New Home Construction

[EddieWalker]

I had a similar thing with a house I was working on. The home owner had a large brick wall around her front door and wanted a way to break it up. I suggested a covered porch. She couldn't afford to that, but loved the look I drew up for her. We then decided to build a frame with PT 4X6's to give her the look she wanted without the expense. Unfortunaltely I didnt' get any pictures of that job.

I drew a rough sketch on your photo to show you what I'm talking about. It's dirt cheap to do, and depending on the style or design you use, it will give you the look you're after.

Again, all you have to do is attach the lumber to the framing as ledger boards, then trim it out. Since it attaches to the walls, no other supports are needed. Flashing on the top of the boards keeps out the weather and a little trim to match the houses roof will tie it all together.

Eddie

 

[bmac]

Don,

I always appreciate your comments because I think you are blessed with a "good eye" for esthetics. I must admit that after I did the bootleg photoshop alteration of the original scanned image, I questioned whether or not my concerns would end up being a problem afterall.

For perspective, the ceiling height on the garage and masterbedroom wings is 10' (11' feet in the center section). So, floor level on the 2nd floor is about 12" above that. Add a 4' knee wall and the height at the eaves is about 15'. Still wonder if the windows will be dwarfed by that much space.

I did another rendition where I made the windows on the wings the same size as those in the center section. I've attached that image to this post. I think it looks better but may not be doable without some interior changes. You see, one of those windows is in a laundry room and there is a sink in front of the window. But because we plan to have plantation shutters for the interior window treatments on these front windows, we may still be able to do this with some creative plumbing. I have seen kitchen windows that extend below counter height and they managed to make it work.

 

[bmac]

Cowboyjg,

You may have solved the problem. I took your suggestion and made another alteration to the image. My wife likes it (as do I). Look at the attachment to see if this is what you had in mind.

I really appreciate the help.

 

[bmac]

Now, here it is with the larger windows. Don't really know if this makes a significant difference or not.

 

[bmac]

Eddie,

I was hoping you would weigh in on this. Nothing like hearing from someone with field experience. I think you have offered up another good option. Certainly less expensive than extending the porch (more concrete, wood, metal roofing, etc.). Do the 4x6 pieces go on before the exterior siding or on top of the Hardiplank? I'll bring this option to the table next week as well.

Looks like we will be on the eastern fringe of the bad hurricane weather as it heads north. We'll see then how much the rain slows down our progress. I'll report back after I talk to the builder and we have finalized a plan.

Thanks again, Eddie, cowboy and Don for taking the time to offer your suggestions.

 

[OkeeDon]

I like the extended porch. Works for me. I'd use the original windows. The higher windows in the center section are proportional to the higher height of that section; they look a little odd (to me) in the lower-roofed wings. Maybe a compromise, if the windows exist, somewhere in between the original and the tall. If not, I'd stay with the original.

Gotta run -- I just got a new straw hat last week after a comment Harve made; now I gotta get another one. I wish you guys would insult me a little, I could go back to the smaller hats.

 

[Cowboyjg]

What I had in mind was giving you an alternative that would get you what you wanted in the way of style, functionality and value for the dollar. If YOU like it, THAT'S WHAT MATTERS!!!
(I do BTW)
Some thoughts about extending the porch that may help justify the cost.

You don't really need much in the way of concrete other than individual footers on which you can place posts (4x4 or 6x6) to support the porch. That in turn can be enclosed with the same Hardie material you are already using so it matches the house. You could also utilize screen backed vinyl lattice to add a more decorative touch. you could also have a small door at one end or both so as to utilize the area under the porch for storage. You dont need to insulate and you could get away with just purlins to carry the metal roof and 1/4" bead board plywood on the ceiling, which could be painted sky blue like they did in the old days.
The porch will serve to allow light in but provide shade to help minimize the heat of the summer, helping to reduce your energy bills. You have alot of windows!!

At christmas time you can decorate it with garland and lights and bows. On patriotic holidays bunting and "Ol' Glory can be displayed proudly for all to see.

The front porch in the fall and spring are one of the most wonderful places to spend an evening with your honey and a glass of wine or even breakfast to songs of the birds and the rustling of the squirrels in the trees.

You see, if the time comes when you decide to move on, those very pictures are what will swirl around in the mind of the prospective buyer. Quite the romantic vision wouldn't you say... /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif How much is it worth to you to get that for your wife for christmas? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Anyway, Thanks for the opportunity to exercise the right side of my brain.

On a side note....As a builder by trade it is very educational for me to get to see the different influences from around the country. It has been a wealth of ideas that have helped me with some of my own challanges in this business.

Good luck on your project.

 

[bmac]

Cowboyjg,

The reason I mentioned concrete in the cost of widening the porch is because the original porch has a poured foundation (I think About 4'). I've pulled up and attached an old photo of the front of the house which was taken after the backfill was done. In any event, the plan calles for the exposed portion of this to be covered with brick just like the rest of the exposed poured basement walls.

I considered just adding piers to the porch extension. But, even if they are made of concrete block and covered in brick, I'm sure about the look. Again, I'll talk to the builder to see what he thinks. Although this house is being built on a cost + basis and he would do whatever I asked (assuming it is doable), I believe he would protect me from myself if I asked him to do something that he didn't think would look right.

