Construction of the porch and entrance stairs: original, high quality, durable. Closed porch: how it happens and how to make it How to make an entrance porch

The arrangement of a private house falls entirely on the shoulders of its owner, and therefore the question of how to build a porch with your own hands still does not lose its relevance. This element of the building is mandatory, as it allows you to ennoble the entrance to the room, provides convenient access to it, and also performs many more useful functions. So, let's take a closer look at how to build a porch.

Choice of location and materials

Building a porch in front of the entrance to the house with your own hands is one of the stages in the construction of almost any building. It is sometimes very difficult to do without this element. The porch is a platform in front of the front door, most often with steps. It can be completely open, completely or partially closed by a canopy.

The main functions of the porch:

protects the room from water ingress during significant precipitation;
provides convenient access to the front door, especially when it comes to a house with a high foundation;
is part of the exterior of the building and plays an important role in the aesthetic plan;
can serve as a place for a dining area or relaxation, storage, etc.

Before deciding to build a porch for a wooden or brick house, you need to determine its size, configuration and location. Basically, it is built in such a way that it has enough space not only to open the door, but also to equip the summer terrace. It may have a rectangular shape, contain roundings and protrusions. The door can be located both strictly in the center and away from the stairs.

The porch can be located not only from the main entrance. A platform with steps is also needed for an alternative exit to the backyard, if any.

A variety of materials for the construction of the porch of a private house

For the construction of the porch, the following materials are most often used:

Wood. Aesthetic and easily processed material. Only hard rocks are used, since the structure is subjected to a large load and the influence of the external environment.
Concrete. Strong and durable material, allows you to display any configuration for the porch. At the same time, it is important to use high-quality raw materials and reinforce individual sections when pouring concrete.
Brick. alternative to concrete. It has a more noble appearance, it is convenient to work with it. However, the main elements are made of concrete and iron reinforcement.
Metal. It is mainly used to strengthen flood areas and steps, as well as in the construction of external stairs and fences.

Calculations

Before you build a porch at the entrance to the house, you should at least roughly outline the area and scale of work. To do this, you need to identify the basic parameters of the porch. First of all, we are talking about its area. It is difficult to determine the optimal value, because it all depends on the area of \u200b\u200bthe site available for construction. In general, there should be enough space on the porch to at least enter the house. Therefore, the distance from the opening to the fence should be taken as the basis.

Atmospheric precipitation, wind and sun are three factors that adversely affect the condition of any building structures. Of course, you have to take protective measures all the time in order to extend their service life. But there is one element in the design of the house that often fails if it is not closed with something. It's about the porch. An open porch is often found in private housing construction. This is especially true for small houses and cottages. But many developers, even at the design stage of their home, are trying to make sure that their porch is under reliable protection.

Someone arranges a visor over it, someone builds a whole canopy. By the way, such a complex is called a covered porch. It is protected from above, but open around the entire perimeter, so it still cannot be saved from moisture. Therefore, for those who are going to build a private house, we recommend that you think about a structure that is protected from all sides. This is the so-called closed porch. In fact, this is a finished room or vestibule, which can be heated or not, everything is at the discretion of the customer. Both options are pictured below.

The interior of the closed porch is also chosen at the request of the owner of the house, taking into account the recommendations of the designers. But the outer side of the extension has its own characteristics, both structural and design.

Features of the roof structure of the closed porch

It is necessary to start talking about a closed porch from the roof. Why?

Firstly, it is the protective part of the structure, which is responsible for the non-penetration of natural loads into the premises.
Secondly, it is, in fact, a continuation of the roof of the house itself. Therefore, the requirements for the roof of the porch are quite stringent.
Thirdly, as with all building structures, there are strength requirements for the roof of the porch.

For the first position, you can say this. There are a huge number of roofing materials that are used today in the construction of roofs, large and small. But since the closed porch of the house is a small room, it is possible to use lightweight materials to cover it. For example, flexible tiles.

On the second position. Designers believe that it is necessary to cover the porch (closed) with the same roofing material as the main building itself. As practice shows, this is not always applied in practice. Look at the photo below, where the house is covered with tiles, and the roof of the porch is transparent polycarbonate. Looks very original and airy.

Position number three. Snow and rain loads greatly affect the design of the porch roof. But in the modern world, especially in the field of construction, there is no need to use any complex and heavy materials to make the roof, and indeed the entire structure, durable. There are a large number of modern lightweight materials and products that can withstand fairly decent loads. For example, aluminum profiles.

Attention! A closed vestibule is a full-fledged room, albeit a small one, but a room with walls, a ceiling, a floor and a roof.

Therefore, pay attention to the photo below, which shows such a vestibule in the form of a small house attached to the main building. The entrance of the house is completely closed, but the vestibule itself is equipped with windows and an entrance door. To build it, in addition to the porch itself, it was necessary to build walls, install a door on the entrance and windows on the sides. At the same time, the walls are raised to a certain level.

