One step at a time

An access door reveals storage space below the newly upgraded porch.

Photos by Marc LaBossiere / Winnipeg Free Press
New stair stringers received composite fascia and top decking, mitered at all corners.

At a recent front porch upgrade project, three unexpected hurdles nearly derailed the project’s timeline. Luckily, solutions for each of these three obstacles were eventually established, tackled in a co-operative manner by three separate parties in a brilliantly co-ordinated effort, allowing this porch enhancement to remain on schedule — if including a ‘partial Saturday’ still counts.

An older three-storey home in the River Heights area suffered from a slanted porch roof for nearly two decades. Upon meeting with the homeowners this past spring, it was evident that the entire porch base structure was spongy, and felt like a trampoline at every step. As such, everything below the columns supporting the roof would need replacing. The required materials were ordered and delivered to the jobsite, and an August build date was established.

To straighten the roofline, temporary supports would be introduced at either side of the porch below a temporary tandem beam, fastened to the columns. Stabilizers from the bottom corner of the columns to top corner at the underside of the roof along the house would also be set in place to eliminate any unwanted shifting of the upper structure while the porch upgrade was being performed. The temporary supports included jacks, which could alter the level of the porch roof thereby eradicating the unwanted slant. Once the roof was level, new adjustable support jacks could be introduced below the existing post supports, before the entire porch framework was rebuilt, and subsequently sheathed aesthetically. That was the straight-forward plan, until the first of three hurdles was revealed.

During the preliminary demolition of the old spongy porch top decking and skirting, what was revealed made it imperative to stabilize the porch structure as quickly as possible. The old supports below the main deck were failing, and the roof’s columns set along the outer edge of the main supports below were barely hanging on. It was clear that the entire framework, beaming and posting required a complete overhaul.

Hurdle number two came shortly thereafter — a prior concrete porch configuration had been broken up and hidden in place, hampering the clean introduction of a new beam and joists. Furthermore, behind this abomination of concrete chunks, lie the most shocking of all three surprises — the exterior wall below the front door wall literally wide open to the basement, partially covered by a few old pieces of plywood in a crude attempt to hide the holes. The ‘frozen basement syndrome’ during the winter months finally began to make a whole lot of sense to the homeowner, upon this discovery.

Fortunately, the basement was under renovation by another company. And once this exterior breach issue was discussed and a solution ascertained, the basement crew was tasked to properly cover and seal the exterior wall before my porch framing could start. However, before they could address the exterior wall, that pile of broken concrete would also need to be cleared. Fortunately, I knew just who to call — my good friends at Student Junk Removal. Always willing to accommodate at a moment’s notice, a four-man crew arrived the following morning. While Student Junk worked diligently to clear the area of all debris, the temporary supports and jacks I had set in place the previous day were used to relevel the porch roofline. Once level, a triple-laminated 2x10 beam was set atop two 6x6 posts with adjustable deck jacks, along the front side of the porch, directly below the two main roof columns. Once the load was transferred to the new beam and posts, the temporary beam and jacks were removed.

On the third day, the basement crew tackled the exterior wall, fitting it with the appropriate treated plywood and sealing it to prevent moisture intrusion into the basement. I returned to the jobsite on Day 4 to complete the ledger board and joists, as well as the custom stair stringers for the seven-foot wide staircase. By the fifth (and final day scheduled), it was evident the project would likely not be fully completed within the expected five-day timeline. However, great strides in esthetic sheathing still occurred. The entire porch and stairs received composite fascia all the way down to ground level, and the stair-tops were completed using the overlap method, with mitered corners on every stair. The final task achieved that day was the overlap picture-framing on the upper deck.

On a bright Saturday morning, the 15 or so inner composite boards were installed along the top deck within the previous day’s picture-framing. The inward swinging access door on one side of the porch was framed, hung, and sheathed with composite fascia. As a final touch, new base trim was mitered and affixed to each of the four sides of each column.

The colour and style of composite chosen by the homeowners blends cohesively with the existing brick of the house. The bold staircase is inviting, while the old white columns seem to take on a new life below the porch roofline (which is level with the house once again, finally). This porch facelift definitely replenishes a majestic aspect to the home, once lost but never forgotten. An upgrade well-conceived, accomplishing the sought-after goals.

When a trifecta of unforeseen hurdles affected this jobsite, the collaborative efforts of three separate companies and crews minimized potential delays, despite having to resolve each of these three issues, one at a time. The joint mandate of co-operation, consultation, and co-ordination quickly got this porch upgrade back on track. It just goes to show that not all things that come ‘in threes’ have negative results.

RenoBoss.Inc@outlook.com

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