove hit, I was unstoppable!

I was suuuuper proud of those back three
posts being in total alignment because it
was a bit of a bear getting them that way! I
channeled my Dad's method of closing one
eye and getting right on level to touch things
just enough to make them even. BINGO.

This part of the build required some pretty significant finesse. I needed to use tape to make sure the rails would hold between the posts while drying, but this was a time where I needed to place the tape on rather than pulling pieces together. The slightest pull moved things. I might or might not have said a bad word during the course of this part of the construction. But, the vast majority of the placement went really, really well!

So, the way I did this was to construct what you see above without gluing the posts to the floor. I did this because I wanted to be certain that if I got to the last rail and things didn't quite land where I thought they would that I would have the option to correct it. I did as much dry-running of this as I could, but there's only so much you can determine when you need the pieces to actually be glued together to see what happens. As it turned out, I could have glued the posts, too, but I didn't know that when I started.

Side note: The directions communicate the option to attach the posts first not only with glue but also by putting a nail up through their bottoms from the porch floor. We already nixed that idea when the directions also warned that you have to nail it exactly right or it will split the post ... to which I said, "No, thank you," and promptly glued the porch floor to the foundation.

The other issue I bet I would have had was misplacing a post just enough that a set of rails would not fit between them. That placement was tricky enough. I didn't need the pressure of gazing through my crystal ball to see if I had it right!

So. With the majority of the porch railings together, I let them sit overnight to dry. I decided to wait for the front and very back railings to go on the next day, too, so we only had to move and glue the posts of what I'd already put together. I anticipated that move as precarious enough and chose not to stir the pot even further!

With great anticipation, I un-taped everything the next day. I had Aaron's help moving the construction off-then-on the porch into the posts' pools of glue! This was, indeed, precarious, but only one rail separated from its post. Yay, us! Then, with the front and back railings also glued, we had to see how it looked with the flat part of the roof resting on it!

Hal is so amazed that he simply passed out.

I stuck the gingerbread pieces up just to see how they look and how they fit. It turns out each piece we have fits except for the one that is supposed to go between the house and the first post over the front door. For whatever reason, it's just a smidge too short. The great news, though, is that I didn't even want it there! In every picture I've seen of this completed house, that's been one of my least favorite features. So, tell me THAT didn't work out perfectly!!

Next move? Keeping the weather off of the porch with its roof!