Do It Yourself Porch Plans

You don’t need to have any exceptional carpentry skills to build a porch onto your home. With the wide variety of porch plans you can purchase or obtain free online, you have many different choices in the design you choose. You do have to decide on the perfect location of the porch and the measurements you want for the finished product. You also have to choose a plan that will complement the exterior of your home and suit the purpose for which you intend to use this extension of your living space. You also have to decide whether you want an enclosed porch, one that is open, one that is screened in or one that has plenty of windows.

Do you want to be able to enjoy your porch in every season of the year? If so you will likely want to look at plans for enclosed porches. Whether you are adding the porch to the roof of the home or building a completely new structure, you will have to obtain the necessary building permits from your municipal government. This means you will have to have the plans for the porch you intend to build because the authorities will want to see them in order to issue the permit you need and to make sure the plans you have fit with their regulations.

All porches need a solid base and this is where you will start with your plans.  You can use an existing deck to build on a porch, but you will have to install an additional covering to prevent insects from coming through the floor. You will also have to install additional supports under the flooring so that the porch will be able to withstand the extra weight of walls, furniture and people.

Just about all plans for porch designs state that you should have a concrete slab as your base. This also entails making sure you have the proper drainage away from the porch so that you can prevent water damage due to flooding. The construction materials you use should be suitable for outdoors. For example, if you are building a wooden porch, you should use only pressure treated wood.

The plans for building a porch will give you detailed instructions as to how to measure and saw the materials as well as the type of nails and screws you need. You will also be able to get additional advice by searching online for the best types of flooring and roofing materials to use.