John Highstreet's Carpentry

                I was hired to repair a couple blistered decking boards on this beautiful home in Cape Neddick, Maine. Five months later and I still haven't replaced those pesky boards...

                  After a lengthy discussion about all things not carpentry related, the owner decided to share his vision of what would enhance this charming bungalow. And this is how it started..

I've included a series of before pictures, study them closely as there are some subtle differences...

                                                       This is the exsisting sunroom-

the sliding glass doors were rudely

cobbled together using 2x6's, the

fixed units weighing in at over

a hundred pounds a piece.

                                         The mirror on the wall a sentimental piece from one of the first houses that the owner  had purchased many years ago in Boston, it also weighs in at over a hundred pounds.

  It all started with getting rid of the doors, opening up the two spaces to create a better flow and at the same time making each space have its own distinctive use and style. The owner has a brilliant eye for detail and we worked closely together on every aspect of the job to make it perfect.

After removing the doors I took the old header out, the new opening would be 3 feet larger on both sides as well as tucked up into the ceiling as far as  needed for the installation of the new crown molding in the dining room. 

The middle shot is of the roof and ceiling framing - after I cut it with a sawzall to embrace the new header. Rafters and ceiling joists- all 16 of them, needed to be notched this way.

And the new header..



Next up was centering the exterior windows, as they were spaced with a gap that was larger in the middle than on the ends.

  The previous owner who did all the work by himself, nailed every hole with a 2 1/2" nail, bless his  little heart....



PVC - the material (as requested) to use on the exterior window trim is a nightmare to work with and only after some extensive experimenting I think I got the hang of it.. A nice design addition was extending the trim below the windows to create a French Door look - that and the symetrical spacing makes for a very distinguished, yet relaxing style. At least I think so...

Some wainscotting. Some crown molding. 

Wall trim, chair rail and backs of bookcases... 

 The columns were discovered  at an antiques  store just up the  road and with  only a minor  modification they  fit like they were always there... ahh... 

  Two styles of door trim that both use plinth blocks. The one pictured on the right is comprised of six different pieces, I used this for what was the old original entrance to the house- gave it a bit more elegance.

      The three skylights were a wonderful addition to making the sunroom, well, uh, sunnier...

To install them just click the link for the video of me doing just that... http://www.youtube.com/user/jshighstreet#p/a/u/0/tnFeP7z2K9E



I installed a new handrail,  the ballustrades and newel post-

the elbow on the handrail I had to carve, sand and shape to make it fit.

After sanding the floors down and spending an entire day trying to get a perfect match for the stain (grrr...) - it was actually kind of fun, sort of.. anyway, I gave the whole thing four coats of satin poly and on Monday...





 The end..