DIY || modernizing porch lattice

As I’ve previously complained about, our house has a negative rating in the curb appeal department (keep in mind we bought a flip so at least most items were “updated”: front door, windows, new porch ya, ya, ya…).  On the list of outdoor uglies, was the white plastic lattice underneath the front porch. As a quick fix last summer (I’m embarrassed to even admit) we spray painted it in hopes that it would blend with the deck, knowing we would be ripping the sucker out this summer.

Hallelujah, praise the design gods, the time has come; we just did a super fab DIY and replaced it all! We decided to add 1.5” wide horizontal slats to create a more modern look. Here’s how we did it:

       

- Nail gun

- Circular saw

- Table saw

- Drill

- Screws

- Medium sandpaper

- PL glue

- 1"x6' maple wood planks

Out with the old; we tore off the existing lattice – which took all of 2 secs and measured out the distance across the porch (Note: there was an existing frame the plastic lattice was attached to so we just used that, if you don’t have one it’s easy to create).

Before

Next, cutting down to size; hubby and my bro used the table saw to cut the wood into 1.5” strips

Then, the sanding; really easy, doesn’t have to be perfect, just use a medium grain sandpaper and do a quick once over of all sides

Installation; this was also pretty simple (coming from the person who “supervised” and sunbathed the entire time :) ); the boys added two support strips of wood vertically down the centre of our existing frame to prevent the slats from warping in the centre. They also made  a 1” inch thick spacer, which allowed them to maintain the exact distance between each board every time.

They held the spacer against the underside edge of the top portion of the frame, they butted the first strip of wood up against the bottom of the spacer and using the nail gun put nails into the wood at each support beam (far left, centre and far right).  They repeated this step all the way down.

And…voila, bye bye sad sissy slats, hello sleek lined lady. I LOVE!  The finishing touch will be the paint.

After

Time: 5hrs (two people)

Cost: $75 (my brother had all of the tools)

Difficulty Level:  7/10 (for peeps who know at least a little something about power tools)