There are millions of DIY enthusiasts across the states. The pandemic saw a huge uptick in home improvement plans as suddenly there were many more hours spare than before.
One very popular area to try and improve on is the garden and the features in it. Decking and patios proved very popular last summer, as people made the most of being at home, and enjoying the outdoors.
However, some areas of the front and back garden could often benefit from roofing. A front porch makes an attractive entrance to a home. Covering decking and patios allows them to be used on occasions when the weather doesn’t suit sitting in the open air.
If you are mulling over the idea of building a porch or covering an existing area, then you will understand the problem of connecting a porch roof to your existing structure.
Is it worth erecting a porch and roofing it, what is involved, and how can you do it?
Reasons to build a porch
Before you take on a new building or home improvement project, you may want to ask yourself what are the benefits? Is it worth the cost and the work needed, or should you devote your energy elsewhere?
A small entrance porch can give great curb appeal which is vital when it comes to selling a property. It also creates another small covered area of the home, useful for leaving wet umbrellas and coats in when coming out of the rain.
A larger porch, or covered decking, in the front or rear of a home, can add something of more substance. You can even turn a regular 3 season porch into a year-round room according to USA Today, by adding walls and windows.
Of course, the value of the project will partly be down to how useful a porch is to you. However, there may be another value-added to building a porch.
Will a porch add value to your home?
When making improvements to a home or the grounds, it is always important to consider how it may affect the value of the property in general.
Making the wrong decision can actually lead to a drop in value sometimes. Ugly extensions that don’t match the original structure can make the house less attractive to potential buyers.
Conversely, adding the right features to a garden, such as landscaping or planting trees, can add thousands of bucks to the asking price. So, where do porches and the like fall?
If you needed another reason to build a porch, you have one. According to Pocket Sense, adding something such as decking would return $8,800 on a $10,300 investment. Similarly, it is noted by other experts in house valuations that a porch would return somewhere in the region of 88% of the cost of construction and installation.
How to add a porch to your existing home
Of course, the important question is, how do you add a porch roof to the home? You may already have a porch at the front of the home with no roofing, or perhaps you have decking or a patio in urgent need of a covering.
What choices do you now have? Well, you can either do it yourself or call in a roofing specialist. You may have someone handy in the family or your circle of friends who can help. If you go for a DIY option, there are some things to understand.
Building permits
Before you can even get started attaching a new porch roof to your home, you will need to look at the local building codes. Building a porch or even just connecting a covering to your home may require building permits and the structure will have to be up to code.
Evaluate the area that the porch roof will be connected to
This means ensuring that your home is able to support the new porch roof. The new roof needs to have support and be able to connect to the home without damaging it.
If you are adding the roof as a covering for existing decking or a patio, then check everything is sound there also. The flooring needs to be level and solid.
Now it is time to look at how the porch roof will connect to the home
Depending on what your home looks like and how it was built, you will have to connect your porch roof accordingly.
If you are attaching it to an existing roof, then you will need to construct support poles, and attach a valley board to the house roof. You can then add in a top plate and rafters.
However, if you have a two-story house you may have to mount a patio roof ledger and tie it into a band joist between the floors. How you do this will depend on the type of siding your house has, but you will most likely need to cut some of this away.
Can you do the job yourself?
If you are knowledgeable and a confident craftsman with the right tools, then you could carry out this task. You will need a number of tools and will need to understand how to safely connect the new roof.
If you are unequipped to carry out the task of adding a new porch roof then it may be time to look for a professional company, or at least take some advice. Looking for a local roofing company such as peakroofingtn.com will open your project to experienced professionals.
Otherwise, you will have to understand which materials to use, work out a strategy for your new roof to be fitted, and have the right tools to hand.
What materials and tools should you use?
If you do decide to carry out your roofing project then you need to know what is involved.
It is important to understand which types of roofing materials to use and how much they cost before you get started. Materials for porch roofs usually include plywood or OSB which is then covered with shingles. Alternatively, you could go for plexiglass or polycarbonate. If you are using shingles, you will need black roofing also.
The tools and parts required to connect a porch roof will include some of the following:
- Planks
- Wooden beams
- OSB or Plywood
- Black roofing felt
- Rafters
- Shingles
- Lag bolts
You will also need nails, a nail gun or hammer, a utility knife, a screwdriver, cordless drill, drill bit set, and tape measure, plus more.
Another reason why many people opt for hiring a roofing company is that the work is heavy and needs more than one person to carry out. You could also potentially damage your property by trying to attach a porch roof incorrectly.
Summary
Whichever option you went for, you hopefully now have a beautiful new roof covering your porch area. Now that is so, you will want some expert tips on how to keep your roof in tip-top shape but that is for another article.
All that is left now is for you to paint and finish any exposed support beams or other areas, and then start to enjoy your new covered area. Covering a wide porch, or decking, can give extra life to an outdoor area, and while one day you may realize some financial benefit from your hard work, right now it is time just to sit back and relax and enjoy the fresh air.
