It’s time for an update on the porch. Even though the work started in July, it still seems as though there is something new everyday. For those of you who can’t be here, I’ll get you (mostly) caught up through photos.

Once the brick structure was capped off in October, the wood construction began. The brick looks like a giant wall with a moat around the house. That’s about to change. Here’s the “before” photo.

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The first step was building the structure for the floor. I’m told that the porch floor will be so structurally sound, that there is “no limit” to the number of people it can hold. They also poured a concrete base for the stairs. The base was necessary in order to support all of the weight. It also had to be placed to meet code. Each stair tread needs be within a narrow band of height.

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Then the fun began! In mid-November huge beams were delivered and were put in place using a crane. These gave us the first view of just how massive the porch would be. The supporting columns were braced on the limestones. Finally, the braces supporting the original porch could be removed.

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Then roof began to take shape. With the beams in place, the porch rafters could be added.

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David’s one contribution to the porch construction is the electrical work. He put in watertight floor outlets, wired the ceiling for LED floodlights, and strung speaker wires to bring music outside.

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The porch roof line follows the curve of the brick. Darrin left the long trusses in order to get the perfect line, but it looked odd to see them sticking out like that.

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The old section of the porch needed a little work to integrate it perfectly into the new section.

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Yankee gutters were built into the roof, just like the original design. Each rafter needed to be cut with a tail to let the water flow. This gutter style, which was popular at the time the house was built, keeps the gutter hidden from the house facade. We suspect that the original porch roof had water damage because Yankee gutters needed regular relining and maintenance. By 1957, portions of the porch roof had been removed which may have caused even more water damage to the porch structure as rain fell on the porch floor and onto the brick. With today’s materials, the gutters should last 60 years or more.

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Now that the structure is finished and the roof is laid, we are ready for the finishing touches. Stay tuned for more updates!

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