May 17, 2017

Backyard Party Space

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #RoofedItMyself #CollectiveBias

Backyard Party Space. It should come as no surprise that I love parties…and with that comes all.the.things. I seriously have so many things for entertaining, it’s nearly comical. I have thinned out my collection, but…and, I have a small home, a lot of kids, and no intention of moving. I am constantly shoving party things all over the house. Our pool pump went up in flames recently, and I just could not accept not having a pool, and we couldn’t justify the price of another above ground pool we weren’t really happy with….so, we found a semi-permenant above ground pool, and had it installed in the ground a few feet. Which left us with a dirt pit yard (I know I have said before that I am like the mom from the poem, If You Give a Mom a Muffin…and this is a perfect example), so we ordered sod. We had an area we knew would never grow grass, so we thought it would be great to have an outdoor kitchen there…We had concrete poured, and then got to work on the outdoor kitchen/backyard party space. The fine folks at Lowe’s and I are like BFF’s now, and I feel like I should invite them over for a backyard party!

The first thing we did was decide how large we wanted the party space to be. We had the concrete poured, and then built the roof frame to fit the concrete. The Lowe’s employees were super helpful, and advised us to build the roof frame on the ground with pressure treated 2×4’s and add support beams every 16”. The wood and roofing supplies are just one aisle apart at our local Lowe’s stores, at the far end of the store neat the Contractor/Pro Services center. There is a helpful GAF Roofing Center located at the end of the aisle (end cap) or within the aisle (bay), that shows the different types of shingles GAF manufactures on a “good, better, best” spectrum. This end cap includes sample boards of the various shingles type and colors for easy access. You can even purchase a sample shingle for $25! The FeltBuster® High Traction Synthetic Roofing Felt underlayment that goes under the shingles and Pro-Start™ Starter Strips is also on the roofing aisle, along with metal drip edge.

Once we built the roof frame, we covered it with 1/2″ plywood on top. We decided to shingle it on the ground too. Next, we added GAF FeltBuster® underlayment, and trimmed the whole frame with a simple drip edge (We dry fit the drip edge in the photo so we didn’t damage the FeltBuster® . Now, it was time to add the Timberline® High Definition® shingles. We were lucky enough to have a few friends help us finish up this part of the job, and lift it up onto the 4×4″ supports we attached to the concrete. We were so thankful for the GAF roofing YouTube videos throughout the whole process!

We knew right away we wanted to use GAF Timberline shingles; we recently had our house roof done, and after a lot of research and investigating, we settled on GAF Timberline because of their superior quality and warranty. Because if you are installing a roof yourself or hiring the work out, you want it to last. Which is why Timberline is the best selling shingle in North America. They are made with proprietary, granular technology, they not only look great, but they are so durable! One of the things that stood out to us when we were researching roofing materials for our home and our outdoor party space was GAF’s Lifetime Shingle (and at least 3 qualifying GAF accessories) lifetime ltd. warranty on your shingles and all qualifying GAF accessories! And, it’s not even pro-rated for the first 10 years! Y’all, this is huge!! My husband kind of gave me the side eye when I told him my plans for our weekend…we’ve always thought roofing was super hard, and totally above our skill set. (I am a party blogger, he’s a financial advisor…we DIY, but this is DIY!!) But, seriously, anyone can do this! Even the kids helped nail some of the Timberline® shingles in.

Recommended supplies:

Underlayment: FeltBuster®
Starter Strip: Pro-Start™ Starter Strip Shingles
- *Recommended but optional
Timberline® shingles
Hip and Ridge Caps:
- TimberTex®
- Seal-A-Ridge® Shingles
Nails: 1 ¼” galvanized steel roofing nails
Nails: 1” – 1 ¼” round plastic cap roofing nail
Protective eyewear
Tape measure
Snips/Scissors
Hammer
Gloves

So, now we have a concrete pad and a roof, which is AWESOME! But, I still have too many party supplies. So, we built a knee wall with more pressure treated 2×4’s and drilled the frames into the concrete. We used hardy board on the exterior parts of the knee wall, and upcycled corrugated metal on the front. We added a removable 3/4″ plywood counter top to the tops of the knee wall, and NOW, I have party storage!! Yay!! I have a few plastic tubs of supplies on one side, and the hubs has commandeered the other side for wood storage. We both would like to turn the metal front into sliding barn doors for easier access to our storage, but for now, we are so thrilled with the finished product! And with the help of some awesome friends, we finished the whole project in just 2 days!

This backyard party space has been such an awesome addition to our beautiful newly renovated back yard, and we are so excited to have it ready before Summer!

Have you ever roofed anything? I remember my dad roofing my playhouse when I was a little girl…and now that we built our outdoor party space (that my hubs calls his outdoor kitchen), I feel like I have the power and ability to do ANYTHING! Be sure to check out the GAF Facebook Page and GAF’s website for more inspiration and tips.