How to build a porch for a wooden house. How to make a porch in a private house

The porch performs not only decorative functions. In winter, it protects the front door from snow drifts, and in summer - from rain or heat. It can be made of metal, stone, brick, concrete, but the best option for a wooden house would be a solid wood porch. You can build a porch to a wooden house with your own hands if you approach this matter prepared, and for this we recommend that you read our article.

Porch dimensions

For a free approach to the front door and its opening, you need free space. According to building codes, the upper platform of the porch, adjacent to a single-leaf door, should have a width of 1.6 m, to a double-leaf door - from 2 m. The distance from the door to the first of the steps is 1 m. To protect against rain and snow, a canopy over the porch is made slightly wider than the site (30 cm).

Must be normalized width and height of steps, while the average step width of a person is taken as a basis. Their optimal height is 16-19 cm with a width of 25-33 cm. Since a person starts climbing stairs and finishes it with one foot, the number of steps should be odd.

Standard step sizes

In winter, the steps are often covered with ice, so the porch should be equipped with handrails. If there are more than 3 steps, their manufacture is mandatory. Standard railing height- 80-90 cm.

Important! The top platform of the porch should be 5-10 cm below the door threshold. Otherwise, during seasonal fluctuations in the soil, it may rise and block the door.

Foundation

The simplest foundation for a wooden porch are piles. They can be made from a wooden beam treated with an antiseptic or burned in a fire, or metal pipes. Depth such supports should be slightly lower (by 20-30 cm) than the level of soil freezing.

To install piles, a small layer of sand is first poured into the pits prepared for them, and then gravel. Such a pillow will remove moisture from the supports and protect them from premature decay.

Porch foundation on wooden piles

After installing the supports and leveling them, the space between them and the ground is filled with concrete mortar. Extreme supports attached to the wall of the house with large nails or self-tapping screws. Further work should be carried out only after the concrete has completely cured.

Important! In the event that a concrete foundation is chosen for the porch, it is necessary to provide between it and the base of the house expansion joint. Otherwise, during seasonal ground movements, due to the difference in the load on the supports, the foundation at the junction with the structure may crack. To avoid moisture ingress, such an expansion joint can be filled with any flexible material (rubber gasket, mineral wool, etc.), and then closed with a flashing.

An expansion joint should be provided between the base of the house and the porch

What is a kosour?

The side sloping boards to which the steps are attached are called bowstrings. The steps in them can be inserted into special grooves cut in the bowstring, fastened with screws, dowels, studs or special steel fasteners.

stair bowstrings

But most often stairs are made, the bowstrings of which have cutouts on which the steps lie. This type of bowstring is called kosour.

Stairs with one stringer are rare. Most often, the steps are mounted on two or (if the span is large enough and ranges from 1.2-1.5 m) on three supports.

Making a kosour

Staircase on three stringers

All kosoura are divided into two main types:

Ordinary stepped; have cutouts of a triangular shape, placed at an equal distance from each other; a significant disadvantage of this method is the thinning of the wooden beam after cutting it;

FROM "fillies": small bars (dowels) to support the steps, which are inserted into the slots of the stringers; quite complex, but more durable design.

Kosour with fillies

The kosour is the most complex structural element, so its dimensions and the width of the cutouts should be measured with great care. To facilitate the process, you can use a stencil made from a piece of plywood or thick, even cardboard.

Horizontal cutouts for steps in the stringer should be equal tread(step width). The size of the vertical section is riser(step height).

Important! When measuring the size of a kosour or bowstring, it should be taken into account that the tread of the first step should become a continuation of the site.

So that the support beams do not bend under the weight of people walking up the stairs, the boards from which the bowstrings or stringers will be made must be thick enough - from 60 mm with width from 30 cm. They are made of high-quality hardwood (spruce, pine, maple, oak or beech), which does not have cracks and knots.

More durable and reliable are stringers made of a metal profile. For this you can use steel corners.

Stringers from the channel

Porch Assembly

Before starting the assembly, to protect it from decay, the wood should be carefully treated with any antibacterial agents and painted several times with drying oil or varnish.

1. After the concrete mortar has hardened in the supporting pillars holes are punched for laying the upper part of stringers or aunts (they are attached without nails). The lower part of the bowstring should lie on support pads, resting on nickels.

Fastening the upper part of the stringer

Cuts for fastening the bottom of the stringer

2. On the supporting piles are placed lags and fastened with self-tapping screws. For their manufacture, 5-centimeter durable boards are used. They lay on the logs floorboards thickness from 2.5 cm.

3. To ensure ventilation between them, be sure to leave a small 20mm gap. The same gap is left between the steps and the tread. It is not necessary to make too large a distance between the boards - after all, during operation, the wood will dry out and the size of the cracks will increase.

4. Start laying steps from the bottom. If desired, you can do without risers, laying one tread.

Steps for the street porch can and should not be done

5. Treads and risers are attached to wide head screws. They are slightly (a couple of millimeters) recessed into the boards. For fastening, you can also use metal brackets. The ideal option would be to use boards with a tongue and groove system.

