Screen porch

Our dining area is open air and it is beautiful…at dinnertime when the sun is going down, the natural light is getting low and we turn on the light bulbs we attract bugs—moths, bugs, and mosquitos. So we decided to screen in the dining area. For those who have been here before it may feel too ‘closed in’ but I think it is a great improvement…before it was started there were 2 quotes to be found…one done but the local woodworker and one by the metalworker…when the metalworkers price was the same as the wood they decided that metal would last longer so he was hired.
It was supposed to be done over the Christmas break since there would be no teams and not many people…but the day they started they brought up sheets of metal grill…that is what they saw a screening. I stopped that (or made sure it was stopped) because the plan wasn’t to build (and I didn’t want to eat in) a cage and it wouldn’t do any good against the bugs. So until the decisionmakers returned from their holiday the project was put on hold.
Then things got moving again. As it turned out the metalworker had never done screening before so this was something new but he didn’t want to lose the job. It wasn’t the most efficient way to finish but it has worked very well at keeping a large number of the bugs out. Granted there were holes in it even before they finished the job (I believe that one of the guys on a ladder stuck his foot through it) but the bigger holes have been patched and really there is no way to keep all the bugs out with the free form shapes we have all around the area. It took about a week to figure out the door. This brought us no end of laughter…there was no door at first and we talked about what might go in…a full metal door that had no screening in it (you’d never know who was on the other side) but then came a very good screen door in a metal frame (of course) but there was no way to keep it shut (no latch, nothing). Don’t worry, it’s not finished. The next day it had a hard core lock and deadbolt on it…but then the latch was too far away and it still wouldn’t stay shut…not only were we in a screen porch but the heavy duty lock (that is unnecessary if you want in you can get in) didn’t close…we thought that would change as all that was really needed was a simple latch but it has stayed and the closing mechanism was moved so that the door now stays closed…as if that were all.
Within in the first week we had been both locked out and locked in…to get in you have to turn the key to unlatch the door…and if you turn it left you will engage the deadbolt…not a big deal as then turning it to the right will usually unlock the deadbolt…but this time it didn’t. We tried over and over again to get the key to catch but eventually we went in through the side (able to pull out without adding a hole and using the key on the inside to turn the latch). Duct tape over the deadbolt to hopefully put enough pressure that the person turning the key will try the other direction before engaging the deadbolt again.Then someone took the ducttape off and about 2 days later we somehow got locked in the dining area…that means that someone turned the key from the outside (not necessary when leaving) and left…for a while we had the extra key in the lock on the inside (for just such a case) but I was told that it was confusing people and so it was removed…(I was blamed for getting locked in as I had asked that the key stay inside the dining area somewhere and was denied)…but we were quickly freed before too many people realized that they were trapped (in a screen porch). Now the key is duct taped to the inside of the lock for just in case…
And now we have decorated as well. We are trying curtains to block the sun in the mornings but the wind is having a field day with those and actually knocking out the light bulbs on occasion…Christmas lights are up for a festive look, and table cloths are on the tables (unless the wind blows them off).