Reviving the Porch Flooring
The main porch of the Cross House is big. And L-shaped.
I cannot tell if the decking, which is obviously very old, is original or not. So, is it from 1894? Or, perhaps, from 1930? I have no idea.
The decking though is mostly in very good condition. The problem areas are all at the exposed ends. Under where the railings go. The other problem is under the decking, where many of the original joists have gone bad.
In order to repair/replace the deck joists at the “big sweep” a lot of the decking (which was in good shape) needed to be removed. I decided that the removed decking would be ideal to infill all the bad areas, as it would match. So…
…to repair this damage…
…the “sweep” boards were cut short and installed. Yes, you can tell this is a repair job but not obviously so. Getting this work done makes me absurdly happy.
When all the decking is redone, all the railings can at last be installed. And (drum roll, please) the lattice can also be ordered! I am living to get the lattice installed.
I plan to pressure-wash the decking but have zero idea of what to do next. Painting the deck seems a bad idea due to just more maintenance; ditto, staining and varnishing it.
Perhaps I will just leave it alone and pressure-wash it occasionally?
But…do they still make astro-turf?
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Astro-turf? Vade retro me, Satana! Our dwindling hill-country town still boasts coal-baron mansions like where I grew up: https://www.bluefieldhistoricalsociety.org/images/109.jpg We lived there for 30 years, and almost yearly, the open colossal porch allowed the elements to ravage the flooring, requiring patching, re-flooring, new joists on the windward side, etc. Nothing worked any better than pentaclorophenol-treated T&G, primed and painted. Do you not feel the need for some wood preservative–I know penta is illegal, but something? Sold out of family some years ago, thank God (old place ate its head off with maintenance and utilities), new owners, I believe have installed TimberTech Aztek (Vade retro, etc.)
Yes, you can still get astro -turf! But, please don’t do it.
(I was teasing!)
Bravo, Ross! Nice curves you got. Wink!
Hmmm…what to do, what to do. Well, you gotta do something or one day the elements will just have a field day with that wood…again. The curve did turn out lovely though. Great work, as always, Mr. Ross. Maybe do a finish that you would have done when you restored boats? I always used a Spar urethane marine finish on exterior doors in the past.
Hi, Linda!
Justin is doing the porch work. He arrives at like 7AM (while I am still sleeping) and works till lunch time. Then he departs.
I arrive at the house, usually, after lunch time!
Social distancing!
I ordered cypress for the restoration of my wrap around porch. I power wash it every two to three years on the north side because moss grows on it. Cypress is bug resistant, doesn’t rot and will last about 100 years. It never needs painted or treated .It was installed using a clip method so the wood can contract and expand, and let rain fall in between the boards so the posts won’t rot at the bottom. Over the years it will turn a light shade of gray. It’s pricey and has to be ordered in the lengths, or as close to the lengths, as you need. I ordered extra so my carpenters could cut it to the lengths needed. It is beautiful, and much safer than the tongue and groove boards that warped up like a serpent as the weather changed. I saved every spare dime to buy the wood. Cypress just might be what you are looking for. Just didn’t know it !
OK, finally a situation where I might have some useful advice, LOL… Like you, I have a huge L-shaped front porch with a tongue and groove wooden floor. We had to replace the floor about 15 years ago, it was just too far gone and I had made so many repairs that it looked like a patchwork quilt. Anyhow, we chose to go back with what had been there for 100+ years, and we put down the new floor in the early spring. I did not seal it immediately; my grandpa’s cousin (retired carpenter) advised me to let it “sit still and season” for the summer. That fall, I primed it and then painted it with a good quality, high-gloss porch floor enamel paint. It has held up really well, I did repaint it in the fall of 2018 due to wear on the high-traffic areas. Our neighbors replaced their porch floor with 5/4″ treated deck lumber and then stained it, around the same time that we did ours (2004-05), and not only does it not look right, they have had issues with it cupping.
Oiling wood is extra easy and looks very nice. An option?
I would recommend indoor/outdoor carpet… plaid… yes, this house could pull off plaid… (just kidding!)
