ARGHHH!!! Need Front Porch Roof Redesign Help

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

GW,

Everyone here has been a great help in the past and I'm hoping you can help once again. I'm in the middle of our current build and am stuck with the proper design of the roof for the front porch.

First - The Background:
-The architect originally drew the porch like in the front elevation picture below:

This elevation was based off of our "Ideal front elevation" that we came across and gave him a picture of for his initial design phase: (below)

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Current Situation:
After visiting with both a copper roof maker and a metal roof company, we have chosen to go with a metal roof (dark bronze color to match the windows and other trim on the house).

The issue is we took out the center barrel and don't want that look anymore. (Notice we also took out all curved lines on our front elevation (no curved dormer windows, etc.).

This leaves us with a challenging situation because we plan on a similar elevation
(Stone on both left & right 1/3 of house). Straight-edge Hardy Shingle in center and the multiple column front porch (currently drawn as 3 columns (shape of L) on both front corners, 1/2 column against wall. And because we are using a steel roof, we can't have curves in the design.

Current House Build Progress:

MAIN ISSUE:

HOW DO WE BEST DESIGN THE FRONT PORCH ROOF TO FIT WITH THE FORMAL ELEVATION OF THE REST OF THE HOUSE?

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Some other elevation details to help with visualization.
-Very similar paint scheme to above
-All windows will have crown on top profile, and window sill on bottom for more "formal look"
-Stone is Eden Stone Country Manor (2" Real Stone Veneer)
Link: http://www.edenstone.net/product.asp?productID=158&name=Eden%20Country%20Manor
-Porch Concrete pad measures 5' deep x 15' long
-Will have overhang so roof will measure 6" deep x 17' long

POSSIBLE IDEAS:
**Here are 3 possible roof ideas I found while driving houses today - I'm open to all suggestions and advice & if you need further measurements let me know as I have tons but didn't want to overload the thread.

Roof Idea #1
(Mansard Roof although not sure what to do with flat/slightly angled center section)

Roof Idea #2
(Very Shallow Roof - Not sure how would look and DH not a fan)

Roof #3
(Like their front porch roof with most likely a steeper side pitch than front pitch)

GW Community - I've been racking my brain for 3 days straight now and need an outside point of view. What does everyone here think and how would you approach this problem? My biggest concern with #2 & #3 is that the top of the roof would come in too narrow and not align with the stone/siding vertical line in the house which was supposed to be a natural break like the original dream house elevation pic.

Thanks in advance for all of your help - just getting this out there to everyone is already making me feel a bit better about it.

Thanks!

Andrew

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Comments (8)

User
9 years ago
Why would you use steel on such a small complicated roof? This looks like a custom copper roof situation to me.
Andrew K.
Original Author
9 years ago
Great Question - two reasons really.

#1 - Aesthetically there are no other curved lines on the entire front elevation and we were attempting to keep with that theme and remove any radius from a curved copper radius.

#2 - Neither my wife nor I are big fans of the color of copper when it's new (for this application) or when it ages and creates a new patina (you can't really control the color nor the end product appearance) so we'd rather go with a spot-on color match to the windows/flashing/gutters, etc. because over time the color scheme of the front house stays just like it was when we first build it.

Hope this helps shed some light on our reasoning. Thanks and like I mentioned previously, any additional commentary is invited.

Regards,

Andrew
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yellowducky
9 years ago
You could do a simple shed roof. Which is basically your original drawing, without the barrel. It would give you the straight lines you want. I would start the shed roof along the same horizontal line as the bottom of the trim of the second story windows (the ones on the sides, not the center ones. You need that visual separation from the second story center windows). No need to complicate the roof with a hip over such a small space to cover.

Very nice home!
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9 years ago
The best looking metal would be copper since it is more easily formed and soldered and turns a uniform brown soon after construction and takes decades to form a green patina if in fact it ever does. For a permanent finish on copper Revere offers a zinc/tin alloy coating on copper (Freedom Gray) or on stainless steel (Independence Gray).

The copper based product is more easily soldered.
lyfia
9 years ago
Why not a roof like on your initial inspiration picture?
Linda Gomez
9 years ago
This may be too late, but if you would take the size of porch #2, but make it a gable instead of a hip roof on it, it would blend better with your roof style. If you trimmed it the same as your gables and dormers, they would tie together nicely. I don't know if the pitch would look off or if it could go high enough to look good. Photoshop or writing on your plan could decide.
Oaktown
9 years ago
What are you planning for gutters and downspouts?
Andrew K.
Original Author
9 years ago
Gutters and downspouts will be Dark Bronze, much like the metal roof/window material. Lyfia - I think the original design may ultimately win out with the removal of the barrel and some changes to the 2 by framing below it. We should start building the front porch this week so I'll update with some pics. Thanks everyone for your help!

ARGHHH!!! Need Front Porch Roof Redesign Help

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ARGHHH!!! Need Front Porch Roof Redesign Help

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