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Remodeling Our Back Porch

We're remodeling the back porch, starting with a new door that actually seals against SF fog and rain — flashing first, then a floor raise that forced cabinet trims.

We’re remodeling the back porch, and the biggest piece of the job is replacing the old door with something that actually seals properly against San Francisco’s fog and winter rain.

Contractors installing new window frame with visible flashing at door threshold

The contractors added flashing at the bottom of the door frame before anything else went in. Flashing is the thin metal or membrane strip that directs water away from the threshold instead of letting it pool and seep into the subfloor — a small detail, but it’s the difference between a door that lasts years and one that rots from the bottom up.

Worker measuring and fitting door threshold with metal edging

White cabinet doors on construction site with protective floor covering

The new door assembly required raising the floor height by a couple inches to get proper drainage clearance, which created a problem we hadn’t planned for: the existing cabinets no longer fit under the new door swing. Rather than replace the cabinets outright, the contractors trimmed the doors down so they’d still open and close cleanly against the new floor line.