My First Rehab Project – Front Entryway and Porch
By pmiller in Behind the Scenes, How-to Posted May 2, 2017 Tags front entryway,how to,rehab
Rehab Project – Front Entryway and Porch
I never thought I would have had to rehab my custom home after living in it for a year, but that is exactly what I did. Here is the story.
During the construction of our home our builder made two big mistakes. The first one had to do with the main staircase. Our plans called for a 9ft basement and we got a 9ft basement but the stair drawings showed an 8ft basement. This caused the pitch of the stairs to be offset by a foot and this messed up the entryway, front foyer, upstairs bedroom walls and hallway on the first and second floor.
The second major mistake had to do with our front foyer. It was supposed to be much deeper and somehow during the review sessions of the custom designs it got shorter and shorter, this was an error that we simply didn’t see till it was too late and our builder convinced us and said it wasn’t that big of a deal. You can see in the final draft of the plans the entryway is 4.5ft deep. It should have been 6ft deep. It is important to know that the exterior walls are 6in deep. Looking back it is obvious that it was a big mistake but when you are building a custom home that no other builder has built before you are looking at so many things.
How I Fixed my Custom Home After My Builder Messed it Up.
When construction finally wrapped my wife and I were not happy with the front entry way. You can see in this picture how short it is. Having an entryway this short makes it very difficult for people to walk in and take their coat or welcome them properly.
We were thankful that we could open the door. We told our builder throughout the building process we didn’t like how the front door was shortened and it was an issue. He told us to live with it for a year and if we didn’t like it he would fix it. Well we should have got that in writing because a year came and went and he did nothing. We even asked him to give us a quote to fix it and he did nothing. So we took matters into our own hands.
How We Fixed The Front Entryway.
A friend of mine Matt and his father Scott Nelson run Scott Nelson Construction. Matt gave us a quote to fix the front entryway and I offered to help with the rehab.
I have to say it was a great experience! I learned so much about foundations, framing, insulation, electrical, drywall and carpentry that I would have never learned if it were not for Matt sharing his knowledge and wisdom. He knows how to build homes the right way.
I wish I had Matt build our house, His framers, electricians, carpenters and finishers are the best in town. He personally has years of experience framing and is a furniture maker and carpenter like myself. His prices are fair and he understands the business and financial side of building a home. He won’t over charge you or have hidden costs. He is honest about the cost and cares more about the quality of the work than making money off his clients.
During the gutting process, I learned that my builder didn’t even insulate the porch area correctly and there were several other mistakes made. One of my favorite issues that I discovered was that our front door wasn’t even screwed to the wall. The front door was just held in place by the inside and outside trim finishing boards. I couldn’t believe it!
Here is a video showing how I rehabbed my front entryway and porch with Matt Nelson. If you haven’t already please subscribe to my YouTube Channel, I post additional information about the projects I am working on there.
Video Showing How The Front Entryway and Porch Were Rehabbed
Final Thoughts on The Front Entryway and Porch Rehab Project
At first I didn’t want to spend the time to rehab the front entryway and porch. I kept telling myself I could lived with the way it was and be ok. But now that I am done with the project I am glad I did it. I only wish I had done it sooner!
Adding a few feet has made such a difference to our home. The front door and entryway and porch are one of the most important sections of your home. We can now properly welcome our friends and family and move around in our front entryway and porch.
Check out the progress photos below!
Pictures and Progress of The Front Entryway Porch Rehab Project