Fastening steps and risers

The original design of the entrance to the house is able to give a unique look even to the same type of buildings. What exactly will be the wooden porch depends on the wishes of the owner of the house - the choice of options is unlimited. Consider the main stages of the construction of a wooden porch, the nuances of technological operations and a number of construction features. After carefully reading the recommendations set out in the article, the reader will be able to do all the work with his own hands, regardless of the drawn up (selected) drawing, and build an excellent wooden porch with a canopy.

If we consider in detail the available pros and cons of lumber, as well as focus on their acceptable cost, then, despite the variety of wood, there are not so many options. Basically, there are 3 recommendations, and all of them are for coniferous species. Why is clear. They are less prone to decay than larch trees. What exactly to choose?

Spruce

Despite the fact that the wood is resinous, it is clearly not suitable for the porch. The fact is that the structure of this tree is characterized by increased porosity. The strength of the material depends on this characteristic, and the relationship between the parameters is inverse. Since most of the structural elements will be subjected to intense loads (the weight of a person, snow cover over a canopy), including dynamic ones (gusts of wind), this is not an option. Firstly, there is no need to talk about the reliability of fastening the elements. Nails, screws, screws will not hold firmly in such a tree.

Secondly, the hygroscopicity of spruce. Since no one will paint the wooden porch with moisture-resistant compounds (all the charm of wood is lost), you will have to treat it with antiseptics. But the effect will be only short-term, given the specific location of the structure (outside the building).

The durability of a spruce porch is nothing more than a "myth" launched by firms specializing in this area. The main reason is the ease of processing blanks. Hence - the minimum time for the production of works. And few of the clients look at the estimates, especially since not everyone will understand all the details, and they will not distinguish one breed from another.

Pine

An excellent choice of wood for both price and durability. If not for one moment - there is a better option.

Larch

The peculiarity of any porch is that all its parts, even despite the canopy, are constantly in conditions of relative dampness. Oblique rain (or snow with a side wind) will definitely fall on the steps, not to mention the railings and other parts. We should not forget about the vapors rising from the earth. Invisible microscopic droplets of moisture, even in dry, calm weather, will penetrate deep into the wood structure.

The main difference between larch and other conifers is in a specific resin. Without going into details, it is enough to note that when wet, it only gains strength. It is not for nothing that this wood is always used for the manufacture of support frames and laying the lower crowns of log cabins.

If you think about long-term maintenance-free operation of the porch, then the best choice is larch.

Design

You should start by choosing the dimensions of the porch. It can be built not only from wood, but also from other materials. However, there are some generally accepted norms that you should be aware of. Adhering to them or not is the decision of the owner of the house, but the parameters below are optimal for both convenience and safety of moving up the stairs.

All indicated linear characteristics are in cm.

• Span width - 90±10. More is possible, less is undesirable.
• The steepness of the stairs is in the range from 30º to 45º.
• The number of steps is odd. This is explained by the fact that with which foot a person began to move up the stairs, that one should be placed on the porch platform (when climbing). Height - about 17 ± 2.5; board width (tread) - 26 - 30. Narrow steps are traumatic, and wider ones are inconvenient to climb.

When drawing up a drawing, it must be taken into account that all steps must have some forward slope. Otherwise, rainwater will stagnate on them.

railing

In principle, they can not be placed on a wooden porch. But only if there are only 2 - 3 steps. With a sufficiently large span, for safety reasons, the staircase railing is mounted. The optimal height of the railing is 85 - 95. Sometimes they are placed on a low porch, but their main function in this case is purely decorative.

Area

There are no specific regulations on this issue. But logic dictates that the dimensions of this part of the porch should be sufficient for several people to be on it at the same time. Since a canopy is provided, in relation to a private house, the dimensions of the site can be chosen more. This will allow you to install 1 - 2 benches on it, a table and get a kind of mini-veranda. For rural areas - a good solution.

The porch area should be about 5 cm lower than the front door to the house. The explanation is simple. Floor boards under the influence of temperature, dampness will begin to deform (play). If they are laid flush with the threshold, then it is not a fact that there will be no problems with opening the front door.

Foundation

For a wooden porch, if it is erected after the completion of the building as an extension, there are only two options - a pile or column base. It is impossible to "tie" the tape to the foundation of the house. Due to the discrepancy in weight, structures will shrink differently. As a result, the appearance of cracks not only in heat and waterproofing, but also in the concrete itself. This is one reason. The second is that, given the small dimensions of the wooden porch and weight, as well as significant financial investments, the construction of a monolithic base is not justified.

pile foundation

It can be equipped in a day, since no more than 4 - 6 supports will be needed. In order to install screw piles in place, two people are enough. It remains only to mount the support frame, on which the wooden porch will be erected.

Columnar foundation

The main disadvantage of this solution is that you will have to drill the ground (hence, you will need a special vehicle), or dig holes. In the first case, you need to pay for the service, in the second - to spend much more time. Yes, and the consumption of concrete solution will increase slightly.

What to use for supports:

• Pipes. Metal or asbestos-cement products into which a solution is poured after installation. But for a wooden porch, you can limit yourself to the last type of product. After hardening of the artificial stone, they will provide the required strength of the base. To minimize the risks of destruction of the supports (as a result of corrosion), it is desirable to paint them with water-repellent compounds.
• Bruce, rubbish. To prevent rotting, the workpiece should be processed. In order to save money, you can use folk technologies. For example, impregnate wood with machine oil (working out). Even better - additionally coat with liquid tar, including the end parts of the blanks. There is also a technology for fumigating coniferous wood. When exposed to heat, the resin in its structure forms a moisture-impervious, durable layer. After such processing, the tree does not rot for many years.