But the most important thing is that the roof of the closed porch is connected only with the main building, that is, it is fixed on the wall of the house. In fact, this is a separately hanging element, which is not connected with the walls of the porch itself. Windows in this case are not a support, they just simply close the opening between the roof and walls. Therefore, when constructing such a vestibule, it is necessary first of all to take care of fixing the roof. There are many options here, some are complex, some are simple. One option is to install consoles on the facade of the house itself.

Since it has already been said that today lightweight materials can be used to build a closed porch, I would like to focus on glazing systems. Again, we draw your attention to the photo below, where you can see a very beautiful option, glazed on all sides. This is a lightweight design, transparent, so during the day the light on the porch is not needed.

This photo also shows the glass roof. This is one of the options, although this element can be constructed from different materials. The main thing is to carry out the correct installation and fastening. Such a vestibule has one drawback - the glass will have to be cleaned and washed all the time.

As for the northern regions, it is better to build a vestibule in the form of a completely closed room, of course, the entrance is equipped with a door. It is important to use building materials that can withstand low temperatures. Again, we draw your attention to the photo below, where a closed brick vestibule was erected. By the way, not in the color tone of the facade of the house, as the designers recommend. Small windows, a beautiful door - that's all that is needed.

By the way, this version of the closed porch is very easy to build with your own hands.

How to build a closed porch with your own hands

Let's look at how to build a closed brick vestibule, which is shown in the photo above. We will not delve into all the details of construction, we will be interested in the sequence and some of the nuances.

As with any structure, a foundation will have to be erected for a closed porch. The best option is slab. That is, a foundation pit is dug to the size of the object to a depth of half a meter, which is covered with crushed stone with a layer of up to 20 cm, and with sand on top with a layer of up to 10-15 cm. This pillow is compacted in layers.
A reinforcing frame is installed on top in the form of a lattice of metal reinforcement with diameters of 10-12 mm.
Concrete mortar is poured to the edges of the pit. Concrete must be rammed with a vibrator.

Attention! It is necessary to dry the foundation within 28 days. During this period, the concrete will reach its grade strength.

Now you can build the porch itself with steps. The simplest option is a brick or blocks, which, after the construction of the entire closed structure, will be lined (see photo above). If it is decided to make a porch of concrete, then it is possible to pour the concrete solution on the filled pillow, laying the armoframe and setting the formwork. That is, in this case, you can do without a foundation.

So, everything is ready to build brick walls. First of all, waterproofing must be applied under the masonry. Do not neglect protective operations, a closed-type vestibule is the first protective barrier to precipitation. The very construction of brick walls is carried out according to standard technology, which is based on the bandage of blocks. Be sure to leave openings for windows and the front door with the installation of lintels or frames. The entrance is determined based on the width of the porch.

Attention! The walls of the closed porch must be attached to the walls of the building.

Therefore, every five rows of bricks, metal pins from reinforcement must be driven into the facade of the house. The pin must be at least 30 cm long, it must be located between the bricks.

The matter remains behind the roof. As mentioned above, it must be attached to the facade of the main building. But since our porch is built of bricks (a very reliable wall material), it can be installed directly on the walls of a closed porch. Most often, this is a wooden structure, consisting of a supporting tier of timber, which are mounted around the perimeter of the room. By the way, the timber, located at the entrance to the house, is attached to the wall. The rest to the walls of the extension.

If a shed roof is being erected over the porch, then another such wooden element is hung and fixed above the supporting beam at the facade. The rafters are mounted on which the roofing material is laid. The last stage is the interior decoration. Everything is at the discretion of the customer, although projects in this regard may differ in great originality. By the way, do not forget to hem the ceiling, although you can do without it if the porch is unheated. Before finishing, windows and a door to the entrance are installed, lighting is provided.

As mentioned above, private developers are increasingly using the latest materials in the construction of their homes. Polycarbonate is one of them. It is durable, transparent and easy to process (cut, bent), so it is very easy to make a closed porch from it with your own hands. The only thing is that under it it is necessary to build a wooden or metal structure. The second option is stronger, but more expensive.

If you built a wooden house on your site, then it would be an absolutely logical decision to build a porch to a wooden house with your own hands. Despite the seeming complexity, this task is by no means so impossible, and will be within the power of almost every master with a head and hands.

In addition to the aesthetic load, what makes a good porch remarkable, first of all, this element of the facade has specific functional purposes:

Protection of the entrance to the house from precipitation in the form of rain, snow and hail;
Creating a canopy that creates a comfortable shade and protects the canopy from heat and heat in the warm season;
It is possible to create a recreation area, in the case of arranging a large porch in the form of a veranda.
Well, and most importantly, this is a flight of stairs along which we will climb to our cozy home.

Therefore, before picking up a hammer and a chisel, you need to think carefully about the above, and take into account all the nuances, making the necessary amendments to the construction plan.

Proportions and dimensions

We think that it is no secret to anyone that from time immemorial man has been constructing residential buildings, taking as a basis the dimensions of the human body and its psychological perception of the surrounding space. An exception is not the porch, which must meet certain requirements of human physiology.

All the following dimensions are generally accepted, and are used everywhere in construction. You, if necessary, are free to change the main proportions, according to your preferences and requirements, but do not forget about the reliability of the design.

