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Home My WebLink AboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1975-03-20, Page 38PAGE 10 With portable wood decks .. . a Flexible outdoor living area is • • provided Today, America is a mo- bile society. No longer do' Americans stubbornly cling, to the old home- stead. In many •'cases, "Home, Sweet Home" has been sold. More often than not, young and old alike move about freely. They rent ,apartments, trailers, campers and houses — rather than buy and settle down. Traditionally, those whk rent resist renovating and fixing up with the com- ment: "Why fix up some- one. else's property? You can't take. it with you!" But, if you could create -extra-living space=a-flex= wood deck — then you could enjoy outdoor living now and take it with you if you moved. One advantage to build- ing a wood deck is the flexibility and portability. You can change it, expand it, move it around — and yes, even move it out. • Recently, one lady do- it-yourselfer faced"' the problem of how to create an attractive outside patio ;and disguise- two eyesores: a permanently -installed air cleaner -circulator (owned by a dry cleaner also occupying the build- ing) and concrete stairs leading dbwn to .the base- ment, chopping 'into at least six feet, of the patio • area. She solved the problem, dramatically, by creating .a wood, portable deck with a large seating bench and an oversized buffet coun-: ter -server. The patio' was designed using kiln -dried, pressure - treated Douglas fir from Western Wood Products Association.' The Douglas fir was. selected . instead of traditional ,redwood or western cedar because of Mri.;;AttralaiVigA' and would be able to stain the ' Douglas fir . to her liking. The overall dimensions of the patio made it prac- • tical to"pl'an on three-foot square modules of decking easier to move around, and certainly easier for a woman to lift while build- ing. After the patio area was leveled, using gravel to fill out a sloping area that.led, to the drain, shim was used to firm up the frame in order, to keep decking from rocking. The wood used in fram- ing was treated with Cu- • prinol # 10, a wood pre- servative. The deck mod- ules consisted of 12 three- foot -square modules: each sgii tre with nine strips of Douglas fir pre-cut into :three-foot lengths, nailed with 31/2 -inch galvanized. nails. To cover the cellarway, she designed an ingenious hatchway that served as a • comfortable, oversized seating bench. When closed, it seats five or six people comfortably. The individual strips, five or six each, were hinged to permit them to open up individually, allowing ac- cess to the basement. The clever cover-up for • the air cleaner and circus lator eonisisted of two-by- fours cut to form four•efoot "% panels. The Douglas fir wood was fastened from • the inside yet designed large enough to form a complete cover for the ma- chinery, and wiring neces- sary to operate it. The smooth top that fits over the wood actually holds the "frame together and -REFORM Thi; iifiviyea'ling view -is -what faced-one;buddtng. do-it-yourselfer when she planned to build a portable wood deck in the backyard of her rented apartment. The big- gest problem -.—how to disguise the two. very obvious eye- sores: ye sores: cellar stairs and a large air circti'lator-cleaner perma- nently installed by a dry cleaner occupying premises in the BEFORE: The, two major eYesores fac ng the lady renovator show up clearly. The bulky -looking m. chine at the left is an air- circulator -cleaner, permanently installed on ,the prop- erty by a dry cleaner who occupies space in the same build - fling. The sellar stairs shown above, in the corner cut quite a chunk out of the available spare for thepatio. AFTER: The new dramatic• portable wood deck• not only disguises eye - .sores, but offers extra outdoor living space. The seating dame bu'Idin AFTER • Ingenious design provided `a dra- matic solution. The, ce�ur st a� r ur"a nowisgurswHliiin -"""- oversized seating bench, shown above, and the cleaner -circu- lator now appears as a large counter buffet, The entire deck is portable•and can be moved around :.. or -even -out, -if nee- • essary. Photo•.courtesy : \ extern Wood Products Association. bench that covers cellar stairs was constructed in such a 'way that one could lift up one or two, of the t}ritall sections to permit access to the' basement. The counter buffet unit • "" was built wide and high enough to encompass pipes, ma- chinery andwiring necessary to operate the machine. The top holds it all together, but when renioved, it is ,a simple matter to.f•each any portion of the machine for necessary repairs. Photo courtesy: Western Wood Products Association.. MAYO 12, n.: y x?l� �z • 4,,02F0p4s d1i , ; � , •uda ga Aller band--a•id•s; f ^top for vs qn- ;. re 'w+e-'ekendiby-thetai-'--t- 'for •aching muscles, • tertaining out of. doors. ented do-it-yourself lady. coffee for.backyard super- The dramatic do -over Approximate cost, not in= visors arid occasional help- ers, was approxiniate'iy $750. A modest investment to providea charming 10x15 outside living, eat- ing and entertaining room. Remedy growing pains by enclosing the porch tou may have the basic structure for that extra room you need without even realizing it. If you own an older home that has a .porch, enclosing it could give you -Year-round, extra living space. Some basic essentials . Such as a roof', floor, sup- ports and one wall already exist. A porch enclosure, therefore, should be a more economical ''home improvement than an acid -a -room project in terms of material, time and labor. • All -year' porch. To make a porch en- closure liveable .year- n round, insulation will have to be addedr'to. the floor, walls and ceiling, a meth- • od devised to heat the room --such as baseboard heating ' -- .and windows installed. Ample use of windows can retain the . advanta- geous qualities of broad views, fresh air and sun- shine that a porch offers. • These benefits. are. best achieved by installing good ventilating windows such as wood casements or slider units. Both styles in ponderosa pine with in- sulating glass— two panes of glass with an insulating air space between -- can a, • be purchased in a variety •4., of sizes atlocal home cen- ters or building- supply dealers. Other benefits, Wood windows have ad- ditional benefits. The in- . • sulating glass in combina • tion with factory -applied weatherstripping` and, the natural insulation pro- vided by the wood sash and frame guard against excessive heat loss' and assure snug closure. Win- dows of ponderosa pine with insulating glass also put an end to the spring and fall job of taking down and putting upstor>rn sash. And these units are easier to clean because there are only 'two surfaces to wash instead of four. FIRST MORTGAGE RATES NOW LOWER Let us help with buying, building or repairing' your home... Call J. M. McKenney at 524- •7381 for mortgage arrangements. VG VICTORIA aF,d GREY For Your Home Improvement NEEDS, We Carry .. . • PAINTS • PANELING • CEILING TILE •-INSULATION • PLYWOODS • MARINE PAINTS IF YOU'RE PLAimpia IMPROVEMENTS IN YOUR FOMENT HOME .. • B.P. SHINGLES We have just about everything you will needinthe lumber andbuilding supplies line. What's more, for the quality.we handle the price s% right .When thinking ,of building matehals, think, of us • HARDWARE ITEMS. • HAND TOOLS • MOULDINGS • GLASS' • CEMENT & MORTAR ,MIX • ARBORITE • • QUALITY LUMBER.. A JOHN- JEFFERY, & 'SON 163 krfgin Ave. E. Goderich . , 524.8171 6