Front-porch deck step in right direction

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/08/2018 (2635 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Sometime this past spring, repeat clients of mine inquired as to the feasibility of adapting their concrete steps leading to their front door into a front-porch deck built entirely from treated lumber, without having to remove the existing steps.

Although this can be sometimes tricky, their situation proved to be perfect for a facelift.

Houses built in housing developments tend to share similar features. And because a development generally blossoms and matures within a limited time period, the building styles tend to also reveal the trends of the time.

Lori and Bryce Mollard’s home boasts a popular building style; a two-car garage sits just to the right of an inset front-door entrance, which segregates a large picture window on the main floor from the garage. The house features two-tone stucco exterior finish, whereby the windows and doors are boxed outward to highlight the accent stucco colour. The paved driveway continues past the garage, morphing into a pathway to the concrete steps that lead to the front door.

In order to conveniently convert this scenario of concrete steps into a wooden front-porch deck, two factors must be present: the porch design must extend farther than the old steps, and the front-door threshold must be high enough above the existing concrete landing to allow for the door to clear the new framework with top decking, once installed. Fortunately, there was plenty of clearance between the bottom of the door and the steps, and the new porch plan would extend two feet further than the existing steps. And because the porch-deck design also extends from the steps to the left edge of the house, most of the new porch would follow traditional deck-building practices.

The first step was to fasten a ledger board along the front face of the house. Where the ledger board crossed the existing concrete landing, the board was notched to accommodate. A main support beam which extends from the outer edge to the opposing outer wall adjacent the garage was set into position. Posts and pads were placed every six feet to ensure rigidity left of the steps. Shorter posts were placed below the beam along the step. Two-by-eight joists were set within the joist hangers fastened to the ledger board, on 24-inch centres. Above the concrete steps, each joist was notched to fit precisely onto the profile of the existing steps. These joists were then shimmed against the concrete every 16 inches to ensure firm support. With the framing in place, two-by-six top decking were affixed to the joists. Stair stringers were cut on-site and positioned to flow with the existing concrete walkway that protrudes from the existing steps. Once they were also topped with two-by-six boards, the porch was ready for the railings and fascia.

The railings are simple — four-by-four posts, capped with a two-by-six and two-by-two wooden balusters fastened to two-by-four top and bottom horizontal nailers. The fascia around the outer perimeter of the porch deck is two by eight, other than the decorative outer stair stringer which is cut from a two-by-10. The entire process took less than a day and a half and presented very few (if any) unexpected hurdles.

Although the old concrete step was functional, it really only got you to the front door. The Mollards were never satisfied with this — they wanted more from their front entrance. With the new front-porch deck completed, they now have a multi-functional area that also adds character to their home, a distinct feature that separates the front of their house from other houses built during the same era — and they couldn’t be happier.

bossenterprise@outlook.com