Ross, I just have to tell you how I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog. I came upon it about a week ago, through you tube, and was immediately HOOKED!. I have binge read it every day and just now have come to today’s post. Wow, all I can say is WOW. I also have a love of old homes, have owned a couple and worked my arse off in trying to bring them back to life, but nothing, absolutely nothing like you have. I have rooted for you, cried for you, and laughed with you at all your adventures over the past 6 years. You are amazing and ever so patient with your incredible restorations. Thank you for making this “shelter in place” a little more bearable.
Can’t wait to continue the journey with you,
Greetings from Northern CA,
Judy
Thank you, Judy! And very nice to meet you!
I have a whole other section kinda hidden, here.
Thanks for sharing! We have a kitty and 2 doggies and they are our family! I forgot to tell you that I have a new word in my vocabulary and I just LOVE it!! Screeeeeee!
Oh Judy, read the lighting section as well. I found it when I finished the other and have since ordered 4 beautiful lights from Ross. And yes, the reading is a delight in challenging time.
Thanks Lisa, will do!
I would probably paint. Enamel porch paint has come a long way. And for the highest-traffic areas you could carpet (eg. a runner up the stairs to the door), that’s common where I am and holds up well under all kinds of weather.
Hello. I’m new here, and a new fan of yours and the Cross House. I found this blog while looking at old house porn…and I absolutely LOVE ❤️ it! Great posts about the history of your home, helpful tips, and the pictures! My goodness! I wish I lived closer, maybe a trip from Ohio can be planned in the future…( Honey, can we go see my nephew in Kansas?!? ) My nephew is just outside of Wichita, so it is a do-able request, right??? Anyhow… Keep up the amazing work and the interesting blog!
Nice to meet you, Terri!
Ross,
Have you ever considered making an instagram account for the Cross house?
There is a large community of people who love old houses on Instagram, and I’m sure people would love to find it if they were otherwise uninformed, or didn’t know about OHD.
Here in Montréal Canada, I’ve been selling paints for 20 years…I know there’s a lot of gound stuff to put on your deck surface (please avoid any gloss paint to slippery when wet) I have a few brand names to propose but I don,t know if they,re available where you live.. Techni-seal they have a linseed-oil semi-transparent stains, completely absorbed by the wood (no film on the surface = no peeling) and i guess they have a solid colors stains by now.. Cabot Stains, waterbased for decks (or any water based stains).. more flexible, breathable, so less peeling…Flood’s CWF-uv (i don’t know if it’s still exist).. But I would shop around to see what can you find that is completely absorbed by the wood… or something breathable and flexible because of the amount of sun on the south side… Yes with a low pressure wash… let dry 3 days and do the application on the deck before the sun hits and surface or make it hot.. otherwise the product won’t penetrate or stick best. Hope It will help guide you!! Cheers!! Éric
Luxury Vinyl planks…. or a penetrating oil based sealant. Nothing is going to be perfect, but don’t go with standard deck paint or stain. Those fail at an alarming rate and are a total pain to fix when they do. The suggestion of using Cypress is great, but so totally out of most of our price range. Maybe cedar would work, but you’d need something of some quality, and that can be expensive too.
Janine.
Cypress isn’t out of most peoples price range if they are willing to do without some things and, save, save, save their money . That’s what I did. If I couldn’t have found cypress, I would have gone with cedar.
I don’t have much in the way of money, but am willing to save to do what is right for this big old house. Two porches done. Now I’m saving for new roof. It’s got a few years left in it, but needs to be replaced in 2 to 3 years. Save, save, save.
Cypress is great. As I stated, I saved every dime to purchase it. I saved for five years to be able to purchase enough for the big wrap around porch. I am by no means made of money, and grant money for historic homes here doesn’t exist.
I did my research as to what would be best, and last long after I am gone. I wanted flooring that the next owner would not have to mess with, other than power wash every two to three years. Cypress was the best choice for the four seasons of the midwest. We put up with lots of rotted boards, and slick paint for many years before we had the money to do it right. We stepped out onto that porch only to collect the mail at the front door, before restoration. None of us wanted to end up under the porch.
Oh, and I did my research on cedar. I would have gone with that had I not been able to find a mill that had cypress. Cedar is almost as good as cypress. It last from 30 to 40 years and has same properties as cypress as to bugs,rot factor, ect. It’s not as pricey either.
I used cedar and stained it. It held up to Portland’s rain – just needed to be re-stained after ten years.