Do-it-yourself porch: recommendations of experts

The front door is the face of the house, they pay attention to it, not having entered it yet. The same is the porch! This is the central element of the facade, which is not only part of the functional, but also indicates the main building style, preferences and consistency of its owner.

If you want to build a porch for the house with your own hands, be sure to listen to the recommendations of experts, this will help you to avoid many mistakes and to mount a functional, beautiful, durable and not too expensive construction.

Material Concepts

With their own hands, or by strangers, hiring a team of specialists - the porch should be made of the same material as the main building. For example, it does not make sense to attach a concrete or marble extension to a wooden house (see the Porch of a wooden house - decoration or necessity). The overall concept: the material for light construction should be either the same or easier.

The wooden construction of the porch at the brick house will look much more ergonomic, rather than vice versa. In any case, the main options for building a porch imply wood as the main material, therefore we will consider this type of structure.

Before starting the construction, it is very important to immediately treat the wood with special solutions that protect against rotting, protect against atmospheric influences, resist the invasion of clouds of insects and can even give the surface fire-resistant properties.

Handle boards, parallel bars and logs as follows:

• All parts that will come into contact with the ground should be impregnated with a composition containing mineral oil, and also be painted with bitumen mastic or resin;
• Surfaces that will be in the open space, need to be impregnated with linseed oil, preferably hot, and then painted with varnish or enamel for external work. Pentaphthalic and glyphthalic alkyd enamels are well suited;
• All exterior elements are preferably treated with antiseptics, which further protects them from bark beetles and the formation of mold.

Remember that dampness, mold spores and insects can penetrate into the joints, even where the wooden elements are in close contact with each other. Therefore, all parts are processed before assembly, and not after.

Design

С этим нужно определяться заблаговременно. Вариантов не очень много: квадрат или прямоугольник, round porch do it yourself или трапециевидная площадка.

Work as follows:

1. Dimensions and configuration can be estimated on the spot, it will be clear to designate the main points with pegs driven into the ground.
2. Locate the steps and railings from the front or side. If the number of steps is more than three, it is necessary to arrange the railing.
3. Decide on the need for a canopy and mark those extreme points on the ground with the same pegs.
4. Decide on the design of the future porch roof: simple visor, open terrace, sheltered veranda with windows, etc.
5. Choose the material for the canopy in advance, taking into account that it is still a street structure, which will be affected by the sun, rain, snow and other factors.

Beginning of work

The first stage should definitely be taken to determine the size of the future site, plus a meter in each direction for free movement. And immediately proceed to cleaning the area from foreign objects, leveling the surface, while not forgetting to leave room for the storage of building materials and tools and walkways to it.

Of course, if you plan to upgrade an existing old building, you must first disassemble the entire structure and take away unnecessary materials.

Foundation

Any building must have a base. Your small concrete, brick (see How to make a porch for the house of brick with your own hands) or a wooden structure also needs a foundation, so the first thing is to determine its size, type, and preparation of the pit (trenches, pits for piles).

Wood is a fairly light material, so you can restrict yourself to a pile foundation, which will cost much less than a strip one. But just slabs of concrete, which hastily laid directly on the ground - this is not the way out! The foundation must be complete.

Сваи должны располагаться по углам строения и на пересечении несущих стен, если таковые предусмотрены. Будете делать большое beautiful porch do it yourself — достаточно будет устроить от 5 до 7 свай, в зависимости от габаритов постройки.

For wooden log, plank or lumber constructions of small dimensions, the type of soil is not as important as the depth of its freezing, therefore piles need to be deepened, based on these indicators for your specific area. It is important that the burial was below the level of soil freezing, then the support will be strong, and the walls and the base of the porch will not “go” around the sides in the first year.

Save on the device quality foundation for your own porch is not worth it. Be sure to equip waterproofing, laying on top of the upper basement bed or on top of piles of roofing material or roofing, it is better in two layers, pre-promazat their bitumen or mastic on a bitumen base.

