EASY STEPS TO UPDATE YOUR FRONT ENTRANCE

Cover up dated tiles and cracked concrete with new decking, render old brickwork and build a screen.

2022-05-26 -

Gather your supplies

• Ba ens 90 x 22mm treated pine decking

• Path frame 140 x 45mm H3 treated pine

• Posts 90 x 90mm H4 treated pine

• Decking 137 x 23mm Ekodeck composite decking in Ironwood

• Screen frame 90 x 42mm primed treated pine

• Screen slats 66 x 30mm primed treated pine

You’ll also need

Hammer drill; mitre saw; 6.5, 10 and 8mm masonry drill bits; green and blue wall plugs; hammer; 50mm galvanised screws; square; pencil; framing nail gun with 75mm nails; countersinking drill bits to suit screws; 100mm galvanised ba en screws; spirit level; M10 x 100mm galvanised masonry anchors; acrylic render; wheelbarrow; steel float; sponge float; painting gear; exterior paint in Monument; circular saw; 60 and 48mm trimhead screws; 3mm Quickfix decking clips; angle grinder fi ed with metal cu ing blade; wood preservative; scrap timber for screen template; 5 and 8mm drill bits; 10mm plastic spacers; epoxy filler; sandpaper

Here’s how

STEP 1 Use hammer drill to remove tiles from wall around porch and demolish steps from porch to the path below.

STEP 2 Determine thickness of ba ens for decking on the porch, the tops of which are 28mm below threshold at the door, then cut to length. Treated pine decking worked here. Place ba ens at sides of porch and no more than 400mm apart between these. Drill through ba ens into porch using 6.5mm masonry drill bit.

STEP 3 Insert green wall plugs into holes and tap down flush with the timber. Screw ba ens to porch with 50mm screws.

STEP 4 Use 140 x 45mm treated pine to make a frame for the pathway which extends from the porch. Width of frame is governed by distance from house to brick wall at front of porch. Make length 40mm shorter than corner of house. On timbers that are the long sides of the

frame, mark for joists that will go between them. Make a joist flush with each end, then space remaining joists evenly, not exceeding 400mm apart. Lay sides of frame together and mark position of one side of joists using a square. Mark an ‘X’ on the side of the line where the joist will sit.

STEP 5 Cut joists to suit width of frame. Butt into marked points on frame sides. Nail to hold with nail gun and 75mm nails. Predrill using countersinking bit and screw together using 100mm batten screws.

STEP 6 Lift frame into position and temporarily prop under at desired height. Check for level. Make height so step from battens to frame at porch end is 20mm larger than from frame to concrete driveway at the other. At house, drill through frame into brick wall using 10mm masonry drill bit, then fix to wall using masonry anchors. On open side, cut 90 x 90mm treated pine to create 3 posts that will sit on the concrete path and extend up the frame. Place in corners and middle of the frame and screw together using 100mm batten screws.

STEP 7 Attach a length of frame timber to riser of the step between porch and frame. This will support a decking board that goes against riser. Ensure there is still support for decking at this end of the frame, adding an extra joist if required.

STEP 8 Mix acrylic render in wheelbarrow according to instructions. Use steel float to apply to brick wall around porch. Leave for about 15-30 minutes, so it sets slightly but can still be worked.

STEP 9 Use sponge float to smooth the surface of the render and create a rustic bagged look. Leave to dry for a few days, then paint using exterior paint.

STEP 10 Start decking by cutting and fitting boards to fit around the edges of frame. Make boards overhang face of frame by 23mm and mitre joins in corners, leaving a 3mm gap at the join to allow for expansion. Prior to fixing, cut off the bottom half of the groove in the leading edge of the board with circular saw. Predrill through boards using countersinking drill bit to suit 60mm trimhead screws then screw in place.

STEP 11 Screw Quickfix

clips to joists so they bu into the boards already fi ed, then cut and fit boards to run along deck. When cu ing, allow for a 3mm gap to board at the end of the path. Insert this into fixing clips, then a ach more fixing clips to the other side of this board and continue to lay decking.

STEP 12 At the house, cut the last board along its length using circular saw to suit the gap between last full board laid and the house. Predrill and screw down through board at house.

STEP 13 Continue decking along porch so the boards align with those on the pathway. When fixing through the top of the boards, use 48mm trim head screws. You may have to cut the ends off them using an angle grinder if using thin ba ens, as here.

STEP 14 Cut boards to fit along face of deck frame and on the riser of the step up to the porch. Cut off

1 side of the groove on these boards to create a neat finish when they bu up into the edge boards on the deck. Predrill and screw to frame.

BUILD THE SCREEN

STEP 15 Determine screen frame dimensions – here 888mm wide and 2065mm high. Allow for a 10mm gap under screen to wall below. Cut screen frame timbers to suit, bu ing the sides into the top and bo om. Also cut 12 slats which are the same length as the frame sides. Treat all cut ends with wood preservative and seal with exterior paint.

STEP 16 On scrap timber, draw a template for the position of the vertical slats on the screen and the gaps between them, which vary as you go along the screen. The gap from frame to first slat is 48mm; to the next slat is 46mm; to the next slat 44mm and so on. Hold template on bo om and top of frame and transfer marks from template to them. Draw lines across top and bo om with a square.

STEP 17 Stack top and bo om together and use 5mm drill bit to drill pilot holes for screws through centre of slat positions. Switch to countersinking drill bit and drill through these holes to countersink underside of top and bo om for screws.

STEP 18 Bu sides of frame into top and bo om. Predrill through holes in these into sides and join using 100mm ba en screws.

STEP 19 Sit frame on bench on top of timber ba ens. On these ba ens place a series of 10mm plastic spacers. This is required as the slats are not as wide as the frame. Sit slats on inside of frame so they are si ing on spacers.

STEP 20 Align slats with marks drawn on top and bo om. Predrill through holes in frame into slats, then screw together with 100mm ba en screws.

STEP 21 Fill screw holes in top and bo om of frame using epoxy filler. Let dry, sand smooth, then repaint these components.

STEP 22 Li screen into position, using plastic packers to create a 10mm gap under it. Make plumb. To a ach to wall, predrill on an angle through the frame using 8mm drill bit. Switch to 8mm masonry bit and drill through these holes to mark the walls.

STEP 23 Remove screen and drill holes into bricks where marked. Try to maintain the angle on the holes you drilled into the screen. Insert blue wall plugs into holes and cut off flush with the wall.

STEP 24 Reposition screen and screw through screen into plugs in wall, using 100mm ba en screws. Fill holes with epoxy, sand smooth, then touch up the paintwork.