Now let's take a closer look:

To create a free approach to the door, you need to provide an open space that will allow you to open the door without interfering with the person standing in front of it;
If you focus on building codes, then the width of the porch in front of a single-leaf door should not be less than 1m 60 cm - this value is the minimum;
For a double-leaf version of the door leaf - the norm regulates a distance of 2 meters;
The distance from the doorway to the first step starts at 1 meter: this value should be adjusted, looking at the width of the doorway - the wider, the greater the distance;
To protect the steps and platform from direct sunlight and precipitation, the length of the canopy at the porch should go beyond the boundaries of these elements. Usually leave a protrusion equal to 30 centimeters.

Now, with regard to human physiology. There are also certain laws, derived in specific formulas and values:

The average step length for an adult is about 63 cm. Based on this, the optimal values of the height and depth of the steps are derived. They are 16 -19 cm and 25 - 33 cm, respectively;
If nature has endowed you with non-standard dimensions, then when designing a porch, you can use the formula shown in the picture above. Its essence is that in the width of your step two heights and one depth of steps should proportionally fit. In this case, the height should be one and a half to two times less than the depth.
The flight of the step cover from the riser should not be more than five centimeters, otherwise, when walking, you will constantly stumble on them, risking injury, especially in winter, when the surface of the stairs is covered with a layer of ice or frost.

Advice! Of course, the best way to protect yourself from winter is to attach an enclosed porch to a wooden house, but this is not always feasible. Therefore, take care of the anti-slip coating in advance, and clean the ice from the steps in time.

To ensure safe movement on the stairs in the winter season and not only, it is required to equip the passage with handrails. The instruction regulates that any staircase with three or more steps should have this element.

The standard height of the handrails varies from 80 to 90 centimeters.

The following requirement is mandatory in design, but is far from always feasible in practice when building a porch with your own hands - a person moves in space so that when climbing a flight of stairs, he starts and finishes it with one foot. Therefore, the correct staircase should consist of an odd number of steps (in apartment buildings with a floor height of 2.5 meters, the number of steps in the march is 9).

What else should be considered before starting the construction of the porch of a wooden house?

The level of the platform in front of the door should be 5 or even 10 centimeters below the border of the door leaf. Otherwise, you risk that as a result of seasonal soil fluctuations, the raised porch will block the door and prevent it from opening freely.

Foundation and place under it

Like any other construction, the construction of a porch begins with a foundation. You must check all dimensions and heights at the design stage - ideally, you should have a full-fledged drawing. If you do not have enough skill in carrying out such work, then we recommend that you involve a third-party specialist who will cope with such a simple task for him in a very short time.

Advice! It is better to be an inexperienced builder with the right blueprint than a jack-of-all-trades with little idea of the final result.

The designer will indicate in the drawings the complete scheme of the porch along with the foundation. He will determine the type of soil and give the necessary recommendations so that the structure is reliable and lasts as long as possible.

Among other data, the depth of soil freezing will also be indicated (this is extremely important information when building a foundation), below which you will need to dig trenches for the foundation, or drill wells. If you refused the services of a professional, then you will have to look for this data on the “network”, where the limit values \u200b\u200bare posted for each of the regions of our vast country.

The foundation for a wooden porch can be of three types:

Wooden piles- the most common, inexpensive and simple solution for such purposes. That is what we will cover in this article.

Metal piles- form with horizontal lintels a strong and even frame, sheathed on the outside with wood. The price of such a solution will be higher, and besides, you will need to hire a craftsman who will reliably strengthen and weld the frame into a single structure. The disadvantages include the fact that the metal has a solid weight, and for work you will need at least three people, sometimes with the involvement of lifting equipment.

It is better to use such a solution if you want to make a terrace made of synthetic composite materials, which are very demanding on the evenness of the base, and are laid on special profiles, or, conversely, the size of the porch is small and consists only of steps that will contrast with the main building facade.

Concrete or block- these are capital foundations for a porch, which require compliance with certain standards when attaching to a wooden house. There are a great many types of concrete foundations, but the main requirement for their construction is that between it and the house, or rather its foundation, it is imperative to provide for an expansion joint.

What is it for? During the time when seasonal ground movements occur, due to the difference in the loads that the structures experience, the foundations at their junctions can crack.

Expansion joints are filled with elastic materials to prevent moisture from entering it. For these purposes, rubber gaskets, or mineral wool, are excellent, which are subsequently closed with a special flashing.

This concludes our preparations and begin to disassemble the construction process

We do it ourselves

As already mentioned, we are building a porch for a wooden house only from wood, so that it most harmoniously fits into the overall picture of the facade. Further about everything in order.

Base under the porch

Well, now let's take a closer look at the construction of a foundation from a wooden beam. And we will start by marking the site with the help of twine and tape measure.

This is done approximately as shown in the photo above.