• When installing the pillars, it is necessary to place metal elements (vertically oriented) in them, to which the wooden porch support frame will be attached. Options - reinforcing bar, iron pin. The meaning is clear - to eliminate the risk of displacement of the structure in the horizontal plane.
• Regardless of the type of supports chosen for the foundation, the general rule for their installation should be followed. They are deepened so that the ends are below the freezing level of the soil. Otherwise, seasonal heaving of the soil will begin to push them to the surface. As a result, the porch is skewed, the individual elements are deformed, and their connections are broken.

Ladder

About its design features have already been said. It remains to add that the minimum recommended board thickness is 25. Trying to save money with thinner samples will have consequences. For example, when moving heavy loads (household appliances, furniture), steps may simply not withstand the load. Therefore, you need to focus on the location of the porch.

If it is at the main entrance to the house, then the boards should be massive. In the case of its erection in front of the door leading to the site (into the courtyard), "twenty" will be enough. On the diagrams - options for stairs of a wooden porch. Although the slab foundation in the second picture is not the best choice.

When fixing the steps on the stringers, it is advisable to use not nails, but self-tapping screws (screws). This will positively affect the maintainability of the porch stairs. Yes, and the likelihood of cracks in the wood is reduced to zero. But nails can crack it. Plus - additional fasteners in the form of metal corners, slats and so on. They will increase the strength of the joints.

canopy

The choice is significant. But we are still talking about a wooden porch. Therefore, such a factor as the compatibility of materials comes to the fore. What does this mean?

• aesthetic component. It is necessary to determine how the canopy will look against the backdrop of the house.
• Characteristics of materials. First of all, their thermal expansion is implied. For example, the combination of wood + concrete (or metal) is not the best.

From this point of view, for houses made of stone (brick), reinforced concrete, cellular concrete, a wooden canopy should not be made. Optimally - a metal frame covered with polycarbonate, profiled sheet or soft tiles. For example, yes.

If the structure is wooden (or sheathed with this material), then it is better to mount a system of rafters from bars. Covering - tiles, slate or sheet iron.

• You can choose any type of roof - hipped, arched, double or shed. In the case of a flat one, it must be mounted with a slope, to ensure spontaneous descent of snow crust or rainwater.
• When installing wooden rafters, the interval between the supporting elements should not exceed 30 cm.

What to consider:

• Wood preparation. It is quite difficult to do this qualitatively on the site. And yes, it will take a lot of time. Therefore, for a wooden porch, it is advisable to purchase industrial drying lumber. They are more expensive, but there will be a guarantee that over time the tree will not “lead”.
• Surface treatment of blanks. To do this manually, only with a planer and sandpaper, is both long and pointless, since high quality cannot be achieved. It is better to use a grinder. If not to buy, then to rent.
• External decoration of the wooden porch. It's hardly worth using paint. The beauty of wood lies in the fact that its naturalness in itself is an interior decoration. If, after grinding the front (side) surfaces of the samples, varnish is applied to them, then the view of the porch will be magnificent.

Good luck with your home improvement!

Want to build your own porch? No problem! Though concrete, even wooden, even metal - choose any. In this case, the metal will be made with a beautiful canopy roof made of

We build a concrete porch

Reliable, durable and overall solid construction.

Choose sizes

Dimensions of steps: a - normal; b - foreigners

Usually the porch consists of several steps. Our task is to choose the best dimensions of the structure.

The optimal width of the stairs is 80-100 cm. If possible, the width should be increased - so the porch will be more comfortable and beautiful. Decreasing is undesirable.

The permissible angle of inclination of the stairs is from 27 to 45 degrees.

Step width, mm	Step height, mm	The angle of inclination of the march, hail.
400	100	14
380	110	16
360	120	18
340	130	21
320	140	23
300	150	25
280	160	29
260	170	33
240	180	37
220	190	40
200	200	45

We make the steps equal in width to about 25 cm, in height - 12-20 cm, depending on who will use the porch. Children and the elderly? Making steps lower. Mostly young and full of energy users? We can increase the height of the steps.

We equip the upper platform so that it is approximately 50 mm below the end of the front door.

Pour the foundation for the porch

We swarm a pit along the perimeter of the future porch. Depth - from 50 cm.

We install the formwork around the perimeter of the foundation.

We fill the bottom of the pit with a 20-centimeter layer of gravel and ram it. From above we pour a 10-centimeter layer of sand. Sprinkle with water for better tamping.

We cover the site with roofing material. We lay the reinforcing mesh (the recommended cell size is 10x10 cm) and. The solution can be prepared independently. Standard proportions:

• cement - 1 part;
• sand - part 3;
• gravel - 5 parts.

We pour concrete. We level the fill, pierce it with reinforcement in several places to release excess air. We leave the concrete for a few days for the initial curing.

Prices for cement and mixture bases

Cement and mixture bases

We install the formwork

We build formwork for steps. For this we use thick plywood. The height of the formwork should be 20 cm higher than the height of the future porch.

