Wednesday, July 16, 2008

My Next Project...Maybe

Since I don't want to get a night job, sell ALL of my possessions, or cut back on my budget further to accelerate my mortgage plan, I have thought up a small project to keep me occupied. Even though my mortgage plan should be done in 2 1/2 years, sometimes that seems like forever. Hopefully my new project won't cost too much but you know how projects go, always growing. My project is to build a small screened porch for my RV. When I was thinking about remodeling my mobile home I had wanted to add a screened porch and carport but now I know that is way out of my budget. This little screened porch might work for the short term.


Can you make it out from my pencil sketch? It will be the size of 2 pieces of 4x8 plywood, making a room slightly smaller that 8x8. It will be elevated to the height of the RV door so I have to buy concrete piers. I'll use 2x4's for the wall framing and then enclose it with screen. I'm not sure how I will cover the roof. I've been thinking about making shingles out of soda cans. Is that too weird?

My goal is to have a place for my cat to sit and watch nature without getting eaten by it (there is little chance of her eating nature). I also want a place to watch the sunset without getting bitten by mosquitoes. And I want to grow some plants in a protected place. I don't like growing them indoors because I don't have room in the RV and they bring gnats plus they need more light. I keep my curtains closed in the summer to keep the heat out.

I'll think about my project a little more and then see how I can fund it. I don't have a lot of extra money. Maybe I can find some supplies at the Habitat Store. This little project could possibly keep me occupied for months. I'm kind of slow. One trip to Home Depot and I'm done for the weekend.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well that would certainly be a learning experience. Make sure you get really good screening. Every cat I have had seemed to think the screen was the thing to dig their claws in and get stuck on - I guess they really weren't stuck - just doing it to get me excited.

You could consider the porch as a "practice room" for your dream house. Maybe get a book on adobe bricks and every time it rains make a few.

Daizy said...

My poor confused cat has never figured out how fun screens can be. She does have a newspaper fetish though.

I did consider adobe construction once. That reminds me of another book I could sell. The county has a requirement that all adobes have a certain percentage of cement. It's not a cheap choice (plus labor) but I could make a shed, under 10x10, without a permit, thus with any materials I want. I have often wondered if I could live in a 9x10 shack with candles and a sawdust toilet...maybe not.