How to Install Porch Lattice

By: Joseph Truini

Shopping List

Supplies You Will Need

1. VINYL LATTICE

2. PRESSURE-TREATED 1x6s
for making the perimeter frames of lattice panels

3. PRESSURE-TREATED 1x4s
for making the perimeter frames of lattice panels

4. 6-INCH METAL MENDING PLATE
for reinforcing the frames’ corner joints

5. 3½-INCH METAL CORNER BRACE
for reinforcing the frames’ corner joints

6. 4-INCH METAL T-PLATE
for attaching the center stiles to the frames

7. ½-INCH FLATHEAD SCREWS
used to attach the metal fastening hardware

8. EXTERIOR-GRADE PRIMER AND PAINT
for finishing the lattice frames

9. 1-INCH PANHEAD SCREWS AND WASHERS
used to attach the lattice to the frames

10. 3- OR 4-INCH STRAP HINGES OR T-HINGES
for fastening the lattice panels to the porch

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Tools List
Tools You Will Need
- Tape measure
- Hammer
- Drill/driver
- Pry bar, used to remove old wood lattice, and to install new lattice panels
- Circular saw or sabre saw, used to cut lumber and lattice panels
- Rake or garden hoe, used to level soil directly under lattice panels
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Introduction
Overview
Steps:
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8 to 10 hours
$200 to $400 for an average-size porch

Difficulty: Easy to moderate Depending on the size and height of the porch

If your porch isn't well maintained, the whole house looks shabby. Here you'll learn how to handle one of the most common of all porch repairs: building a new lattice skirt. This enclosure conceals the framing while it also allows air to circulate under the porch floor, which keeps the framing dry and free of rot.

A skirt typically consists of a lattice panel set into a wood frame. In older homes, it's often built of untreated pine or fir, neither of which is very resistant to decay and bugs. In time, the parts closest to the ground begin to rot and the decay spreads to the lattice. In regions that receive a lot of precipitation, wood rot can begin to appear in less than two years.

Occasionally a skirt doesn't have a framework and simply consists of a lattice screen attached directly to cleats nailed to the understructure framing. (The porch we worked on had this type of skirt.) While a frameless skirt is easy to install, it's also susceptible to warping and damage because the lattice has very little support. Here we built a durable new skirt using pressure-treated lumber and TuffBilt plastic lattice. We also opted for an unconventional installation method. Rather than permanently attach the frames, we hung them on hinges so the homeowners could use the space below the porch for storage. The swing-up frames also make it easy to crawl underneath the porch to repair the framing if needed. The techniques used here can also be adapted for replacing lattice on a deck, fence, gate, privacy screen, or trellis.