rwiegand - I found your question ‘Why resurrect it?’ Well - for the simple reason that high winds still exist, as well as the need for outdoor ceiling fans. The discussion is as valid as it was 8 years ago. Like Amy, we have outdoor Minka Aire, (a Slipstream ) and they have held up well for 5 years. The 65 inch version moves a lot of air. Our central Texas house is up on a ridge, and has a nice breeze about 80% of the time, but during summer they’ve been quite useful as a relief to the heat, as well as helping keep mosquitos off.

I will definitely be putting: string lights, an outdoor rug, some curtains, etc. I already have that mosaic table, and a colorful banner. Now, they already put a clear sealant on the wood. The color isn't my favorite but I may leave it that color for now and see if I can live with it. I do like the red color of the wood they used for the trim. I may paint the roof blue. And possibly stain the concrete. Am also thinking of a gel pad under the rug (the kind sold for where people stand a lot) for an exercise/aerobics area. Concrete by itself is a bit too hard on my knees. And maybe a small water garden or feature. This post was edited by Violet.West on Sun, Feb 2, 14 at 15:47

Just move your plate heigth up a foot or so. You could cut through the roof to install a 2x12 beam on top of the plate. This will put the facia higher than the existing facia. Or you could move the beams in & give yourself a bigger overhang on the porch so the facia meets. Dropping the floor a step is always an option as you mentioned. Al

lsst - What an exquisite porch! Posted by tracey_b (My Page) on Fri, Jun 18, 10 at 10:16 Thanks for the replies. I think our builder asked what we wanted to do because we'd end up with some butt joints if we ran it lengthwise, but that'd just be like hardwood flooring and not big deal, right? Tracey - I took a good look at our porch ceiling and we do have butt joints, and they are not staggered! . Never noticed it. We really had no input in the ceiling. The carpenters never asked, but I think I would change it if we had to do it again, and run them the short way. Having said that, we have not had any trouble with sagging in the 4 years we have been in the house.