The wall and the doorway are the main reference points from which it is required to measure all the necessary distances, not forgetting to observe right angles at the intersections of the lines.
To do this, align the lengths of the segments with an accuracy of a millimeter. Throw both diagonals in the resulting rectangle, which should be equal to each other.
If right angles are alien to you, and you have chosen a porch of an unusual shape, for example, pentagrams, then be guided by the geometric features of the figure that you plan to build.
Next, we determine the location of the piles - usually these are the corners of the terrace, including those adjacent to the house, and the corners of the first step. If the porch and flight of stairs have solid dimensions, then increase the number of piles at the rate of 2 piles by 1 - 1.2 meters of free span. This value can vary greatly depending on the thickness of the bars of the lower trim of the veranda, and reach 2.4 m with a cross section of 100 * 150 mm.
Now it is necessary to drill wells at these points, with a depth exceeding the depth of soil freezing by 15 - 30 centimeters.
In order for moisture to better move away from wooden piles, it is necessary to make a drainage cushion from medium-sized river sand and gravel, which are poured into the holes alternately, in small layers.

Further, piles are installed in the holes, the recessed ends of which are pre-treated with waterproofing material (bitumen), or fired at the stake for the same purpose. This treatment will protect the tree from premature decay and damage.
If the size of the terrace has impressive dimensions, or the piles will go up, forming the base for the porch visor, then before installing them, asbestos-cement pipes are placed in the holes, into which concrete is poured three-quarters of the depth of the well. But first they are set vertically, rammed around with rubble and soil, and a reinforcing belt is made inside.
This design will more reliably fix the pile and protect the wood.

Next, piles are installed (in pits or asbestos-cement pipes, after the concrete has hardened), which must be set strictly in a plane and vertical, and firmly fixed for a while. Use a rough crate, stretch marks and wedges for this, exposing the structure like a tent.
After fixing, we fill the space around with concrete mixed with screenings and small gravel - such concrete will be much stronger. Don't forget that we have to make a pretty impressive layer.
Piles adjacent to the house are attached to the wall with long self-tapping screws, anchors or nails.

All further work is carried out only after the concrete has completely cured.

Installation of stringers

Steps on a flight of stairs can be fastened in various ways, but most often craftsmen use designs on bowstrings. The bowstring is an inclined guide support that provides reliable fixation of the steps.

You can attach the step to the bowstring by inserting it into the groove, or by using self-tapping screws, nails, studs, dowels or special steel fasteners to fix it. But most often they use bowstrings that have cutouts for steps that fit on top. Such bowstrings are called stringers.

Making a kosour on your own is not such a difficult task. It is enough just to accurately mark the boards and make straight cuts along all the marks, for which a pre-prepared staircase drawing is very useful to you.

Of the tools you will need:

A circular saw;
Square and pencil;
Meter;
Wood saw.

The number of prepared stringers, first of all, determines the shape of the stairs and its width. Sometimes you can find options on one stringer, but such work is the privilege of qualified specialists. We will need at least two supports, the number of which will increase depending on the width of the passage.

Stringers can be divided into two main types, differing not only in shape, but also in the complexity of manufacturing:

Stepped - we showed them in the photo above. They have triangular cutouts placed at the same distance from each other along the entire length of the part. This design has one drawback - the beam, after sawing cuts in its body, becomes thinner and greatly loses its strength.
Stringers with "fillies" - have smaller slots, and are equipped with additional elements, the "fillies" themselves, and dowels for fixing them. Such a design is only possible for an experienced carpenter, so we will not advise it for beginners.

Stringers are the most time-consuming and complex parts of the porch being built. When marking and sawing boards, be especially meticulous, often double-checking, and comparing the result with the parts already cut.

Advice! To make several braids of the same shape, use a stencil that you have previously cut out of plywood, thick cardboard or a piece of MDF.

If the width of the tread in the stringer can be less than the actual step (laying with a release), then the height of the riser must exactly match the height of the cladding part of the same name.
Do not forget to take into account that the upper step of the stringer should become a continuation of the main porch area. Take this into account when marking up this element.
In order for the supports to be strong and not to bend under the weight of people walking on the porch, boards with an end section of at least 60 * 300 mm should be used as a material. So you guarantee yourself the quality of the future product.
Use for these purposes boards that do not have cracks and falling knots. Beware of overdried wood, which has lost a lot of strength.
Since our structure is external, the contact of the stairs with moisture and ultraviolet radiation is ensured. Of course, you can buy cheaper boards from softwoods (pine, spruce, etc.) and treat them with special impregnations, but it would be better to immediately take hardwoods, which are not only more resistant to the above troubles, but also have a good density that makes them resistant to mechanical stress.

The leaders among such species are oak, Siberian larch, beech or maple. The price of lumber will be higher, but such a porch will last much longer.

Before you start assembling all the elements into a single structure, you need to treat the wood with antibacterial impregnations and flame retardants - substances that protect wood from fire.

After complete drying of the impregnation, you can proceed with the installation:

We install the bars of the lower trim on the strengthened piles - they are attached from the outside to nails or long self-tapping screws.
Waterproofing can be laid around the pile at the attachment point.
We cut grooves in a horizontal beam for laying the upper edge of bowstrings or stringers in them.
The lower part of the kosour is laid on a horizontal support plate in the form of a bar. At the same time, washed down can be done both in the beam and in the stringer. In the first case, it is better to tie the elements with steel corners, and in the second, with studs.

