Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hi, all! So my contractors are FINALLY coming back this summer to start building my front porch -- a project I've been wanting since I moved into this house in 2012!
I do time & materials with this contractor, normally having the materials delivered to my house (this has been EXTREMELY cost-effective with this contractor).
The porch will be about 34' wide by 9-10' deep so up to 340 square feet of decking (plus extra for waste). I will stain whatever I get, but I see lots of boards come up from 1x to 2x lumber and 5/4, etc.
Well, just checked prices and the composite material would likely cost 3 times as much, and given how many other projects I'd like to get done, that's way out of my budget.
I am never barefoot outside (and very rarely in my house!) and I suspect I won't mind the staining and sealing every few years since I like puttering around the house. The wood will have been treated for insect control. Splintering, well, probably no way around that.
K'ledgeBldr, do you have any links to pressure treated T&G? Did you mean something like this? https://www.homedepot.com/p/1-in-x-6...8817/100062545 . ETA: well, I SEARCHED for pressure-treated and that came up, but it looks like it's mostly for interiors.
If I can find some for exteriors, that would definitely make installation go faster (and my contractor's rates have close to doubled since they were last at my house, but he has lots of terrific workers so he's worth it).
AND AGAIN ETA: found this online -- https://www.vintagewoodworks.com/yel...-flooring.html -- and it looks good and not even THAT much more expensive than the regular deck/porch flooring I was seeing on HD. Hmmm ... Any thoughts on this type?
Also: any suggestions on piers for the footings? The frost line is, alas, 48" deep in my area. I was going to go with these -- https://www.homedepot.com/p/EZ-Tube-...UBE5/300649621 -- but my contractor said there are better alternatives. He's coming to my house next Thursday to get a closer look at the front porch area and the front-of-the-house repair (from when a DIFFERENT contractor ripped out the concrete stairs when doing sewer work, then didn't fix anything) and I will ask him what he means, but I'd like to do some research beforehand.
Back in 2018 when I was GOING to have the porch done, I had a guy come who sells piers that his company also installs -- at that time, they were 2.5 times the price of the EZ-tubes (which were then $109 each, now $204 each). Of course, now I can't find his contact info. If the ratio still holds, though, they'd be about $500 each now so $2,000 for the 4 that I will likely need. They would save a huge amount of digging and concrete work for the foundation, though.
And P.S.: it was actually very fortunate that I didn't have the porch done in 2018 or 2019 -- I had to have major sewer work on my 1960 house in 2020 or 2021 and my new porch would have had to be at least half destroyed!
Last edited by karen_in_nh_2012; 04-12-2024 at 04:12 PM..
Reason: add new web link
Hi, all! So my contractors are FINALLY coming back this summer to start building my front porch -- a project I've been wanting since I moved into this house in 2012!
I do time & materials with this contractor, normally having the materials delivered to my house (this has been EXTREMELY cost-effective with this contractor).
The porch will be about 34' wide by 9-10' deep so up to 340 square feet of decking (plus extra for waste). I will stain whatever I get, but I see lots of boards come up from 1x to 2x lumber and 5/4, etc.
Pros/cons of each? HELP!
I used #1 (no knots) 5/4 treated pine. It's about 15 years old now and I've had to replace a couple of boards due to rot.
The best thing, I think, is the composite board you see advertised. It's quite expensive however.
Some mentioned tongue and groove treated pine. Not sure you'd want to do that since wood expands much more from side to side than it does in length. T&G sounds like it would be installed tightly, with no separation between boards.
I had mine sanded with a hardwood floor sander to even everything out, then used a semi-solid stain. I get 2-3 years out of such a stain, as opposed to annually with a transparent stain.
Hi, all! So my contractors are FINALLY coming back this summer to start building my front porch -- a project I've been wanting since I moved into this house in 2012!
I do time & materials with this contractor, normally having the materials delivered to my house (this has been EXTREMELY cost-effective with this contractor).
The porch will be about 34' wide by 9-10' deep so up to 340 square feet of decking (plus extra for waste). I will stain whatever I get, but I see lots of boards come up from 1x to 2x lumber and 5/4, etc.
Pros/cons of each? HELP!
Do you have a budget for the project ? Covered porch ?
I'm using 1x4 T&G Cypress, stapled through the tongue as mentioned above. I picked it up at the mill in SC for $1.41 per lineal foot for 12' clear...#2 is less than $1. So, your 400 sq ft would cost approx $1700, just for the clear Cypress flooring. Treated pine 1x4 T&G would be slightly less.
5/4 treated pine would be the least costly, but it would be "my" last choice. A front porch is all about appearances....deck boards don't fit the purpose IMO.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If the ratio still holds, though, they'd be about $500 each now so $2,000 for the 4 that I will likely need. They would save a huge amount of digging and concrete work for the foundation, though.