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screen porch detail

Manzier | Posted in General Discussion on August 2, 2006 07:03am

I’m constructing a screen porch and have a question about where my exterior siding meets my screen.  The porch is being built on a concrete slab with doubled treated 2x4s for a sill plate. There will be 18″ of wall below the windows, and 3 x 5′ window openings that will be level with the tops of the screen doors.  The 18″ wall will be finished inside and out. 

 

The screen will be stapled on the outside to the bottom 1/2 of a horizontal 2×4, which acts as the bottom of the window opening.  I am going to run 2 courses of horizontal fiber cement siding up to about 1/4 inch from the top of said 2×4.  The bottom edge of the siding will be about 1 1/2 inch higher than the top of the old slab

 

Is there any way to seal at the point where the siding, screen, and 2×4 meet so that water doesn’t run down the back of the siding?  Caulk?  If not, can I feel good about just letting the water run down and hopefully escape out of the bottom of the outside edge of the 2×4?  I don’t want it to run down, pool on the sill plate, then run into the inside of the porch and/or stain my beadboard siding that will be used to panel the inside of the short wall beneath the window openings.  This beadboard will be painted on the room side with exterior paint.  Should I paint the inside of the beadboard?

 

Thanks for any advice.

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  1. User avater
    JDRHI | Aug 02, 2006 07:48pm | #1

    Why not cap the knee wall with a sill and sit your 2X on top of that?

    Maybe a sketch will help.....am I following you correctly?

    J. D. Reynolds

    Home Improvements

    1. Manzier | Aug 02, 2006 07:58pm | #2

      Well, that looks good, and I probably wish I would have thought of that.  I'm having a contractor frame it, and I'm doing the finish after he has the roof on.  Your way, from the looks of your sketch, would have necessitated building the 18" wall, putting a sill board on, (deck board or 2 x 6 with an angle planed on it?) then framing the rest of the wall on top of it.  I've already got the walls framed up and the rafters set, so I can't have the guy go back and fix it.

       

      I'm not skilled enough to do a sketch on the computer....but you've got the gist of what it looks like, minus your sill board.

       

      Thanks for your reply.

      1. User avater
        JDRHI | Aug 03, 2006 12:43am | #3

        OK.....lemme think here.

        What if you now, sit the sill board on top of the 2 X 4 (the one you had planned on incorporating into the "window" frame) and sit another 2 X 4 on top of the sill?

        Obviously, it would bring your 18" knee wall up an added 1 1/2". Is that critical to your design?

        You could "hide" the 2 X 4 below the sill with a trim detail. (I'm not sure how far along you are. Has the knee wall itself been sheathed and sided?)

        Another quick sketch.....I'm terrible with words.

        J. D. Reynolds

        Home Improvements

        1. Manzier | Aug 03, 2006 01:10am | #4

          I can tell what you mean from your words, no problem, and your sketch is fine.  Right now, all I have are the framed walls, the studs are double 2x4s, every 36 inches, with door headers and window openings framed.  Window openings are 36 x 60 rough openings. They are putting up the rafters today.  Knee wall is not sheathed inside or out.

          I could go in and put a sill on every bottom 2 x 4 and a 2 x 4 on top of it to staple my screen to, then put a trim piece on the top 2 x 4 to cover the staples.  I might do a mock up tonight to see if I like it. 

          The only reason I was staying with 36 x 60 is so I could put in some cheap windows sometime if I ever decided to do it.  I guess I could always rip out the sill and the top 2 x 4 if I ever decide to replace the screens with windows, which is a minimal possibility.

           

          Thanks again.

           

          Tracy

          1. User avater
            JDRHI | Aug 03, 2006 01:26am | #5

            No problem....best of luck!

            J. D. Reynolds

            Home Improvements

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