Next, we install the lags, forming the basis of the future site. They are placed flush with the bottom trim, and are fastened with special stainless steel brackets.

The thickness of the lags should not be less than 5 centimeters, as it must withstand the weight of people walking on it without deflections.
Lay them perpendicular to the laying direction of the decking that will cover the floor afterwards. The laying distance is 50 cm.
Next, the deck board is laid, which is placed with a verified gap to drain water.
Laying steps starts from the bottom - first the riser is placed, then the tread.
Fastening is carried out with galvanized self-tapping screws with a wide hat, which needs to be drowned a little. To do this, first drill a narrow hole for the self-tapping screw, and slightly expand its edge with a wider drill, creating a recess.
In the future, you will need to hide the holes with wood putty.
To avoid this, you can purchase special staples and use wood glue.

This concludes our review, in which we examined the construction of a wooden porch to the house with our own hands. As you can see, the process is very exciting, and will be within the power of many of us. You can learn more about it from the video in this article, where an experienced craftsman performs a similar job.

The most correct version of the porch is when its foundation is cast along with the house. In this case, there are practically no problems. Sometimes when planning a building, they forget about it. Then the porch is attached to the house. They make an extension mainly from three materials: wood, metal and concrete. If the house is brick, they can build it out of brick. Another option is to make from building blocks with subsequent finishing. In any case, when planning to make a porch with your own hands, you must immediately decide what kind of foundation to make and whether or not to connect it with the base of the building.

How to calculate parameters

First you need to decide which side the steps will go to. They can be on one, two or three sides. Determine this based on personal preferences and finances that you can / want to allocate for construction. The height of the porch depends on the height of the plinth and should be 50-70 mm below the edge of the door leaf. This small step prevents precipitation from entering the house. Perhaps more importantly, it prevents the doors from being blocked if the porch rises from frost heaving (if the doors open outward).

Determine the dimensions of the top platform

The layout of the porch begins with determining the size of the upper platform. If the doors open outward, you should be able to open the doors while standing on the platform. That is, its depth should be 30-40 cm more than the width of the door leaf. According to the recommendations of GOST, the dimensions of the site should be 1.5 times the width of the doorway. More is possible - less is undesirable - inconvenient.

If your doors are 80 cm wide, then the depth of the upper platform at the very minimum is 120 cm. You determine its width based on the tastes and proportions of the house, but it must definitely be greater than the width of the doorway.

We count the number and size of steps

You know the height of the porch: 50-60 mm below the door leaf. The recommended step (riser) height is 15-20 cm. Divide the height of the porch by the height of the steps, you get the approximate number of steps. The number is rarely whole. The remaining centimeters can be divided between all the steps or make one of them higher. Another option is to make a small step at the bottom, although this can be inconvenient.

The optimal step width (tread) is 25-30 cm. Knowing the number of steps, the depth of the upper platform, the depth of the steps, you can calculate the dimensions of the porch completely. According to them, it is already possible to develop the foundation for the porch.

When choosing the parameters of the steps, one must adhere to the recommendations of SNiP: the sum of the prosup and the double riser should be in the range of 600-640 mm. For example, you calculated that the height of the step (risers) is 17 cm, the tread (depth of the degree) is 280 mm. After completing the calculations, we get: 170 mm * 2 + 280 mm = 620 mm. We fit into the recommended parameters, so nothing needs to be changed.

What foundation is needed

If the porch is planned to be light - wooden or metal - the foundation is most often made of pile or column. Specifically, they are chosen based on geological conditions. On well-draining soils with a low level of groundwater, it is enough, with a tendency to heaving, it is necessary already.

For a heavy porch - made of brick or monolithic concrete - they make a strip foundation or. The type of foundation is most often similar to that on which the house is built.

Then you need to decide whether you will tie the porch foundation to the house foundation or not. Decisions are made based on the planned mass of the extension and the type of soil. Both options have disadvantages. If there is no connection, cracks often form at the junction of the porch and the house, and the porch can warp due to frosty heaving. Owners of summer cottages often face such a problem - basically the porch to the summer cottages is made wooden and incoherent. After the earth thaws, it may itself “sit down” in place, or it may require some additional measures.

When arranging connections, the formation of cracks is also possible, but not only at the junction, but also in the “body” of the extension. This happens if the arranged reinforced connections cannot compensate for the uneven load created by the house and the extension. Therefore, a connected foundation for the porch is made if it is attached to a heavy house and itself is heavy and massive, made of reinforced concrete. The second difficulty with this decision is to make the connection of high quality. To do this, use ribbed reinforcement with a diameter of 12-16 mm, under which holes are drilled in the foundation with a given diameter. Reinforcement is hammered into them and on its basis a frame for the porch is knitted.

There are two main designs of stairs: on bowstrings and on stringers. They can be made from wood or metal. There are also combined options - metal + wooden steps or metal + concrete steps.