In any event, I do appreciate your comments and suggestions. Feel free to jump in any time, even if I'm asking for advice. Sometimes I may not have enough sense to ask questions when I should /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

 

[EddieWalker]

The time I did this, the brick was already up, so I drilled through the brick to secure it. Since there is no overhang, just the thickness of the 4x6's, stength wasn't as big a concern compared to extending it out or supporting weight.

I've never installed or worked with hardi lap siding like your using, so I'm unsure what the best aproach would be if you went this route. I'm guessing to install the beams after the OSB and house wrap goes up, then cut the hardi to fit.

I also thought you might want to change materials for inside the beams. Maybe something flat, but again, not being onsite, it's a matter of apperance.

There are several designs you could create to achieve your desired look and break up the large wall, some more oranate, others more basic.

As for the porch, I love it. In my opinion, you can't have too much!!! It gives you that happy feeling every time you see you home and what would be nicer than sitting around watching the sun set?

I also see a couple thousand dollars more in work to build it along with more time. Over all, you wont regret it, but at some point you have to decide on how much over budget you're willing to go.

The idea of using larger windows seems to create as many problems as it solves. Plus the overall look of the place changes again, and almost starts to look like a church.

Eddie

 

[EddieWalker]

OK, I showed your picture of your design to Steph and she came up with this idea. Match the windows to the dormers to carry the design through the entire house.

She didn't like the porch idea, said that if you want a large porch, that it should be in the back of the house. The giant porch in front is too much.

Eddie

 

[bmac]

OK, here's the latest on the front elevation. I met with a home designer (not an architect, but a well respected designer / draftsman in the area), my builder and the window rep. this afternoon to address my concerns.

His recommendations were to extend the overhang of the roof, change the style and size of the windows, and add a wider trim to the top and bottom of the windows. He thinks that these changes (each one subtle by itself) will combine to make things balance out better.

When I met with the builder earlier in the week and we discussed the front porch and other options, none were met with enthusiasm by everyone. Although not apparent in my primitive drawings, the front of the house is not flat - the center section protrudes about 6 feet in front of the the right and left wings. Just extending the width of the porch to the mid-window point on each wing would have (a) made the porch 16 feet deep on the extensions and (b) made the roof/wall connection higher on each wing than it is in the center section. Neither seemed like a good idea.

The other option was to make the porch the same depth (10 feet) on each wing as it is in the center section. With this, there would have been a break in the roof line of the porch extensions. This might have looked OK, but no one was convinced that this was the way to go. We would have had to call in an engineer to see how to tie in the foundation to that of the house, with the possibility of having to dig down 10 feet to allow the porch foundation to rest on the original footings. There was the possibility that the extended porch foundation could have rested on the brick ledge of the basement wall which would have been a much easier and cheaper way to do it. Just don't know if the engineer would have agreed to this.

So, my wife and I will discuss this some more, but I think we are going to follow the advice of the new designer. He is convinced that it will look good and will be much cheaper and easier than widening the front porch. I will keep everyone posted as things progress.

 

[EddieWalker]

OK, it's been a week, what did you do concerning your front elevation issue?

Eddie

 

[bmac]

Sorry for the delay. In addition to the elevation issues, my wife and I found a few other changes we wanted to make inside before the framers left. They spent the first couple of days this week doing those, geting the bracing placed on the interior walls and building the front porch.

The front elevation changes are subtle. The window size increased a little and we increased the roof overhang 6". When the exterior window trim goes on, we'll put a wide piece on the top (maybe 6"). Hopefully, these will add up to better balance the appearance.

I wish I had my camera with me on the day we finalized the window size as they had one window at the new size and we could easily compare it with the adjacent unmodified window. I did remember to take the camera yesterday, but (a) the sun was setting so the exposure is not too good and (b) my battery was good for only 1 picture. So, here is the one I got. Hopefully, tomorrow, I'll be able to get out there at a more reasonable hour (daylight-wise) and get some additional photos.

BTW, labor and materials for these changes was only a few hundred dollars. We changed the windows from casement to double hung and the window man said that, even though the new windows will be larger, they should cost less than the smaller casements. Haven't seen the final figures yet.

My builder estimated the cost of enlarging the front porch at $6K-$10K.

Thanks for asking, Eddie.

 

[bmac]

Went out this morning to see if the lighting was any better. Not sure this is a significant improvement but I'll post another picture anyway.

 

[bmac]

A different angle.

 

[bmac]

Side view if the front porch. It extends 10 ft from the front wall and I think it is something like 30 ft wide. The roof over the front porch will be metal, the rest of the roof will be covered with asphalt shingles.

 

[bmac]

The obligatory garage-end perspective.

 

[bmac]

Rear of the house, right side. I don't think I've posted one of these since the back porch was done. This will be screened in, tile floor, ceiling fans. More like an outdoor room.

Due to the drop-off in the back, I cannot get back far enough to get the whole house in one picture with this camera.

 

[bmac]

Here's the left side of the rear view. The sun was still a little low, so I'm having the same exposure problems I had Thursday afternoon in photographing the front.

 

[bmac]

Here's an angled view of the rear that gets in most of the house.