Tent

After the foundation of the device you need to start making bowstrings. It can be with incised or carved ledges. The first option is simpler and more practical in terms of installation by a non-specialist.

So:

• For device bowstrings take a thick wooden board (from 50 mm thick), previously cut to size;
• All dimensions marked on the board must match the size of the sheet and tread;
• According to the standard requirements for the dimensions of the steps, according to the general rules of ergonomics, steps should have a height of no more than 20 cm for ease of use (see Steps for a porch);
• The width of the same standards is allowed no more than 45 cm, the length is not limited.

The support must necessarily be fixed at least on one side by the type of rigid sealing, for which special spikes are cut in the string at the ends. According to the calculations of the installation of bowstrings, it is better to watch a training video how to make a porch with your own hands.

Connection bowstrings and lags

To get a solid connection, you need to prepare in advance in all details a typical “groove-spike” bond. So the construction will remain strong for a long time, and at the same time it will not loosen, the nails will not be loosened, the screws and screws will not be unscrewed.

As a longitudinal fastening, special metal tapes (strips) or brackets are used to fix the structure and give it even greater stability. After assembling the main frame, you can mount a wooden floor.

When constructing flooring from planks, take into account that wooden flooring cracks with time, forming noticeable gaps between floorboards. When you work, try to adjust the planed boards as closely as possible to each other. Joints and longitudinal it is advisable to cover with mastic.

Risers and treads

After arranging the platform for the stairs, you can begin to mount the risers and treads of your porch.

For all structures in accordance with accepted standards such requirements are:

• The height of each riser should be in the range from 140 to 170 mm, not more;
• Tread width - around 300 mm;
• When arranging the railing, handrails are mounted at a height of about 0.9 meters, for ease of use by all family members;
• The visor should have an overhang that completely overlaps the exit zone, it is better to even give it some margin.

Treads with risers are connected in the same way, the method of "groove-thorn." Fastening nails and even screws on a tree of similar strength do not give.

Before you make a porch with your own hands, you have already processed materials. Now this operation must be repeated for all stages, as they are most susceptible to wear and abrasion of the surface.

For the tree, it is necessary to repeat the treatment with liquid antiseptic agents that have water-repellent impurities in their composition. Brick elements, if any, are treated with specialized compounds against the appearance of efflorescence on the surface (salt stains that may appear on the surface).

Canopy or visor

The canopy, as it was said, should definitely block the concrete or wooden entrance area. This will not only help you not to get wet in the rain, opening the front door, but also protect the surface from excess moisture. It can be made in the form of a visor, or become a solid roof, if you mount a massive porch with load-bearing walls, windows and so on.

As a roofing material, it is advisable to use a lightweight profiled sheet or metal tile - a roofing coating that does not have a large specific mass, and will not additionally put pressure on the walls and the foundation. Roll roofing is permissible, but it will look, at least, not aesthetically pleasing on the roof of the porch.

The simplest option is to attach vertical load-bearing columns from timber 50–50 mm or thicker to the site, mount a horizontal frame with a slight inclination from the house towards the entrance or to the right (left) - where there are no steps so that the flowing water merges in the opposite direction.

You can perform a gable peak, but it is more complex in design and will require additional protection from rain on the ridge. The hemispherical roof is an even more labor-intensive option, but it is aesthetically pleasing and looks good.

Jewelery

When decorating the porch with additional accessories (lanterns, art decor, small architectural forms, etc.) one should push off from the basic style of the building (see Decorating the porch).

So:

• The classic style is perfectly complemented by dotted railings and greenery, flowers in flowerpots at the corners of the porch;
• A large house with a wide façade adorns the porch decorated with climbing sprouts;
• Small houses with a miniature extension look favorably in carved elements;
• The path through the courtyard, which is tiled or paved, is an excellent complement to the whole ensemble;
• On the porch, you can put decorative figurines up to a meter high;
• The Russian style of the porch is characterized by carved valance, dotted columns and platbands;
• For the style of "a la france" fit windows decorated with openwork wooden or light plastic grille, the glass door fits perfectly.