Stair structures - on bowstrings and stringers

On bowstrings

Ladders on bowstrings are the simplest. For a porch - a good option, especially if the house is wooden or a small country house. Support bars are attached to the inside of the bowstring. If you work with metal, the bars are welded horizontally (it is possible with a minimum slope of 1-2 ° so that water flows from the steps). In the case of wood, support bars can either be nailed, to which the step will then be attached, or notches are cut in the bowstring (no more than 1/2 of the thickness of the board), into which the step boards are inserted.

On kosoura

The ladder on the stringers can also be of a simple design - with open supports. In this case, triangles are cut at the required angle in the upper part of the board. Their lower part serves as a support for the steps.

When cutting the stringer, the height of the step and the width of the tread are set aside. They are connected at right angles. According to the marked markup, a template is made, with the help of which all the steps are marked.

The number of stringers in a staircase depends on its width and on the thickness of the boards used for the steps. The thinner the board for the steps, the more often you need to put stringers. If you use 25 mm boards, then there should be a distance of no more than 50-60 cm between the two supports. If you need a large width of the stairs, but do not want to put three stringers, use thicker boards. It is important that they do not bend under your feet.

If you decide to weld a ladder on stringers from metal, you will need to be patient: you will have to weld many small segments, but the principle of formation is the same.

Ways of fastening parts

The lower edge of the porch stairs can sometimes rest directly on the ground. This option is simple but unreliable. Firstly, the soil may settle, the staircase will begin to collapse. Secondly, when in contact with the ground, both wood and metal are destroyed faster. There are special impregnations for wood (Senezh and Senezh Ultra, for example), and metal is well formed with a primer and painted in several layers. Nevertheless, it is better to make a base - to fill in a shallow-depth tape, on which the bowstrings or stringers will rest.

There are two ways to attach a ladder to a porch to a reinforced concrete base - to a bed - a bar with a section of at least 75 * 75 mm or to a lower section bar (in the photo on the left).

Difficulties may arise with the installation of porch pillars. There are several ways. There is one very simple and effective one that works great even on heaving soils (clays and loams). Holes are dug under the pillars with a depth of 50-60 cm. A bucket and a half of sand is poured into them at the bottom, and it is well tamped. On top of the sand, rubble is poured from half a bucket and also rammed. They put a pole, level it to the level, put spacers that will hold it in a given position. The space between the wall of the hole and the pillar is gradually covered with rubble, carefully ramming it. The hole is filled flush with the ground, the top can be concreted (so that the precipitation does not drain), but not spilled to the very bottom. The poles installed in this way do not lead even with strong heaving. A significant part of the water goes into the sand, and the rubble takes over the remaining forces of frost heaving, neutralizing them.

If piles, a strip foundation or a monolithic slab are poured under the pillars of the porch, a columnar base is folded, then studs or special glasses are immured in concrete to fix the wooden racks. After the concrete has matured, the bars of the racks are attached to them with capercaillie or bolts.

If the racks are metal, a corner with a wall thickness of at least 3-4 mm is laid in the concrete so that it can be easily welded to it later.

When building a wooden porch with your own hands, questions may arise about attaching railings and balusters. They can be assembled on ordinary nails, but if desired, you can use bolts or capercaillie. In this case, holes are pre-drilled, then fasteners are installed in them and tightened with an angle wrench. Such a connection is certainly more reliable than just on nails.

If the porch is attached to a freshly cut wooden house, in which shrinkage has not yet been completed, and the design of the porch provides for a canopy, it is necessary to mount the racks on special adjustable plates.

We draw your attention to the fact that both the metal and wood that you will use to build the porch require careful processing. The porch is exposed to all climatic influences and the materials require good protection.

Monolithic concrete stairs

The most durable stairs are made of monolithic concrete. They take longer to make than metal or wood, but their service life is calculated in decades. The types of stairs made of concrete are described in detail in the video. The basis of the calculation is also given.

How to make a concrete staircase on stringers with your own hands, see the following video.

wooden porch

A wooden porch is one of the most common options in our country. Wood is plastic, easy to work with, costs relatively little (in our country), forgives many mistakes. That is why it is a favorite building material.

It also has disadvantages: it requires good protection before starting construction (antibacterial impregnations and fire retardants), as well as regular care - updating the protective paintwork. Then it looks attractive for a long time, otherwise it quickly loses its decorative effect.

One of the options for building a wooden porch with a staircase on bowstrings can be seen in the video. Please note that the porch is being built on sandy soil, so the method of installing the pillars used is not suitable for everyone. Everything else is clear.

brick porch

Since brick is a dense and heavy material, a serious foundation is required for a brick porch. Usually it is a monolithic slab, and with double reinforcement, and it is better if it is larger in size than the planned porch.

When calculating the parameters of the steps, it is necessary to take into account the dimensions of the brick and the thickness of the seam between them. Then it will be easier to lay the work - no need to cut the brick. If you are not going to clad the porch, use quality material for the outer rows. The inner rows - backfilling - can be made from battle or building blocks and their remnants.

