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Porch / exterior house build

vetteboy79

vetteboy79

It's bent. #ttb
Joined
May 19, 2020
Member Number
305
Messages
684
Loc
Morganville, NJ
Lots of house stuff in here, might as well throw my current project in the mix.

Here's the current situation:

50443882257_9c5994a508_b.jpg


My goal is to clean it up and update things, and do so in a way that is as maintenance-free as possible. No interest in repainting/sealing/etc every year or two. Front knee wall is all cinderblock, that'll be staying. Plans are:
  • Jack porch header up with temporary supports, remove shitty 4x4 plain wood columns
  • Rip out all existing top rail (plain 2x8 currently, all rotten and split)
  • In that photo, the right side of the cinder block wall wraps all the way around and meets the house, so there's no way to access the porch & front door from the driveway on that side (the house has a U-shaped driveway that hits the road on both sides). This has bugged me since I moved here 7 years ago. Gonna knock a section of the cinder block out and figure out steps etc from there.
  • Re-cap the block wall with some sort of synthetic wood-colored product, likely mahogany Azek or similar
  • Replace columns with fiberglass/steel-reinforced stuff
  • Some kinda stacked stone on the front face of the block wall
  • Add some hunter green vinyl shutters (to match the garage trim/roof) and break up the beige a bit
Currently waiting on quotes and samples to show up, so tonight I decided to get moving on opening up the wall on the right side.

50443705781_703398a291_b.jpg


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It's about a 2' drop from the porch floor to the driveway grade, so I'll probably pour a 2-step slab there, gotta check if I need to do anything with railings or code stuff...trying to float this under the permit radar as much as possible, turnaround time on permits & inspection is running 6-8 weeks here currently so I'm willing to play the forgiveness/permission gamble.

Think I've got most of it figured out but if anyone's got suggestions for concrete finishes, paints, etc that I can use for the floor, it'd be helpful. Front door opens almost level with the existing floor so I don't have any room for much more than a skim coat, so a completely new surface is out.
 
Man, I'm not a color guy, but I'm thinking that that beige color, and the overall shape of the house just screams 1987, medium grey, like wet cement color houses are getting popular here, usually with white, red oxide or blue trim.

Regardless, nice house and shop man, I'll be watching:smokin:
 
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If you could change the color of the house I wouldn't get so depressed looking at it. :laughing:

It sounds like you're on the right track. Ditch more of that knee wall that you opened up, like all of it (on the return) where you've started. Green shutters will help a lot with the large expanse of body color there, but changing the body color altogether I would be smitten with. Personal preference, of course. I hate beige house paint!
 
Is there a reason for keeping any of that knee wall? What's the width of the opening right now? Could you wheel a refrigerator in through it? Would you ever need to?

Some forest green shutters would be a pretty cheap improvement if you want to spruce things up without redoing everything. If the siding is in good shape just keep it.
 
Nice. I love seeing home remodel projects.
I will be starting my own thread soon. We're tearing down the original cabin side of our house and rebuilding, expanding floor plan, in the spring.
 
I’d take that whole knee wall out and just let the porch end. That would make that side feel less flat. You could do a railing if you want but it doesn’t look tall enough to technically need one. If you plan on doing something nicer for the columns that would show them off better.
 
Leave the return !

The return adds beef to keep the wall from leaning in or out.
Loose the house side just fine!

Look under the posts to see if there is "transfer"​​​​ of roof \deck load to the foundation.
There should be grout or steel from footer to post base!
That said, is this cmu not grout filled?

Look for some lintel for a capstone on top.
You could also get wall cap.
​​​​​
Lets dig into "structural" I see holidays where the block is not solid filled reducing strength .
The cmu is the foundation even tho no steel was used, we wonder what keeps it in check?!
As the return is no longer viable (most likely never was) as a drag strut of sorts(ties the front wall to house) my guess is it's not structural somehow.
So think of holding that lid up!

How about urethane flooring?
Lifedeck, seamless (my pick) flooring is thin.

