Porch Timbers

Since you've already seen the finished outside, I will be working backwards and posting the finishing steps to our completed house! Carson and I have always been a big fan of porch timbers. We've always loved the look and decided to make that part of our budget. We had a few things redrawn on our house plans and this was one of the items we had the draftsman add.

As you can see the timbers are quite tall... taller than the original footage shown on the plans, but Carson and I decided it would be best to leave them that heighth so you could still see out the window below the timber arch. If we would have cut the timber legs any shorter, they would have cut into the window area and caused problems with the roof line into our master bay window, so we are glad we left the timbers the full length. We also would have had problems in the winter with a snow pocket on the right side that would never see the sun... which means we would have a wet soggy roof all winter long! Yikes!
Here's the process. Step 1: Call like a mad woman and find the best rates for a crane. Check. Found one for only $100.
Step 2: Strap one beam at a time to the crane wraps. (Or if the framers would have thought this through, they could have assembled the porch timber FIRST, and then had the crane lift the whole thing... but this way worked too, just a little harder.)
Step 3: Stand back and hope that the framers wrapped the timber well enough to transport it to your porch without it going through a window.
Step 4: Steady the beam to MAKE SURE it doesn't go through a window.
Step 5: Mount into place!
Step 6: Nail it in place and add support frames just to make sure it stays...

Step 7: Hold it just in case, even though it is already nailed.

Step 8: Repeat steps 1 - 7! Step 9: Pound the middle arch into the supporting beams. Wait a minute, turn it around and try again. (The framers tried to install it backwards, which is why it wouldn't fit the first time.)

Step 11: Stand back and enjoy the finished product!