Brick porch with wooden steps

If the house is on a high plinth, making a monolithic brick porch is too expensive. Then the columns or walls are folded, leaving empty space inside. It can then be used for household purposes or covered with decorative shields. If you need an upper platform, these columns / walls are covered from above with a concrete slab - homemade or finished - this is your choice. Then a ladder is attached to the resulting base. It doesn't have to be brick. It can be metal, concrete or a combination.

Photo report: wooden porch on a metal frame

Theory is only a theory, and in construction too. You always understand the essence of the matter better if you observe the process yourself, because you can see how others are doing and learn something for yourself.

At the request of the parents, an exact copy of the old porch was made. The only difference is that a metal frame is welded for the new one.

In place of the demolished porch, a pit was dug 25 cm deep. Sand was filled in layers and rammed into the bottom, crushed stone - 10 cm each. A metal mesh with a cell of 10 cm was laid on top and all this was filled with concrete.

According to the previous dimensions of the porch, a metal frame was welded (from a corner of 70 * 5 mm). Sidewalls are exposed vertically and fixed on hairpins. Further, a base for benches is welded to them. All metal treated with a rust converter, primed and painted twice.

The wood used for construction is dry. Planed boards were cut to size (the width of the porch) and treated with an impregnation for direct contact with the ground.

We lay the dried boards on the frame. You have to drill a hole for each fastener - you just can’t take a corner just like that.

At this stage, two mistakes were made at once. The first is that the sheathing was not started from the sidewalls. Immediately began to lay the stairs. As a result, water constantly flows into the joints of the side sheathing and steps and the wood is distorted. It is necessary to start the sheathing from the sides, and make the steps a little longer so that they protrude beyond the side sheathing by at least a couple of centimeters. The second mistake is that the boards on the porch are stacked close to each other. With high humidity, they swell and the surface becomes uneven. When laying the porch sheathing, make gaps of at least 5-8 mm.

After all the boards are fixed, they are polished. First with a belt sander with a coarse grain, then with a disc sander with a fine one. The process is lengthy. In parallel, the task is being solved - to remove the green color of the impregnation. It does not overlap even with three layers of tinting.

After sanding, we start painting. Apply three times. Each layer after complete drying of the previous one. The resulting color is dark mahogany.

While the paint dries completely, we proceed to the manufacture of benches. We cut boards under them, grind off an oblique chamfer (for beauty), cover with impregnation.

We make the backs with a small decor - rounding along the edges.

We saw along the marked lines with a jigsaw, then grind to a smooth edge.

The sides are covered with plywood, which was painted in the same color. The porch is ready.

Do-it-yourself finished wooden porch - side view

Do-it-yourself brick-concrete porch: photo

The walls of the landing are preliminarily made of bricks, on top of which a monolithic concrete slab is poured. Along the edge, a frame of corners is monolithic into it - so that the stairs and railings can be welded.

Porch plan: how everything should look

From a corner of 70 * 70 * 5 mm we cut blanks of the desired length. Then we treat them with a rust converter. We start cooking after the reaction has stopped and the metal has dried up.

We welded the first bowstring from metal.

The finished sidewall was attached to the concrete base with two pins.

Fastening to a concrete support support

In the same way, we cook the second bowstring and fix it. When working, make sure that the two bowstrings are in the same plane.

We begin to weld the support bars. It is important to constantly monitor the horizontal position so that the steps are not oblique.

We weld the transverse pieces of the corner to the supporting bars so that we get a shelf.

The corners are welded so that they form a frame. We put a piece of sheet slate in it. We lay out a reinforcing metal mesh on the slate. The edges of the mesh are welded to the frame.

Pour concrete into the prepared steps. We make it high-quality - so that the steps do not wear out longer.

While the concrete is gaining strength, we take on the racks that will support the canopy over the porch. For them, we take a profiled pipe 70 * 40 * 3 mm. From it we cut four columns. Two are slightly longer - they will be near the wall of the house, two are 15 cm shorter - they stand along the outer edge of the porch, creating the desired slope - so that the water and snow go off normally. For railings and crossbars, we use a profiled pipe 40 * 40 mm.

All metal is also treated with a rust converter.

First, we set up the racks, grab them, set temporary stops

In order to avoid lateral stresses, it is important to set the racks strictly vertically. We expose them, grab them, in several places with short seams, again we check whether they are standing correctly. We weld temporary stops and only after the next check we weld according to all the rules.

After all the racks are exposed and welded, you can assemble the railing. At the desired height, they are fixed strictly horizontally.

Then we proceed to the installation of the roof. We also cook it from a profile pipe 40 * 40 mm. First, the strapping around the perimeter - at the level of shorter racks, then - the rest of the structure. It is not difficult, but it takes a lot of time - a lot of intersections.

Then it was the turn of the railings and decorations. And again, there are no difficulties, it can be done easily if desired.

Everything, the porch is ready for finishing work. Rough tiles for outdoor use were purchased for the steps and landing. She also trimmed the sidewall of a monolithic slab.

The metal was painted with matching paint, the roof was covered with corrugated board left after the installation of the roof. The do-it-yourself porch turned out to be quite good.

