Miller Awning Project

The Miller's came to us once again and rehired us to replace all their old blue painted plastic shutters that didn't match the home's exterior color scheme with plastic brown shutters. The shutters themselves are not functional, but more of a decorative nature screwed to the wall.



Also, in a desire to cut out the glare of the setting sun and the rain beating down on the front windows, the Millers also wanted a set of custom made awnings installed over the front windows that would serve in function and add to the home's overall style. We looked at aluminum awnings, but they didn't like the metal look, so they had us build these custom wood framed awnings. The overall costs were much higher, but the final look achieved, we feel, was much better.











We began by drawing the lay-out of the awning on the wall where it'll soon be mounted and fastened. We made sure that all the prospective finished angles of the soon to be awning cleared the window and all of it's ornamentations (window trim and two shutters).

We then transferred the layout over to the sister window, making sure that the dimensions were kept the same to keep it symmetrically centered.








 
Careful planning and layout done now can and will save one time and money because over sized and misplaced holes are costly to fix.

Since the the gable siding sloped out and over lapped the siding on the lower wall, we didn't have a flat surface to work with.

Note: We could have just shot the framing to the wall and gooped it up with sealant to keep it from leaking, but that just isn't a proper building method for a quality done job. After a while, sealants tend to dry out and crack, leading to water damage, rot, mold, and termites.








We cut into the wall on layout, and bolted the framing member to the wall studs and window headers using 6- 4 1/2" lag bolts with washers on each awning, ensuring structural integrity.


Mimicking the host house's design, we used 1"x6" cedar boards for fascia and trim and 3/8" fir for the soffit, primed and painted. 1/2" decking was then applied.  










After the roof decking was shot on, we were now almost ready for the roofing material.




First, we scribed the angle of the roof on the wall by using a straight edge to mark where the top of the decking planed into the wall on each roof. From that mark, we then measured 3/4" and made another mark on top of the previous mark. Lines were than snapped across the last set of marks.







Using a reciprocating saw, we cut the new lines, widening the hole on the wall around the decking. Into this hole and underneath the siding is where we slid the flashing material.


This method of water control allows water to run down the siding, onto the flashing, and then down onto the shingled roof, guaranteeing protection to the interior from any water damage.

To cover up the hole that was still on top of the roof, we ripped down a 1"x2" cedar trim board and shot it on with trim nails. Everything was then caulked and painted.






It is custom practice to use the same color and style shingles on all parts of the same house, but the home owner chose a style and color of their own desire and liking. We were happy to oblige.















The interior soffit was cut and installed, along with the fascias' bottom trim board. Since most of the material used was of a wood product, everything was primed, sealed, and painted.















We were grateful to be of help to the Millers with all their special home improvement projects. They are and have been pleased with any and all building jobs that we have performed for them.















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