I need to rebuild my front porch roof, and am not confident in my knowledge and instincts on the rebuild. Such things as rafter spacing, size of posts, roof pitch, etc. I'm not opposed to overbuilding by a narrow margin, but I'd like to know generally accepted standards so I don't underbuild. Web site would be preferable, but a book would be fine, too.
Yep. It's too dark now, but tomorrow... It's 17' wide, 9' deep, three 6' architectural posts, spaced 7' on center, a gambrel roof, but it's gonna be a simple one pitch shed roof when I rebuild.
Sorry, I got caught up with work today and forgot to get the pictures. Now it's dark out again. I'll try again tomorrow.
We understand Ed 3000, and will add that you will get good advice on here. I was on another site a few days ago and a guy was asking about a crack in drywall. The homeowner was a first time buyer, and was not sure what was going on, but that site had him calling in structural engineers. It was almost comical because it was a crack in drywall, in a corner on the hinge side of a door only six inches away, in a 20 year old house...no wonder there was a drywall crack! But here you will get sound construction advice.
Here are the pics. The poor thing is falling down, so you can see my need to get it replaced. Lots of room for improvement in the original design.
design about normal. main problem is all that rot from leaking roofing. i see some sisterd sections indicating that somewhere in past time repairs have been attempted on the cheap. Front horizontal beam looks to be beyond saving hopefully the columns are still good . if they are wooden will have to be carefully checked for rot . There are some products that can preserve and repair those if the damage is minimal. Grand parents place the columns of a similar style were of concrete ( those things were HEAVY) It was a 2 story deal ( 2 flats circa 1930) so itwas porch on tip of a porch. complete demo and start from below grade on up. Fun summer.
Does roof of house shed snow to that porch roof? Looks like the rafters broke when a heavy load came down and hit it which I'm betting cause the leak.
Thanks Chris. I let the thing go for far too long, as I'd planned a complete rebuild. I'm replacing everything, including the columns. I'd like one pitch, from house to front, with as little pitch as possible. As I'm no carpenter or architect, I was hoping to get some information on the correct rafter size and spacing, as well as column size (I'd like them round if possible), and also for front horizontal beam. The beam is currently a box beam built up, I just want a piece of lumber when I rebuild. I'm planning on using lots of hardware, clips and hangers, to minimize stuff like Bird's mouth cuts.
No, there are three giant cedars in front that break up the snow. They are part of the cause, as the cedar scale sticks and decomposes and holds water and clogs the gutters. The leaks and breaks were caused by neglect and rot. This has been a long time coming.
Is the porch north facing? Looks like a lot of algae or green mold there. I would recommend taking those trees down! And anything hanging over/near the house.
Indeed it is north facing. I already thinned them out, and totally agree with you in concept. I've been waffling about taking them down, even got a quote ($600, but the arborist is a friend, so that's a bargain). Here's my dilemma: I love these old trees, they are a lot older than me, plus they are really the only thing between the house and the road. They clog the gutters, rot the roof (main house roof replaced 2 years ago), and shade the garden. But, I love these old trees. Like many relationships I have- keeping them might not be in my best interest, but its hard to part with them. So, for now, I'm gonna replace the porch roof. I'm gonna use treated lumber for the columns, am going to lighten the pitch to make it easier to clean the gutters on the house, and replace the three gutters on the porch with one, as im doing away with the three sided gambrel. I suppose some things are worth saving. When they fall on the roof, I'll feel differently.
JLC is a pretty good resource. https://www.jlconline.com/ I'd suggest you install/cut a reglet when it comes time to flash the roof to the house.
Are there power lines on your side of the street? Is there room for some other trees to get started till the cedars come down?
That's part of my debate with myself. We can and definitely would plant nicer trees in their place. But, these are really old trees, and whatever I plant there will never move me, in my lifetime, like these do. I forgot to mention before, they also cause downdraft on the chimney, as they are on the north sides of the house, which is on the north side of the ridge we live on. So many reasons to fell these cedars. Logic may eventually prevail here. But, we are dealing with the only thing that outweighs logic.
Yes, but they are far away. Planting trees before taking them down would be folly, they'd be squarely in the way of the felling.
I could restore it, but it would be a complete disassembly and rebuild. Plus, it's way underbuilt. The house is about 250 years old, the porch is probably 1950 vintage, so I could make it more historically accurate if I matched the other porch on the other side of the house.