Porch design photo ideas

Porch to a wooden bathhouse or cottage - a staircase made of logs

Porch sheathed with WPC - wood-polymer composite

In the design of a private house, both inside and outside, there are no insignificant details, because they all form the appearance of the building, and, accordingly, the opinion about its owner. That is why it is important to pay special attention to all the nuances, carefully work out the idea and stylistic direction of housing, making it not only comfortable and cozy for yourself, but also attractive to others.

The porch is the face, the visiting card of the house, hosting friends, relatives and other guests. It can perform both functional and decorative role. By adding a canopy to the porch, you can create a cozy area where you can hide from the rain, as well as create a chic entrance to the house. How to do it right, and what materials to use? Let's find out together.

Canopy porch design

First of all, you need to draw up a draft of the future design, taking into account the following nuances:

Dimensions of the future porch and its canopy.
Selection of materials and calculation of their quantity.
Preparation of inventory and tools.
Drawing up a detailed plan.

Most experienced builders are sure that you need to build a porch at the same time as the main building, because in this case you can achieve maximum efficiency of the structure, make it more durable and reliable. If the porch is attached to an already finished house, then you need to calculate the load, the weight of the structure and determine the connection points with housing.

First of all, you need to pay attention to the following details:

The area near the front door. If the door is single-leaf, then the depth of the porch should be one and a half meters, the width is about 1.6 meters. If the front door is double-winged, then the width and depth of the porch should be at least 2 meters (these are the minimum parameters, more is needed for convenience).

Steps. Their number depends on the height of the base. If there are more than three steps, then on the sides you need to put a railing that guarantees safety. The staircase should be wide and gentle, however, its exact dimensions depend on the individual characteristics of the homeowner and his preferences. In general, the width of the step should be about 28 centimeters (the length of an adult's leg), and the height should be about 20 centimeters.

Lighting. The porch is a traumatic place where lighting fixtures should be located. It is important that there are no less than 1 lamps per three steps.

Canopy. It is accepted that the visor is somewhat larger than the porch and protrudes at least 0.3 meters beyond its limits in order to protect the area in front of the front door from rain and snow.
Choice of materials. Experts recommend that the structure and its roof be made of the same materials as a private house, otherwise they will not be combined with each other. The entrance system should be harmonious (wood with wood, stone with stone), but for the canopy you can use the same roofing material as for the roof of the house or replace it with cellular polycarbonate.

Building a porch with a canopy with your own hands

Of course, you can entrust the work of erecting a porch and a canopy to a team of experienced builders, but it is much more interesting to do it yourself. In fact, there is nothing difficult here for a person with minimal building skills. The main thing is to have the desire, time and a set of tools, including:

Electric drill or grinder.
Roulette.
Peel.
Building level.

Sand, cement and crushed stone (porch base).
Boards (if the structure is wooden).
Metal and fasteners.
Roof covering.
Brick (silicate or red).

Wooden porch of a private house

A porch with a canopy made of wood is an ideal solution for a small private house. Photos of ready-made options and projects are striking in their diversity, and the attractiveness of the finished version makes you make yourself the same. Wooden structures are simple in their execution, while their cost is not high, because expensive wood species are not used for arranging the porch. The cross section of the board for arranging the porch is 50-150 millimeters.

Important! Wood is a material that needs proper processing. Wood must be impregnated with antiseptics and various solutions that protect the material from insects, moisture, fungus and fire.

As for the foundation for the wooden porch, it is optional. Of course, it will be much better and more reliable with it, but these are the financial costs that can be reduced if the canopy is covered with light shingles. To create a beautiful entrance space, you need to install supports, stringers, and then boards that serve as steps. On top of the high supports, you need to install a gable roof, covering it with roofing material.

Porch with a canopy of concrete and brick

This type of construction looks more impressive and impressive, however, for the construction of the porch, you will need a solid foundation, since its weight is much higher than that of a wooden structure. First of all, you need to dig a foundation pit, the depth of which will be the same as the depth of the foundation of a private house.

After that, you need to create a pillow of sand and gravel in the pit, install the formwork and fill it with concrete. In order to increase the strength of the foundation, it can be reinforced with a metal mesh or pipes (reinforcement). In addition, vertical metal elements are needed in order to interlock the subsequent masonry and the visor, creating a monolithic structure.

On top of the foundation there is a layer of waterproofing and a brick, which serves as future steps. Masonry is carried out in the usual way, while the main thing is that it be even and convenient for moving up the steps. The arrangement of the canopy is done last.

Canopy made of cellular polycarbonate

As mentioned earlier, the porch is the face of the house, which should attract with its appearance. You can make it more elegant by equipping a visor that protects the one standing near the door from precipitation. For the arrangement of the canopy, various materials are used (metal tiles, flexible tiles, corrugated board, etc.).

If financial possibilities are limited, and you need to make a canopy, then for this you can use inexpensive, easy to install and lightweight cellular polycarbonate. This modern polymer material, which is installed on a metal frame or supports and fastened with self-tapping screws and thermal washers, will allow you to create an ideal canopy over the entrance to the house in a matter of hours.

The advantages of such a visor:

Resistant to temperature extremes.
Weather resistance.
Transparency.
Light weight.
Strength.
Reliability.
Low price.