The principle is simple: we cut out the formwork elements along the height of each step and install them in the appropriate places. Between ourselves, we tighten the shields with metal plates, wooden bars or other suitable fasteners.

Important! Side shields need to be strengthened with additional stiffeners.

Steps must be reinforced. In this case, the reinforcement must be laid and installed in all three planes. An even more convenient option is to weld the frame in the shape of a future staircase and build a formwork around it. Do as you please.

Filling the steps

Lubricate the inner walls of the formwork with oil. Thanks to this, in the future we will be able to remove it without much effort.

We prepare the solution for pouring in the same way as the mixture for the foundation-platform.

We fill the stairs in stages, from the first step. We let each step dry slightly, and only after that we fill in the next one. In this case, it is necessary to install additional formwork elements on the front side of the steps. The length of these elements must correspond to the width of the stairs. We make the height the same as that of the step itself.

Important! The side of the formwork in contact with should be as smooth as possible.

The poured concrete is carefully leveled and pierced with reinforcement in several places.

We remove the formwork after at least 7-10 days. In conclusion, all that remains for us is to finish the steps. We can veneer them with stone or tiles, lay and perform any other finish at our discretion.

Railings are installed on request. The height of the handrails is from 90 cm. You can use the following option. It is also suitable for a metal and wooden porch (in this case, we will replace the metal elements with wooden ones).

We install support posts made of metal pipes in the lower and upper parts of the porch. It is advisable to choose the length so that the slope of the railing corresponds to the slope of the stairs. We connect the upper and lower ends of the racks with pipes of a slightly smaller section. We use welding.

The top tube will take over the functions of the handrail. To fill the space between our pipes, we use any rolled metal. Elements are installed with any interval. At this point, everything depends entirely on your preferences and imagination.

After mounting the structure, we clean the metal elements and prime them in 2 layers. This treatment will increase the life of the railing.

Such a porch will go well with almost any home.

We make the foundation

In general, the foundation is arranged in the same way as in the case of a concrete porch, with only one difference: at the same stage, it is necessary to install supports for the future visor.

It is better to install supports in each corner of the future visor - so the design will be as stable as possible. If the porch is large, we make supports along the length of its walls in increments of no more than 2 m.

We dig holes about one and a half meters deep for each support. Metal pipes will perfectly cope with the role of supports. We insert the pipe into the pit and fill it with concrete.

Also, supports can be made from a bursa. The procedure is the same, but first the lower part of the timber must be wrapped with roofing material or tarred and additionally impregnated with an antiseptic.

At the same stage, we install supports for the future stairs. Similarly, we dig holes, put metal racks in them and pour concrete. It is unlikely that the porch will have too long a staircase, so it will be enough to install supports at the bottom and top of the structure. For greater certainty, we can install them in the middle of the span.

The further procedure, up to the stage of pouring concrete, remains the same as in the instructions for arranging a site for a concrete porch.

At the pouring stage, we take into account that we will need to drown the staircase structure somewhat in the solution. We fill it not to the very top of the site - we leave about a 100-300 mm gap (depending on the dimensions of the structure to be equipped and its features).

Then, after the installation of the metal structure, we will fill the pit to the very top.

Drawing in accordance with the plan of the house

We cook the stairs

We take two metal channels. We weld them to the previously installed and concreted supports. In the future, we will weld rolled products for steps to these products.

We take an equal-shelf metal corner. We cut it to the selected length of the steps, increased by the length of the weld. We weld a metal corner along the contour.

We get products in the form of the letter G. We connect them together. At the top we connect these G-elements with the help of an equal-shelf corner. To do this, we weld it along the contour to both products, placing the shelves inward. To connect the bottom of the steps, we use a similar corner, but we place it with the shelves outward.

To fill the steps, we can use different materials, for example, wood and plywood. Fastening is carried out using self-tapping screws, screwing them from the bottom side. For additional fastening of wooden elements, we use silicone and ordinary glue.

In general, finish the stairs at your discretion. If you wish, you can not close up the horizontal openings, but simply mount the sheathing directly on the steps.

Prices for popular models of welding machines

Welders

Making a visor

We mounted the racks for the frame at the stage of arranging the foundation. Further we work in this order.

We install transverse supports according to the dimensions of the frame. If desired, we can make a curved canopy. To do this, it is enough to cut the profile in increments of about 4 cm and bend it to the desired level. The advantage of a curved canopy is that precipitation and various debris will not linger on it.

We lay it on the frame and fix it with self-tapping screws. We maintain the fastening step equal to 300 mm. We glue the edges. On this canopy is ready.

We build the foundation

- the best solution for a wooden house adjoining porch. Such a foundation is simple and quick in arranging, but at the same time very reliable.

We dig holes at the points of installation of the pile - in the corners of the future porch and along the length of its edges in increments of 80-100 cm. The depth of such holes is from 80 cm. Optimally - below the freezing point of the soil.

We process the support beam with an antiseptic, wrap its lower part with roofing material, and then insert it into the pits. We fill the vertically aligned beam in the pits with concrete.

Let the concrete harden and proceed to further activities.

We mount the logs

If necessary, we cut off the tops of the beam so that all the piles are on the same level. We calculate the height of the supports so that after laying the platform between it and the front door there is approximately a 5-centimeter height difference.

