Back Deck Renovation Part 2

Hi Friends!!

Last year, we began giving our back deck a makeover. I shared the Design Plans with you HERE, and Part 1 of the Renovation process HERE. At the end of Part 1, I shared how we would be installing new screens this coming spring, and I’m so excited to tell you that our porch is done! Before I share the full reveal, I wanted to show you the progress of installing the new screens and the details on how we built our new porch railings. I contemplated many different styles for our porch railings, and I am so pleased with how they turned out.

Come and see ~

To recap, here are a few photos of what our back deck looked like before, and part of the demo progress we made to get where we are today.

And here is where we had left things off.

While we loved the open concept of the deck without the screens, we live in a very wooded area with lots of mosquitoes, so if we want to enjoy our back deck at all during the summer, screens are a must. Last fall, I had just finished painting the existing posts that were part of the previously screened-in area. It remained like that all winter, but once the snow melted, my husband got to work right away installing new screens.

He got to work so fast that he had installed all the new screens before I was even able to snap a picture, lol. He rolled the screens out and cut one section per panel for the section between each of the porch posts. That way, if something ever happens, and the screen needs to be repaired, he only has to repair one section, instead of the entire porch. His idea, not mine 😛

He stapled the new screen to the outer side of each post and then began installing new trim boards to finish off the screened-in section of our deck.

We chose to use PVC trim for this portion of our remodel because the idea of having to repaint all the trim boards around the screens after showing wear and tear from the elements was not an added task I wanted to have to do for maintenance every couple of years, or as needed. We purchased all the trim from Home Depot, found HERE.

Then it came time to make the new railings. The old railings made our screened-in porch feel dark and closed in. I knew I wanted the new railings to have a more open feel. Keeping in mind that we needed to put something up that would prohibit our dogs from running through the new screens chasing a squirrel or a turkey at a moment’s notice. When it comes to structural design, I’m always drawn to simple details and clean lines, so that’s just what we did.

Before

After

Now our porch feels much more open and airy, with still enough of a barrier to keep the dogs from running through the screens. We have a lot of wildlife that roam in our backyard, and that was a big concern.

You can see our dimensions below ~

The only thing I have left to do is stain our deck boards, which I’m hoping to do in the next couple of weeks. We purchased new porch swivel chairs for the space to create a more conversational area, and over the summer, I’ve been working on adding the finishing touches. I’m so excited with how this space has turned out; it needed a breath of fresh air.

Here is one more look at how our porch looked BEFORE & AFTER.

Stay tuned for the reveal!