Hi, I've just discovered this site and am curious how your solved your problem. I have a concrete porch consisting of just 3 steps with the top being about 4 ft. square or a little smaller. I'd like to make the steps larger and add a little decorative style. Wondering if I can add to the size without starting all over. (which I definitly won't do. - too much work) Our house has half-log cedar siding and a smallish cedar deck would look nice there too so wondered if you did that. Thanks a bunch. Granny

Kat, I think you have the right idea, but before I can say which way to go, can you get a shot of the territory? After seeing all those roofs collapse this winter from their snow loads, I understand the issues involved with flat roofs. When you say the deck is flat with the front door, you mean there is no height difference? Do you have gutters running along that roofline? And how much of a "pitch" does your roof have? Is the roof a simple design which is like two end gables and a flat roof on each side? And, do you want to do something that covers the entire length of the deck along the front of your house, or would a simple covered entry space be adequate? Also, how old is your current roof? Is it in need of work anyway? I'll try to find a picture of MoccasinLanding. It was basically a shallow roofline, but they had built a gable across the front which created a narrow cement pad stoop, held up with 4 wrought iron posts. (each end and then in between), so the front door was centered on the peak of the shallow gable. Altogether, the stoop and the gable were about 15 feet wide I suppose. What I'm thinking is maybe a smaller gable right over the doorway which can be enclosed against all weather and a small bench out there, and then not attached to the house, but mounted on the deck, a covered freestanding pergola or arbor running from the driveway/carport/garage/walkway/whatever, that can have an angled top to encourage rain or snow to fall off the side away from your house (or deck too if it is a narrow one) yet from the street will look like a flat surfaced pergola/walkway up to the front door. You could top this pergola with acrylic or Lexan panels, or even heavy duty canvas/Sunbrella fabric, which would allow light to penetrate, and not cut off the light from the house windows. If you want to move your front door, I think there is a project that our (absent) buddy Loretta did to HER tiny front porch to make it a really sweet AWAY room just inside the door. Your use would be different, but it would be sort of the same construction of a gable etc.

Pls provide a cleaner set of plans when possible. I magnified what you provided but could not see the detail needed. So a few questions... 1. I understand removing the 3 posts so the wraparound deck is going away. Is he reducing the price for this change as that does result in fairly good savings? 2. What is he cantelevering? You said INTO the house. That is not so much cantelevering as it is sistering joists going back into the house. A cantelever is an unsupported area that extends beyond the location of the last support i.e. the posts. Usually code does not allow for roofs above the cantelever area & they usually don't extend but approximately a max of 2 feet. Hopefully he is not saying he will cantelever from the outside edge of the screen porch further to allow for the wraparound deck. 3. If you just paint the treated lumber arches, rails, & posts be sure to wait a minimum of 6 months for the lumber to dry out. As far as recommended wrap trim materials there are plenty ranging from regular lumber, prime treated lumber (which you need to let dry prior to painting), trim board primed finger-joint, to TruWood, HardieTrim, AZEK PVC, Miratec, & other vinyl options, etc. Just go by Home Depot or Lowes & you can see the price range for these type products.

We are beyond disappointed in our architect. It has been a very frustrating process! I feel like we are at the point of no return though. We will be speaking with him tomorrow and we make a final decision then. To answer a couple of questions: the two staircases are bc the one in the playroom leads to an attic bedroom and the one in the mud room is going to a home office above the garage - it was supposed to be moved to the garage but wasn’t (more frustration). The Murphy door will likely be removed. I so badly wanted it to work out and thought it’d be a really cool feature but it’s making things more complicated. Again, the centering of the door was my idea to help the elevation work a little better. I would love for him to play around with the porch area/foyer to “make it work” but that’s just not who is is. Had I known this, we never would have hired him. Luckily I have a friend who has been very helpful (done most of the design work) but we’re both stumped here. Thank you everyone for the replies! If we end up changing dramatically I’ll post an update.