We attach the logs to the supports and the wall of the house in a suitable way (with self-tapping screws, dowels, etc., depending on the material of the wall).

We make a kosour (string)

We proceed to the manufacture of the bearing part of the stairs. We will attach steps to it. That is, the bowstring is the side face of the steps.

For the manufacture of bowstrings, we use wooden boards with a thickness of 5 cm or more. We take a board and draw steps on it. We cut the blanks with a jigsaw or saw.

We fasten the bowstring with the lags with a tenon-groove connection.

We make out the platform and steps

We fasten or nail the platform sheathing boards to the lags. If desired, we lay some kind of finishing coating on top of the boards - we focus on our preferences.

We fasten the risers to the bowstring and tread. We start working from the bottom step. The procedure is simple: we fix the riser, we fix the tread on it, and so on until the end. For fixing, we use self-tapping screws or a thorn-groove connection.

Equip the railing and visor at your discretion. Installation instructions for these elements have been given previously. The sequence remains the same, it is only necessary to replace the supporting elements and trim parts with similar products made of wood or other preferred material.

Prices for different types of building boards

Building boards

Successful work!

Video - DIY house porch

The entrance to the house is the visiting card of the owners, so you need to make sure that it looks presentable. It is difficult to make a favorable impression of the dwelling as a whole, if the porch is built somehow, its design should emphasize the beauty of your house, its style and add a kind of “zest”. The times of inharmonious buildings or houses of the same type are in the past - today families want to see their home not only cozy, but also having its own bright individual face.

The first thing that demonstrates this way of looking at things is the neat steps at the entrance. Let us consider in more detail what to choose if you decide to make a porch to the house with your own hands.

wooden porch

The most popular and affordable option is the construction of a wooden porch. Most often, these simple structures are made of pine, it is inexpensive, aesthetically pleasing, and therefore popular.

Pine has a beautiful texture, if you properly install such a porch, carefully open it with varnish or paint, then it will look great for many years.

Pine steps can be supplemented with railings, you can equip a special area for relaxation, on which to put chairs, green spaces, and decor. In the latter version, the porch will already resemble a small terrace.

Wood can be combined with natural stone, it is relevant in different styles, looks harmonious, suitable for building a platform, as a small decoration.

Very often, houses built from wooden materials actually repeat the simple and modern urban architecture, although it does not always blend with the surrounding nature. If this has already happened, and the house, for one reason or another, was built according to an unpretentious project, the porch can save the whole thing.

It can be stylized antique, carved, decorated with a large number of decorative elements. It is good if the gates are made in the same style. This option, combined with a well-groomed landscape, will correct the situation, and make your home unlike any other, give it a unique look.

stone porch

Steps made of stone are a classic version of the porch of the house. In addition to durability and strength, the stone is always beautiful, the home will look presentable.

There are many varieties of natural and artificial stone, some suitable for laying out the foundation, and others for arranging a decorative element, it all depends on the style of the house.

You can take granite or marble, sandstone, or quartz, dolomite - all these materials and many others are suitable for the implementation of the project. Take into account not only beauty, but also practicality. For example, steps made of polished granite are flawless, but they are very slippery, rubble stone does not look so presentable, but it lasts a long time and is easy to lay with your own hands.

Advice! If you wish, you can build a large porch with monumental columns, the main thing is that it fits into the overall style of your home.

Metal and wrought iron porch

As a rule, when they plan to build a forged or metal porch, they mean exclusively decorative elements of the structure, such as awnings and railings, less often they make metal steps. However, a fully metal porch looks elegant and expensive.

In addition to aesthetics, the undoubted advantage is a high degree of strength and long service life. With your own hands, if not the experience of working with metal, it is difficult to build such a porch. However, you still have to put your hands on it, since it will often have to be painted and processed, otherwise the metal porch will become unusable due to corrosion.

Important! It should be taken into account that metal steps are cold and slippery, it may be worth equipping wood flooring.

brick porch

Attractive in appearance, a solid and presentable version of a brick porch is also considered a reliable and practical solution for the exterior design of a home.

The installation of such a design will take a lot of time, you will have to make an effort, but the work will subsequently pay off in operation, because it will not require additional serious maintenance and permanent repairs.

Very often, the brick porch has a concrete base, sometimes the steps are covered with other materials. For example, they can be tiled, it looks cozy and homely. Again, as with the options outlined above, you need to make sure that the porch is not excessively slippery, otherwise in winter ice and snow will make your entrance to the house potentially dangerous, especially for children and the elderly.

concrete porch

Concrete is not only a versatile material, it is reliable, besides, any concrete project becomes budgetary by default. A concrete porch is a completely monolithic single structure, it will not stagger like a wooden one after a while.

In addition, the scope for creativity in terms of decorating the porch is almost boundless. Concrete can be given any shape, any color or shade, and this will not affect the total cost of your project in any way.

A concrete porch is often decorated with tiles. Often there are interesting options that are finished with stone, painted, processed with other materials.

In a wide variety of buildings, wooden, brick, covered with siding, a concrete porch can be left without any decor or special coating. The main thing is that it should be done carefully, and this will imperceptibly emphasize the decorative features of the house, the texture of the walls, etc.

Porch decoration, a little about style

Ideally, any decoration of the house should be competently combined with other elements, not only with the facade, but also with the fence, gates, even with the path and green spaces. The porch can be decorated in different ways, including tiles or polycarbonate, but this should be appropriate.

