Help with front porch on standard full cape!
I have a standard 1.5 story full cape - 36'x24' (36' not including mudroom or converted garage to the right) with 2 doghouse dormers and 2 BRs/1 BA upstairs. We are looking to add a front porch with a shed roof, but only from the bay window to the left side of the picture. The house faces east and gets very little direct sunlight, so we do not want to cover the bay window with a porch roof. The room to the left of the front door is the master BR and we are not too concerned about the amount of light in there. The porch would extend 10' from the house, which is about where the edge of the pathway is.
I'm struggling envisioning the roof of the porch. My husband wants a standing seam metal shed roof, which is fine, but where does it attach to the house? Just above the door or just below the dormers? And how would it look with the rest of the house and the bay window side being left as is? Are there other things we should do to make it look better?
We have no sketches at the moment but my father-in-law will be drawing up some ideas for us. He tends to be fairly cut and dry, which is fine, but I am curious to see what other minds might come up with! *Also, there is the potential down the line for a 10' addition off the side of the house... Probably a single story addition with a similar gable roof as the rest of the house.
Comments (12)
PRODebbi Washburn
last yearI would have to assume that it will attach higher up on the roof line to get the proper heights needed. Something like this :
Melissa Jo thanked Debbi Washburn
lisaam
last yearlast modified: last year
Here the started the porch addition halfwau up the roof to create a smooth transition. Ignore the T part that extends the house forward and the newly angled front door. dont know if this will fit in under your dormer.Melissa Jo thanked lisaamRelated Discussions
Landscaping front of basic Cape-style home
Comments (5)I'll just add to Mel's instructions that your photo will show up when you hit "preview message." If it doesn't show up, then do not hit "submit message" - go back to Photobucket and make sure you have the right code. But you've done such a good job describing that it seems a shame to spoil that with pictures :-) so I'll try to suggest something useful from your OP. First, review some other threads on foundation planting - oh my lord, how many times have I said, does it really need foundation planting? Your porch might seem to call for screening of the underneath, but maybe you want to lattice it in or do something with just stone instead (or concrete blocks, like ours :-(...). The one thing I hate about porches, including my own, is that you can't seem to have one without also having a horrid low area underneath it that either looks ugly or, if closed in, is a claustrophobic cave. And that can be good critter habitat. That's another reason I prefer to pull plants away from the foundation if you have space, that the more secluded it is, the more attractive it is for habitat and the less you can get in there to chase critters out. So I have some other concepts that might transition better to the woodland: specimen plants here and there, or larger island beds with an assortment of plants. I actually find detached islands a bit random, so I tend to make mine isthmuses (perhaps more accurately peninsulas, but I like the former word better) extending from a border across the yard, but if you don't have borders, they'll have to be islands. KarinL...See MorePlease help me redesign my front porch
Comments (11)I like the thick 'wrapped" colums. I think the stone half wall is OK but your stoop is a decent size for a stoop...mine is similar but judging from the space next to your front doors, yours is probably a bit bigger and I find that mine is a bit too small. A half wall on each side is going to take up and make your stoop space feel tighter. And I don't know that they will stand out much against the new stone facade for the cos. I think railings would be better and more open. And maybe you don't have to go with the usual thin black wrought iron. On our last house we rebuilt the front stoop and had the contractor build white painted "chippendale" style railings. It was not expensive. When you start looking around you might find there are more options on railings than than the typical ones you aren't too fond of....See MoreWhat should i do with my front porch! I need help!
Comments (6)I see a porch on the front of your home and a deck on the side. A porch is a covered shelter in front of an entrance. A deck is an open wooden extension to a house. I was wondering if you wanted to add a deck to the front of your home, or redo the porch and railing. The posts for your porch are load-bearing as far as I can see. They cannot be cut off and capped. But perhaps you want to extend your porch out from under the overhang, in which case that part would be a deck, and you could cap those posts. Because decks are exposed to rain there is a gap left between deck boards so rain can drip through. Most means of hiding the area beneath a deck is therefore open to allow moisture to dissipate and prevent rots. The photo below shows an open horizontal board enclosure and also uses cable railing. You could, though, use the same rock as is on the front of your garage to close in the under deck area as long as sufficient venting is provided. I added this to your existing porch below. This would give visual continuity to the design as well....See Moreadding porch on cape cod.
Comments (1)Picture would be helpful....See More
decoenthusiaste
last yearI thought this concept was pretty cool.
Wraparound Porch with Extension + Front Entry Remodel - Cape Cod in NW Washingt · More InfoMelissa Jo thanked decoenthusiasteMelissa Jo
last yearBeverly (not sure how to reply directly, sorry about that!), our back yard doesn't need anything. We are looking to do a porch because we want a porch, lol. We have a very walkable neighborhood and love seeing people/dogs/kids going by. And the back gets really hot and sunny. As for dark, the master BR has a room darkening shade that is almost always down, but we have two more windows in that room that face south so I'm not worried about the room being dark.
Thanks for all the pics - that's what I've been seeing while searching, but husband thinks the porch can join just above the door. I'm just not finding any pics of that, though.
As an aside since I included a pic of the back of the house, anyone want to chime in on how we'd square off that back corner of the house with the existing small shed dormer? We're thinking of a ground floor addition but I would love more space upstairs to expand the bathroom (in the dormer) and the bedroom, too. No clue what to do with the roof lines. Thank you!
PROBeverlyFLADeziner
last yearIf the porch framing starts above the door the ceiling will be quite low and the pitch of the roof will have to be flat. That could be an issue with rain and snow.
merlej36
last year- PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
last yearYour front door is only 7 ft. high.
If you frame the porch immediately above it and then expect to pitch it down with a standing seam roof no one will be able to stand under the roof. If you're set on the metal roof then you have to start the roof under the dormers.
If you're willing to accept a flat roof you might be able to start the porch above the door, but I cannot promise you will meet the code for the porch.
Emily
last year- PRO
Debbi Washburn
last year
BeverlyFLADeziner