- Mental note – When jacking up a porch/carport so that you can replace the posts, check to make sure the wood you are putting the bottle jack under is actually structural.
- I set a personal best at getting the heck out from under something this afternoon after the “beam” I used to jack up the porch shifted, causing the jack to twist and fall off the porch.
- No damage. I had a couple fail safes (4×4 scrap posts) in place to catch any failures.
- It did make me a little paranoid for the rest of the day. I figure you have one “Hey, I survived that without anything important breaking” moment each day, and I’d had mine.
- Ladies, when your husband is working on such a project and is paranoid that the roof might make another attempt at killing him, please don’t throw a bunch of old scrap wood in the back of the truck. This makes a noise which is very similar to a bottle jack falling and a roof sagging.
- Also, saying “Don’t park the truck under the carport. I have better insurance on you than I do on the truck.”, when told that this is the last-ditch failsafe to make sure your husband isn’t squished like a bug, is not what I would call a warm and fuzzy moment.
- Nothing says “You should have bought a better masonry bit, you cheap bastard.” like having your masonry bit bend 90 degrees while you are trying to drill pilot holes for masonry screws. No, I wasn’t leaning on it.
- It is amazing how tough it was to drill said pilot holes, even using a carbide bit, in concrete that was probably poured before my mother was born.
- Let’s see if you can guess what’s wrong with these pictures:



- If you said “There are no nails or screws or brackets or anything securing those posts to the porch, at either the top or bottom, you get a cookie.
- That’s right, the only thing that’s been holding my porch upright since at least the Johnson administration has been gravity and friction.
- I am vacillating between being pissed off and being in awe. Yeah, it’s a bad job, but it lasted decades in that condition.
- I assure you, it doesn’t look like that now.
- Structural work is done. Now comes replacing trim, doing a few “Aw crap” repairs, and fixing/finishing the concrete.
- Stay tuned.
Project Report – Replace Porch and Carport Posts
Posted by daddybear71 on September 9, 2012
https://daddybearsden.com/2012/09/09/project-report-replace-porch-and-carport-posts/
Previous Post
Today’s Earworm
Today’s Earworm
Next Post
30 Days of Tolkien – Day 8
30 Days of Tolkien – Day 8








Ruth
/ September 10, 2012I had similer thoughts of pissed off/awe when I took a closer look at the failing exterior steps up to the front door of my former apt house, lets just say someone didn’t understand the value of a good stringer, much less attachment brackets…..
LikeLike