The tile is installed both on concrete and on brick, this not only increases its attractiveness, but also helps to equip an additional seating area. Tiles should be carefully selected in style and color, in accordance with the chosen style of the entire site. Let's take a closer look at some of the styles.

Eternal classic in design

Recognizable features of any design in the classical style are rigor, exquisite consistency, harmonious moderation in decor. Usually, the porch in a house built in a classical style is equipped not only with a canopy, but is also complemented by beautiful decorative columns, classic railings with soft-shaped balusters.

Traditional finishing materials are stone (marble, granite), various ceramic tiles, as well as painted and carefully crafted wood.

In the classical style, decor is quite acceptable, and the owners of houses often like to work on it on their own, which, as a rule, gives the home a unique look and homeliness. It should be remembered that the classical style gravitates towards symmetry and correctness, clarity of all lines.

It is better to make the visor above the porch high, and the staircase itself wide, and not very steep. Beautiful railings with wrought iron elements are always appropriate, the style of which should be repeated in the decorative finish of the gate.

Porch in country style

The style of coziness and rustic simple charm is timeless, no matter which country you are inspired by. A beautiful wooden staircase will be ideal for almost any style of country style, American, English or French.

Finishing in this style is accepted only with natural materials, concrete or polycarbonate will have to be abandoned, natural wood, rough stone will do.

Important! When building a porch with your own hands, you need to ensure that the texture of living natural material is preserved. Street lights with diffused yellow light and "grandmother's" rugs on the steps are appropriate in any country.

Porch decorated in Russian style

In Russia, the front entrance to the hut has long been not just beautiful, but frankly exquisite. The best craftsmen worked on the construction of the porch, it was decorated with complex carved ornaments and patterns, balusters and pillars of the most complex shapes. Today, the "Russian style" in the decoration of the porch is very popular.

In this case, manual work is not only appropriate, but also desirable, and if you know how to work with wood and can make an openwork porch with your own hands, then it is simply necessary to apply your talents here.

The peculiarity of the "Russian" porch in the classic version is that it is not covered with colored paint, transparent varnish is usually used, since the texture of a living tree should be noticeable. It is allowed to use wood stain, light toning of wood. There are no other strict canons in finishing styles, it all depends on the imagination and skill of the author.

Finnish porch

Like almost any direction born in the Nordic countries, this Scandinavian style should demonstrate simplicity, but at the same time reliability and absolute strength.

• When decorating a Finnish-style porch, you need to adhere to strict moderation and exquisite conciseness. If your small house is finished with siding, then the Finnish porch is the perfect choice.
• The porch (preferably wooden) should be neatly painted in any shade of white, railings and wide steps are required. From the decor, simple motifs on a marine theme are quite appropriate.

French charm in the design of the porch

The French style involves a large number of different decorations, for example, in the form of forged ornate lattices on the railing, the front door is decorated with the same lattices, on which there should be a small glass “window” in the middle.

The French porch is decorated with a variety of curly details; on the wide steps you need to find a place for several wicker baskets with fresh flowers.

Porch in high-tech style

Taking into account the general style of the high-tech direction, you can see that straight and beautiful stairs, made with careful finishing of details, are appropriate in it. If concrete is not appropriate in the country, then here it is more than desirable, especially in combination with shiny metal and glass. Steps should be wide, as this style likes a lot of free empty space.

The black and white color palette is complemented by a metallic sheen. It is very cool to decorate the railing with shiny elements made of perforated metal, similar to factory blanks. A metal-plastic door is ideal for such a porch. As a decor, it is good to use “industrial” type lamps with white or cold neon light, which are usually mounted on each step of the porch.

How to decorate the porch attached to the house (photo)

The patio porch option has already been discussed above, the main decor of such a porch is green spaces and flowers. On such a porch, a special platform is made, designed for small decorative flower pots, or arranging a cozy place for a short rest.

Flowers can be placed on specially made forged stands, hung in beautiful flower pots, placed around the perimeter of the fence, hung against the wall near the very entrance to the house.

Nothing decorates the entrance to a home like flowers. They are appropriate for any style, if your porch is completely low, climbing roses or clematis, hop branches can be sent to the fence. All this will not only add coziness to your home, but also create additional shade on a hot summer day.

Advice! To better protect the entrance to the house from the sun, you can use light fabrics when decorating the porch, this is especially appropriate in the French style and in the country.

When planning additional porch decoration, especially if you have a small patio, purchase small patio furniture. In combination with green spaces, you can get a beautiful and very cozy relaxation area, where you can have a cup of tea in the evening, enjoying the outdoors.

Output! If the theater begins with a hanger, then the house begins with a porch. Remember this, and do not leave the design of the porch for later. Let your home be cozy and harmonious.

The porch and stairs at the entrance to the cottage are integral elements of any country house. Moreover, the correct arrangement of the entrance area to a large extent affects the overall perception of the "image" of the building. With all the beauty of the facade and roofing, the “wrong” entrance to the house will destroy all harmony and will look like an alien element. During the construction of the entrance group, special requirements are imposed on its design and the choice of materials. After all, the porch and outdoor stairs are exposed to increased exposure to adverse weather conditions.

