Patio Door

You want to know something that feels kind of crazy?  Cutting a big hole in the side of your house. 

Last weekend we tackled the patio door off the dining room.  It feels amazing to open up that space and bring more of the backyard view into the house.  For now we will probably just put some steps in, but eventually that will be a walk-out onto a deck. 

Lee and Charlie worked on Saturday framing up the doorway:

There was a slight problem, though.  The frame they built to go in was level...the floor, not so much.  So, Sunday Lee and I headed over to straighten it out some. 

We took out the jack studs on the right side:

Bumped the header up about an inch:

Then put new jack studs back in...bada bing, bada boom. That part went relatively fast, it was cutting the actual hole in the side of the house that took some time.  We had to cut through the wall you see above, the original wood shakes that were on the side of the house, and the white aluminum siding that is there currently.  I learned all about the kind of blades needed for the circular saw depending on what kind of material you are cutting through.  I wouldn't say I'm quite to "Heidi" level (...Home Improvement, anyone?), but I'm getting there!

Here are some of the finished product:

It needs some patching, but at least it's in!  Now we can get on with the framing inspection...