Wooden Porch Awning

Wood siding only lasts so long before it needs replacing. This awning was falling apart and holding on by a thread.

The first step was to remove the old awning that was in place. It had many nails in it, and needed some prying to come loose. Behind it were some shims to level the awning. I left these in place for when I put up the new one. Be careful when pulling something heavy down, especially if you're working above your head.

I measured the old awning and bought wood planning to replicate it. I used 1x8 that were 6 ft long. I bought 6 boards for this project but only used 5 of them, but it's always smart to plan for 15% scrap.

I took a support piece from the old awning to give me a template for the new pieces. I traced around the old piece and cut it out using a jig saw. [used a skill saw on the straight edges]

Since this awning will see a lot of rain, I wanted to make sure that the boards would overlap and make the water run off. This was slightly difficult with only a skill saw. But, assuming you can adjust the cut depth on yours, follow these steps.

1. Set the blade cut depth to 1.5 inches.
2. Make a single cut down the middle of one edge of 2 of the 1x8 boards and a single cut down both edges of 1 of the 1x8 boards.
3. Set the cut depth to 0.5 inches
4. Make the cut down the 1x8 where the end plunge cut stops. And remove the strip of wood.

Make sure the board with both edges cut has the cutouts on opposite sides. So that one edge can go under one board and over the board after it.

Depending on your wood type, you may want to predrill holes for your screws. I did, and it seemed to help. It's much better when your wood doesn't split. I used exterior grade screws because they will be out in the elements. Evenly space your supports. When it comes time to put on the overlapping boards, make sure to slide in the next board before tightening the screws in too far. Otherwise, you may have a hard time getting them to fit together.

I used a wood primer and paint and covered the whole thing. Then followed up with armorall waterproofing. The can said it will protect for two years. Allow at least 2-3 days for dry time though, since it is going over paint it takes longer to be absorbed.

Get a few people to help here. From experience, it is much harder to lift, hold, and use a drill at the same time.

I used 1/4" diameter 6 inch long lag screws. Make sure you get a stud and predrill holes for these big guys. I also put in a few exterior screws around the edges to ensure it's tight to the siding.

and it's done! stand back and admire your work.

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME IN THE HOME IMPROVMENT CONTEST OR THE BEFORE AND AFTER CONTEST