No homeowner wants to deal with the annual repair of a porch that has “left” the house, or climb an uncomfortable staircase with tiles flying off the steps. Therefore, in this article, based on the practical experience of FORUMHOUSE users, we will answer the following questions:

• How to avoid mistakes when building a foundation under a porch.
• How to repair a crumbling porch and is it worth it.
• How to calculate the optimal width of the porch.
• How to make a comfortable entrance staircase.
• How to make a beautiful porch from burnt timber.

Foundation: mistakes and solutions

The most important mistake of any novice developer when building a porch is to treat the choice of the type of foundation as something simple and frivolous, guided by the principle "and so it will do." As a result, the entrance area turns into a real headache. As soon as prolonged downpours pass, or spring comes, the following picture can be observed in the villages - homeowners begin repairs.

Depending on the severity and neglect of the "disease", the treatment is either cosmetic procedures - covering up cracks, gluing "shot" tiles, or more serious "operations". The “left” from the house or the sagging porch is jacked up, the problematic foundation is dismantled and they are puzzling over how to make sure that this does not happen again in the future.

An incorrectly made porch can pull the facade finish, the roof (if the supports of the truss system rest on it), lead to deformation of the roofing, etc. Conclusion: do everything at once, as it should, even at the stage of building a house, and not hope for a chance.

Potainoi Member of FORUMHOUSE

I conceived the construction of a small cottage of aerated concrete. The foundation has already been poured - an ordinary tape 1.2 m high, without a porch, because. At first, the foundation was erected for another project. Now I’m thinking about how to “tie” the open porch to the house and avoid mistakes. The problem is that part of the roof will rest on the porch, through the pillars - the so-called. "cuckoo".

Let's add that the soil on the user's site is as follows:

• chernozem - 0.7 m;
• then loam - 0.3 m;
• further clay - 1-1.3 m.

Moreover, the clay is of such density that, according to the words Potainoi, just cut it with an axe. The groundwater level is low. Over the past few winters, the soil has frozen by no more than 0.6 m, although the actual depth of freezing in the area of ​​​​residence is greater. Important: when calculating the depth of the foundation, it is necessary to rely on the tabular data of the climatic zone (the depth of soil freezing in a harsh and little snowy winter, which can happen once every 15-20 years). Based on these figures, the user suggested discussing the following foundation construction solutions on the portal:

• Dig a trench and pour the strip foundation under the entrance group to the freezing depth.
• Pour concrete piles with a “heel” below the freezing depth and support the “cuckoo” on these pillars.
• Screw the screw piles.
• Support the "cuckoo" on diagonal beams, resting them against a wall or basement, and "untie" the porch with the roof and the house.

The following advice followed.

Rojer40 Member of FORUMHOUSE

I would pour the foundation under the porch to the same depth as the main one, and tie them together with an expansion joint that will give them some movement. I faced a similar problem a few years ago - the columnar foundation (filled below the freezing depth) along with the porch “left” the house, and the common roof was torn.

A separate foundation, poured below the freezing depth, is not a panacea for the construction of a porch. After all. it is subject to tangential frost heave forces that cannot be balanced by the load/weight from the overlying lightweight structure.

The foundation under the porch (as well as under the house) must be calculated based on the type of soil, its bearing capacity, susceptibility to heaving and groundwater level. Therefore, ideally this the foundation is being built as a single / common structure with the main foundation for the house. Or if it the construction was left "for later", the foundation under the porch must be "untied" with a foundation for a cottage.

In the case described above, the matter was complicated by the fact that the porch takes on the load from the truss system. With some movement of the unleashed foundations, the roof can be torn.

Vit1959 Moderator FORUMHOUSE

Two different foundations will live their own "life". How different is hard to say. What will happen to them and the roof of the house cannot be guaranteed. I think Potainoi better cuckoo on remote cantilever beams (the next beam is longer than the previous one), so that the roof is on its own, and the foundation of the porch is on its own.

Potainoi

I will think about how to make outriggers. You just need to calculate all the attachment points and deal with the design.

The foundation under the porch should be considered as a complex, as a single system that works in conjunction with the house.

Repair or break

Sometimes a problematic porch can be inherited. And then the homeowner, in addition to the purchased house, gets a "time bomb", which entails a number of problems. This is exactly the situation faced by the portal user with the nickname dvauha2, when I bought a finished cottage.

dvauha2 Member of FORUMHOUSE

I bought a house. The cottage has an open stone porch without a canopy. It has nothing to do with the foundation of the house. The problem is that it is gradually being destroyed. Water flows into the foamed seam between the porch and the house, which runs under the foundation. The top step is falling apart. Now I am limited in finances, and I would not like to deal with cardinal alterations. I'm thinking of making a visor so that water does not get on the problem node, and sealing the gap. Or the miser pays twice, and you have to demolish everything and rebuild the porch?

Portal users actively joined in the discussion of the situation and offered different solutions. Portal member with nickname detonator, According to him, he faced a similar problem. The porch of his house did not have a canopy. Over time, the wooden railings rotted. Then the tiles on the stairs flew off. The foundation was not rebuilt. They erected a visor and repaired the steps.

Two years later, the two lower steps “left” at the porch. Then they decided to apply a cardinal “treatment” of the foundation - a steel screed was laid from below on both sides (a channel or a corner, screwing it to concrete, the alteration took place without the participation of Detonator) and tiled everything.

