How to make a porch with your own hands from different materials

A porch is understood as an external (usually covered extension) at the entrance to the house. You can build a porch with your own hands from concrete or wood. With a high position of the doorway, a staircase is also equipped. In addition to practical use, it also performs a decorative function, since the railings, canopy, balusters can be carved or decorated in another way. The extension protects the entrance to the building from sunlight and precipitation.

Dimensions of the structure

The dimensions of the porch are selected taking into account the dimensions of the whole house so that it does not look too small or, conversely, bulky. The normal staircase width is about 1 m. But a wider structure will be more beautiful and comfortable.

The size of the steps for the porch can vary - depending on the preferences of the owners:

• depth - 24-26 cm;
• height - 13-20 cm.

The total slope of the stairs can be from 14 to 45 degrees.

When building a porch with your own hands, you should adhere to the standards presented in the table.

The threshold of the doorway should be slightly higher (5 cm) than the upper platform.

Porch foundation

A massive structure will require a solid foundation. First, you should dig a foundation pit for the porch to the house with a depth of 0.5 m.Then install the formwork around its perimeter and pour crushed stone (20 cm) and sand (10 cm) on the bottom, moistening and ramming. After that, the pillow must be covered with roofing material as waterproofing and a reinforcing mesh with a mesh of 100x100 mm should be laid.

To reduce the cost of the foundation, you can use a tape loop.

Now you can start concreting.

In this case, the solution is prepared according to standard proportions:

• 1 part cement;
• 3 pieces of sand;
• 5 pieces of crushed stone.

After pouring the foundation, the slurry should be poked with a piece of reinforcement so that air can escape, and the site becomes more monolithic and even.

The concrete must be allowed to harden and harden for several days.

Monolithic concrete porch with your own hands

Concrete is a durable material that is not exposed to weather conditions. You can make a reliable and solid structure out of it. Also, the solution allows you to choose any geometry and dimensions. A separate foundation is not required for this option.

Monolith formwork and reinforcement

Before building a porch with your own hands, formwork for steps is made from thick plywood (for a curly structure) or boards (for a rectangular shape). It should be 200-300 mm higher than the planned porch, as part of it will be buried in the ground.

For the device of the formwork, follow these steps:

1. On the plywood sheets for the sidewalls, outline the location of the risers and treads at an angle of 90 degrees.
2. Mark the last tread and sloped area for water drainage.
3. Install the sides 1 cm from the wall of the house for the expansion joint.
4. Reinforce with stakes driven into the ground 25 cm deep at a distance of 40-45 cm from the foundation with fixing stiffeners. So the self-made frame structure will not fall apart under the weight of concrete.
5. It remains to fix the boards-limiters along the height of the steps.

When installing the formwork, it is necessary to make an expansion joint of any elastic materials (sheet foam, polyurethane tape, etc.), since the uneven shrinkage foundation under the house and under a relatively light porch will be different, and a rigid connection will lead to cracks and collapse.

After the manufacture of the formwork, it is necessary to carry out the reinforcement in 3 planes.

It is easier to first tie or weld the frame from the reinforcement, and then set the formwork around it.

When everything is ready, start pouring concrete.

Concreting

The next step in making the porch to the house is to fill the steps, which is carried out in stages:

1. First, the first stage is poured, and some time is given to dry.
2. Then additional gable formwork elements are exposed.
3. The second stage is poured and so on until the end.
4. Then the concrete is leveled and pierced with reinforcement.

The formwork is removed after the mortar has completely solidified - after about a week.

After that, you can start decorating the porch to the house with your own hands. For this, tiles, stone, wood And so on.

Concrete semicircular porch

This option requires precise planning and careful marking on the ground. The construction of a round porch with your own hands is carried out taking into account the fact that its diameter should exceed the width of the doorway by more than 60-80 cm. So, at the entrance of 90 cm, the width of the line of adjoining the porch to the house will be 150-170 cm.

After applying the markings, they begin to set the formwork. For semicircles, it is better to use sheet metal or galvanized - they cut well and bend evenly or plywood, but before that it needs to be soaked in order to become more pliable during work.

Before you make a semicircular porch with your own hands, you should dig a pit, lay and tamp a sand and gravel pillow. Then:

1. Lay waterproofing.
2. Tie up the first underground tier of the reinforcement and expose the formwork strip for the first step.
3. Similarly, work is performed for subsequent steps with horizontal and vertical reinforcement.

When everything is ready, concrete is poured, leveled, pierced in some places and left to harden for a week.

To save the solution, you can make the porch as shown in the photo below.

Wooden porch

A porch for a small country house made of wood will look more organic than a pompous semicircular structure covered with tiles. It can be made in the form of a terrace, patio, or choose the simplest option from several steps.

It is more convenient to build an extension on piles:

1. Pine larch timber with a section of 20x10 cm is treated with an antiseptic. The ends are coated with hot tar and wrapped with roofing material to the depth of burial into the ground.
2. Then pits are dug for supports with a depth of 60-80 cm.
3. Bars are installed and buried with earth with periodic ramming. Supports can be connected to the house for reliability.
4. Horizontal (level) logs are attached to the supports.

When the base is done, they begin to make steps to the porch with their own hands. First, you should make a bowstring or kosour - supporting elements stairsto which the steps will be attached.

Kosour looks more original. To make it, you will need a triangular template for marking the recesses for the steps. Its sides correspond to the riser (vertical part of the step) and tread (horizontal part).

The number of steps, regardless of what the porch is made of, should not be even.

When the stringers are ready, the edges are securely attached to the logs using the thorn-groove method and the porch area in front of the door is covered with a board.

Porch railing

The handrail is an important step in building a porch. In addition to ensuring safe movement, they also have a decorative function. The height of the railing can be different - depending on the personal preferences of the owners. The optimal figure is 90 cm. The strength of the structure also deserves attention, since it is designed to withstand the mass of adults.

The handrail will be supported by supporting posts. Balusters are installed between them.The baluster porch looks especially beautiful.

Wooden parts of the fence should be connected with dowels and glue, since over time the wood will dry out, and the metal fasteners will loosen and fall out.

It is better to treat the wood with an antiseptic and cover it with yacht varnish.

Porch canopy

A visor over the porch is a must, especially in bad weather. It can be executed from:

1. Polycarbonate. Plastic, fire-resistant and durable material withstands any intrigues of the weather. It goes well with metal, brick and concrete, but out of place in wooden structures. Sensitive to UV radiation, therefore a special coating is required.
2. Metal sheets. Budget, reliable option. Anti-corrosion coating required.
3. Metal tiles. Suitable for a porch of any material, good in various designs. No special skills are required for its installation.
4. Decking. Easy to install, no painting required, acceptable cost.

After choosing the material, you need to decide on the method of fastening. For example, in the case of a massive structure, columns for the porch will be required. For a suspended light canopy, such supports are not needed, wall fixing is enough.

In addition, you need to pay attention to the shape of the visor. A gable canopy can only protect against the vertical effects of precipitation and will only serve as a decoration of the porch.

The gable version will protect against oblique jets and gusts of wind. It can be carried out from almost any material. Finally, the three-slope design is considered the most efficient and reliable, and is made on a metal frame.

In modern conditions, great importance is attached to interior design, but the appearance of houses is not overlooked either. The decorativeness of the porch should be combined in style with the facade of the building. If you build a high-tech metal porch near a wooden country-style house. That overall impression will be hopelessly ruined.

Also, depending on the design of the entrance group, you can place a bench, lights (lighting will still be required), close a beautiful haircut lawn... The main thing is that the house, the porch and the surrounding landscape form a single ensemble.