Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Sliding Glass Door and outdoor Pendant Light

So, I can't bear another winter without a window in my study.  So, I decided to replace the window in our dining room with a sliding glass door.  This accomplishes two things: 1) it allows us to walk straight out to the outside dining table directly from the kitchen and 2) it frees up a window to install in the study.  So, I finally got around to installing the door.


This is how the dining room looked when we moved in, with the window:

We love to eat outside, but don't love our kids having to carry food around and through the carpeted family room in order to get to the outdoor table.  This picture shows where we eat and the window that I'm replacing with a door:


First thing I did, was cut out the drywall and remove the insulation from below the window so I could access the wiring below the window and re-route it over the doorway (don't have any pictures of re-routing the wiring, but I created a junction box, by adding an outdoor outlet beside the door outside and, while I was at it, I figured I might as well add an outdoor pendant light to hang above our outdoor dining table).

I then had to remove the siding, so that I could access the window to remove it:

After I pulled out the window, I cut out the wall beneath it (since there is already a header above the window, the framing below the window supports only the window itself).  I asked Ben if he wanted to pull the wall down and he was SO excited to get to help with that:


Next, I had to adjust the framing of the opening to fit the door and raise it to the height of the threshold.  I then had to waterproof the new opening, by wrapping it with vinyl flashing tape (you can also see the new outlet to the right of the door in this picture):

Then, it was time to calk and install the door and replace the siding around it.  Once I finished that, I also finished installing the new outlet and light fixture (I figured, I might as well put the light on a dimmer switch so we can have dinner by "candle-light" when we want). I then had to install the interior trim (which I've primed, but haven't painted yet).  Here are some pictures:



Once I add the interior trim, I will try to add some interior pictures.



6 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are freakin' amazing!

Cyndie said...

Holy handy, girl! You are awesome!

choosingadoption said...

I'm so glad you got to do this! Amazing as always. How long did that take you?

a.k.a. Jack said...

That's hard to answer, because I have to work off and on when I find free moments. But, I think I removed the siding, drywall, and insulation one evening. I rerouted all the electrical off and on throughout the next day (this was by far the hardest part--you really need special tools to do this more easily). I framed up, water-sealed, and installed the electrical boxes and door frame off and on the next day. Then, I installed the door panes the next morning and re-installed the siding that evening. I installed the light fixture last night.

The Yoder's Five said...

I love all your "might as well" projects you did while you were at it. You have so much gumption!

waldankaczynski said...
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