Detonator FORUMHOUSE member

Winter passed without problems, let's see what happens next.

It is cheaper to immediately make a normal porch than to deal with expensive alterations.

Returning to situations dvauha2. On the advice of users, he dismantled the porch a little from the top from one corner in order to understand its design. It turned out the following: under the screed - the upper part of the plate, covered unrammed sand, which gradually pours into the gap between the porch and the house.

The lower part of the step is covered with asphalt chips and now it is a monolithic base for the second step.

There is no insulated blind area. As a result, the porch "walks", and the gap expands.

dvauha2

I'm racking my brains on how to properly pair the house and the porch, and how best to seal this gap.

Dgusepe Moderator FORUMHOUSE

I think the gap is not to blame, tk. any filling can work like a wedge, and when the soil is heaving, the porch will “float away” again. The gap can be simply closed with a decorative overlay.

As a result dvauha2 I decided not to engage in constant repairs of the problematic porch, but to demolish it and rebuild a high-quality one. Moreover, it turned out that the brick at the steps was cracked, and the sand, which was poured into the entire structure, was not compacted at all. Under the “tambour” slab, the sand is also not compacted, and after the structure was broken, it began to spill out, and the slab eventually hangs in the air.

dvauha2

So far, I have made a temporary staircase to the house from a board with a section of 5x15 cm. I decided that I will make a normal porch with a small vestibule.

How to calculate the entrance staircase, the optimal width of the porch and avoid the “shooting off” of decorative tiles

When erecting an open porch, it should be remembered that even with a visor, it is still subject to the negative effects of snow, rain and wind. This accelerates its wear. Therefore, when choosing materials for construction, you need to give preference to those that have a long service life. But sometimes, choosing high-quality ceramic tiles or stone for facing steps and platforms, the developer encounters an unpleasant phenomenon - the so-called. "shot". Tiles are constantly falling off or cracking.

Most often, bad glue, weather, finishers, etc. are blamed for this, forgetting about one possible reason. The following happens - a porch and a staircase are being erected (we are talking about a stone porch and a concrete staircase). Tiles are glued on the steps, but because builders "forgot" to make waterproofing, which will cut off wet soil from the concrete base; moisture coming from the ground gradually saturates the concrete. Because ceramic tiles are vapor and waterproof, moisture has nowhere to go. It accumulates at the base-tile boundary. At negative temperatures, the water freezes, increases in volume, and the finish coating flies off the base.

To prevent this from happening, at the border - a prepared and compacted base-concrete porch / staircase, reliable waterproofing is made.

In addition to a competent construct, do not forget about the convenience of its use. One of the most common questions: what size to make the entrance area. The depth can be calculated by multiplying the width of the door by 1.5. With a door leaf width of 1 meter the depth of the site must be at least 1.5 m.

A similar principle will avoid the situation when, with the door open, standing on the upper platform, a person, in order to enter the house, is forced to go down one step. If you save on the size of the site and its depth, then it becomes much more difficult to lift large items into the house - furniture, engineering equipment. Even carrying a couple of bulky bags from the grocery store will become inconvenient. The site itself can be square with equal sides. With a door width of 1 meter, the upper platform is 1.5x1.5 m.

Moreover, the height of the porch is calculated in such a way that the top of the site is about 5 cm below the door threshold. So snow and water will not get into the house. To build a convenient entrance staircase, for reference, you can be guided by the following principles:

• We immediately figure out how many sides the staircase goes to - one, two or three.
• The optimal angle of inclination (rise) of the stairs is maintained within 30-45 degrees. Stairs with an inclination angle of more than 45 degrees are difficult to climb. A staircase with an inclination angle of less than 30 degrees turns out to be gentle and requires more space under it.
• The width of the tread is within 25-30 cm. The height of the step is 15-20 cm.

Practice shows that the optimal comfortable height of the step is in the range of 15-17 cm. The width of the tread is about 30 cm. The removal of the step is no more than 3 cm.

It is better if the number of steps turns out to be odd, because. it is more convenient to start and finish climbing stairs with the same foot. The number of steps can be calculated by dividing the estimated height of the structure by the height of the step. Knowing the estimated number of steps and the width of the tread, you can calculate the length of the flight of stairs.

Burnt timber porch and stairs

At the end of the article, we will give an example of a creative approach to arranging a beautiful open porch and stairs, which were built from burnt hardwood timber. Green0568.

A beam with a section of 20x15 cm went to the manufacture of the entrance group.

The beam is fastened together with capercaillie on polyurethane glue. Through one capercaillie dowels are clogged. Under the fourth step there is a jack in the middle, under the third step there are two jacks, which are placed along the edges with an indent.

Summarizing

In order to obtain a quality result during the construction of the porch and entrance stairs, knowledge and practical experience are required. The entrance area can be either simple - made of boards or welded from corners and channels, or more complex - stone - with a monolithic staircase and forged elements. But it all starts with the calculation and comparison of different options.

You can get ideas for construction, ask a question or find the best design on our portal. FORUMHOUSE contains dozens of options for arranging the entrance area. Read and. We also recommend articles about and. In the video - an extension of a wooden two-story porch and a balcony to a log house.