Help me give this old lady a porch-lift!

15 years ago

Hi! We have been enjoying our 120 year old home since last summer. Now that we've spent all our money on frivolous things like chimney repair, sewer lines, insulation, heat, and electrical work, we've got a pittance left for landscaping and fixing up the porches.

FRONT PORCH:

We are in a conspicuous spot in town and I'd like to get our front up to snuff - all the landscaping was removed except for two hostas and a climbing weed, the concrete steps need repainting badly, and the handrail is made of 2x4. Any suggestions for a nice handrail at a low cost (we are happy to do insane amounts of work - maybe we could do something like the dowel and ball that is under the deck of the porch?)

SIDE PORCH:

The side porch used to be a carriage porch (this is now part of the yard). It has the same issues as the front porch - same concrete stairs that need to be painted, and needs stairrail. In addition, the porch railing is gone, and I need to replace it with something.

BACK DECK:

This deck was added very recently, and there are a number of issues with it - while it seems well-constructed, there is no railing. The biggest problem is that while it is over 200 square feet, it is only 8' deep and the PO installed a hammock in the middle of it. We also have a hot tub in the same place the PO's was. The biggest problem is that it is so narrow that you can't put a dining set outside. We also need a stairrail.

I was thinking that if we could use the deck-saving "deck bench brackets" we could make a nice corner seating area without wasting deck space.

BALCONY - I think I can get this one done on my own, it just needs paint. It's also very small (4x8) but it makes a wonderful place to read.

I've tried to draw out the ideas that I had below. I would really like your input and ideas. I don't think we will put a railing where the hot tub and hammock are at this time - I want to live with the deck as it is because I think we may need to expand at least a portion of it and want to do as little un-doable work as possible.

Thanks! my ideas are below - one last thing, instead of installing lattice under the back deck, I was thinking of putting up a mesh and growing climbing flowers on it...any input?

Here is a link that might be useful: Rockler Hardware

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Comments (2)

outdoorliving.ws
15 years ago
You did a pretty good job drawing it out. Looks like the deck is around 32"s off the ground, which does require railing to be up to code.

Your last picture of the steps needs to have a post about 36-40" tall in the ground, at the bottom of the steps for the railing to connect to.

Looking at where you are drawing in your lines on the turnded posts, I think you are too low. 36" is the min and standard for railing. But then you already have the railing on the front, what is the height of that?

And I see a nice hot tub, but where are the extra supports under the deck?

On the back deck, the steps should have been cut one step shorter. Then you would be able to angle your railing from the deck down to the ground instead of coming out another 11" and then sloping down, as you show in your drawing. You can do it like that, but it's hard to make it rigid.

On the front, those concrete blocks shouldn't be there. I know you have them know, but it means that you will have to be a little creative to bring the railing down the steps.
kterlep
Original Author
15 years ago
Hi, thanks for responding!

That's the PO's hot tub, ours is less than half the size (his was a 6 seater and ours is a 2-seater that takes about 325 gallons). I'll have my dad look at the structural integrity of that area to see if we need to add more support.

Our front railing is much lower than 36 - more like 28 or 30, and the existing mortiseholes on the posts in the back are the same height. However, the balcony is at 36" or higher but as you can see the column has been chopped and paired with treated 4x4 to make that work. I would prefer to re-install a replacement at the original height in that section rather than alter the architecture of the columns which are likely original to the house.

For the "main" deck in the back, the back of the bench comes to 36", and will go from the turned column to the deck stairs, so that will be more proper.

I see what you mean about the final stair being at the size of the deck. I've made stairs before and so I understand

I hate the concrete steps but I'm not going to take them down now. I think I will instead paint them and get the other things done outside that need to be done (the entire yard was bare except for a nice linden tree, two scrappy hostas, a vining weed, and some lawn-like weeds). We have since put in three flowerbeds, a brick path (from our chimney we had to remove) and are working on a vegetable garden.

The stair rail that is in the front now is just some pressure-treated 2x4s. It's really ugly, but it does get people up the stairs. Is there something I can do to camo that until I have the time and money to tackle it right? Is there something else I can do in the back (same style of stair) that will help?

Thanks for your help!
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Help me give this old lady a porch-lift!

Comments (2)

outdoorliving.ws

kterlep
Original Author

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Help me give this old lady a porch-lift!

Comments (2)

outdoorliving.ws

kterlepOriginal Author

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kterlep
Original Author