The porch is crucial for residents to enjoy a home’s exterior area. It also makes the house look more beautiful. For various house shapes nowadays, there are various porches. We’ll talk about L-shaped homes’ porches today.
If you’re interested in learning how to build a porch onto an L-shaped house, this post is for you. The porch offers a unique and beneficial design element to any home because it is adaptable to any shape. It enhances the elegance of L-shaped homes, nevertheless.
In addition, a porch enables indoor relaxation while taking in the outdoors’ magnificence. As is common knowledge, L-shaped homes tend to have smaller porches than I-shaped homes.
Table of Contents
Steps To Add A Porch To An L Shaped House
Collect Equipment
- Electric hole digger
- Ratchet set
- Snap line
- Tape measure
- Utility knife
- Hammer
- Safety tools
- Level
- Drill bits with drivers
Choose The Area For Porch
Before adding a porch, you must decide on an appropriate location. If your home is L-shaped, you must choose the front section. However, if you’d like, you could also build a porch to the back of the L-shaped house.
Before constructing a porch, it is important to think about daylight. The front and back porch might block sunlight from entering your kitchen and living area. As a result, it is important to consider all factors while deciding where to place the porch.
Choose Porch Style That Suits Your Home
A house’s style determines what kind of porch is appropriate for it. Choosing a simple porch is necessary if the exterior of your house is too plain. To build a porch, there are numerous possibilities. A cantilevered roof without vertical support can be built over a tiny porch if needed.
You can, if you want, completely enclose your porch.
Dig Up For The Foundation
The next stage is to lay the foundation after choosing the porch’s location and design. For solidity, the foundation must be buried deeply enough. The type of soil will determine how deep the foundation should be.
A shallow foundation may lead to future harm, so keep that in mind. If you drill into the foundation less deeply, you cannot place anything substantial on that porch. But the depth of the foundation need not be excessive if you only intend to install a very basic open porch.
Add Membrane
After the foundation is laid, it’s crucial to maintain a damp-proof barrier inside the porch. Thanks to it, your porch floor won’t grow anything and won’t get wet. Typically, a tree grows slowly after being felled.
Similar to when a tree is cut down, and construction work is done, we see cracks in the floor of that location within a few days. The tree’s expansion is mostly to blame for this. However, the floor won’t split due to the tree’s growth if you install a damp-proof membrane.
Spread Concrete On The Membrane Layer
Spread concrete over the top to form a subfloor with a damp-proof barrier. If you wish to build your floor out of wood, install joists to support the floor. Build the subfloor so that it is high enough to support additional flooring components.
Making your porch’s lower level more attractive is crucial since it’s not the primary floor.
Place Bricks On The Subfloor
You will need to raise your porch’s flooring until it is at the same level as the main structure’s damp-proof course. Thus, distribute the bricks evenly. Before the bricks are set, the floor cannot be worked. Make sure to build the porch using high-quality bricks. For the bricklaying work, make sure to choose a qualified contractor.
The porch’s design and longevity may be impacted if the bricklaying is improper.
Install Flooring
Your affordances will determine what kind of porch you add. You can use regular ties if you are reasonably priced. It must, however, match the flooring in your house. For the porch, many opt for wooden floors since they seem slick and strong.
You have flexibility in severe weather if you choose porcelain and ceramic tiles. Concrete or vinyl floors are other options you have if you choose. Regardless of the flooring style you select, weigh the floor with bricks and cover it to decrease the danger of damage from impact, weather, and construction-related hazards.
Make Porch Roof
Bricks can be laid to create the roof, and the floor can be finished. Choose a roof type that complements the house’s style from the numerous porch roof construction alternatives. Install a permeable roofing membrane once the structure has been built.
Place the roof battens and slate or tiles now. Make sure the floor is not harmed when building the roof.
Bottom Line
L-shaped homes are perfect for front porches. Such homes do not look nice with covered or wrapped porches. It will cost you money if you have to get permission to put a porch on your house. Additionally, the cost should vary based on the design and size of your house.
Once you’ve read this post, you should understand how to add a porch to an L-shaped house. There are several advantages to adding a porch, even though doing so limits the amount of internal lighting and air that may enter.
You should build a porch on your home if you also want to take advantage of them. A modern-style porch will require some money to build.