Railings\risers
look into width and required rails.
Here a 4' wide\deep stair tread, does not need a rail (don't quote me on that one!)
 
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korda said:
I’d take that whole knee wall out and just let the porch end. That would make that side feel less flat. You could do a railing if you want but it doesn’t look tall enough to technically need one. If you plan on doing something nicer for the columns that would show them off better.
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Josh is on the right track here.
 
Knee wall keeps the porch pirates from stealing his amazon packages.
 
I like the knee wall. Gives you privacy so that nobody knows there's a mini fridge full of beer beside you. I'd slap some siding on so it matches the house.
 
Projectjunkie said:
Man, I'm not a color guy, but I'm thinking that that beige color, and the overall shape of the house just screams 1987, medium grey, like wet cement color houses are getting popular here, usually with white, red oxide or blue trim.

Regardless, nice house and shop man, I'll be watching:smokin:
Click to expand...

That is a lot of beige!

Nice place, and I like the shutter idea.

0bacc5e690b12d13fd3aa455314e961344426_large.png
 
Norm said:
^this

unless you like to hangout neekid on the porch, loose it and rail it.
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Hanging out nekkid on the porch would be the reason to lose the wall, not keep it. How can the neighborhood appreciate the view with a stupid wall in the way?:flipoff2:
 
Clb said:
Leave the return !

The return adds beef to keep the wall from leaning in or out.
Loose the house side just fine!
Click to expand...

We looked at the return the other night, Chris was spot on with 'That is a can of worms I don't want to open' His plan is to tidy it up as simple as possible. Nothing crazy. Also a semi busy road, so I am sure that Knee wall knocks down some of the noise. Other than the random old car with a two step in the tune...
 
DozerDan82 said:
We looked at the return the other night, Chris was spot on with 'That is a can of worms I don't want to open' His plan is to tidy it up as simple as possible. Nothing crazy. Also a semi busy road, so I am sure that Knee wall knocks down some of the noise. Other than the random old car with a two step in the tune...
Click to expand...

The sheer mass of it should help keep stray cars out of the house as well.
 
Pulling the knee wall down would really church up the front of your house. It's your only detractor. Then add some big round columns.

Around here your porch ceiling would be painted haint blue as well to keep the ghosts away. :evil: I did mine that way.
 
My wife would kill for a porch like that! X10000 on lose the knee wall and replace with some nice columns and railings.
 
2big bronco said:
Knee wall needs to go entirely
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This

That knee wall is god awful.

Hell, your menopausal wife shoots you after you use the dishwasher to clean greasy auto parts, you crawl to the door, where you make it outside, just to die in a pool of blood outside your front door, hidden from view behind a knee wall. there was life saving help around, but you were just out of sight.
 
grumpy356 said:
This

That knee wall is god awful.

Hell, your menopausal wife shoots you after you use the dishwasher to clean greasy auto parts, you crawl to the door, where you make it outside, just to die in a pool of blood outside your front door, hidden from view behind a knee wall. there was life saving help around, but you were just out of sight.
Click to expand...

:lmao::lmao::lmao:
 
I came in to say I'd totally keep the wall, drunk drivers, gunshots, that's cover right there

put some hedges up in front of it to break it up
 
Projectjunkie said:
I came in to say I'd totally keep the wall, drunk drivers, gunshots, that's cover right there

put some hedges up in front of it to break it up
Click to expand...

I knew this would come up.

it looks ghetto or barrio

ES MI BARRIO, HOLMES!!!!

93634456-3F35-40EC-9E27-2607F3905CCA.jpeg
 
Vetboy69 hasn't posted in this thread lately. Think he'll be keeping the wall or no? :laughing:
 
He is likely keeping busy with things.

Looked at the pictures a couple times, I will say keep the wall but refinish it nicely in darker (almost chocolate) color to compliment rest of the house.
Since you are redoing support beams I would match them up to the house/vinyl siding color as close as possible.
 
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