Summer DIY Front Porch

You know that dream house that you have been thinking about since you were little? Little bits and pieces from all the homes you have seen in the past blended together into your perfect home. For me, part of that dream was to have a front porch. I have always been drawn to Southern home design and those wrap-around porches gave me all of the feels. I want to sit outside this summer on my own porch with a good book while watching my children play in the front yard and sipping on an Arnold Palmer.

However, when our house hunt started I had to come to terms that not too many homes on Long Island had the wrap-around porches of my dreams. Honestly, when it came down to really focusing on what was the most important part of our new home it all came down to location. We wanted to be close to family and in a great school district. We were lucky enough to find a home that checked that box but everything else needed to be tweaked to truly become that dream home. For the past two years, we undertook a full gut renovation of our home during a pandemic. It was trying, but totally worth it.

Our focus this summer has now been on the outside. We needed to get our curb appeal up and add all of that charm that I loved from older homes. Our main focus? Getting that front porch! Now, not only did we want a front porch of some sort, but we also wanted to tackle it without having to undergo some massive renovation and having to change our whole roof line. With pencil to paper and many trips to the Home Depot, we were able to make our dreams come true! We now have the perfect spot and a true extension of our home!

The Home Depot is our home away from home as DIYers and homeowners. We knew we would be able to get all of our supplies in one place at an affordable price point. We saved so much money by doing this project on our own. We got quotes in the 6k-9k range for this project and that wasn't even including materials! This is what the house looked like when we bought it. The charm was just not there.

For us, this meant removing all of the greenery and knocking down the concrete path. This is the part of the project we reached out to professionals for a little help. We hired a mason to remove the concrete and then build us a paver path. The greenery was all removed by my husband during one weekend. Everything got taken out and replanted in our backyard and the ground was leveled.

In order for a deck to be installed anywhere you need to set up a strong foundation to hold the weight of the deck. This meant that my husband got to live out one of his dreams and rent a massive auger from the Home Depot to make large holes for us to fill with concrete. You will need the auger to make holes that are below the frost line, this will vary depending on where you live. You will use a 10 inch auger bit for the 10 inch Concrete Form Tubes.

The most time-consuming part of the project was building the frame for the deck. How many pieces of lumber you need all depends on the size deck you are building in your home. We went with a 25 feet x 8 feet deck and concrete footings every 8 feet which is why in those sections we doubled up on our beams. See the circle in blue. These beams will carry the weight of the deck. Once your beams (sistered 2"x8")
are installed you can then add your face joists aka the front and back of the deck and your remaining support joists every 16 inches. Then you will apply Joist Tape to your frame. It will prevent moisture from sitting in between your frame and decking material which will help extend the life of the deck.

For the composite decking boards, the Home Depot had quite a few options to pick from that were able to be picked up right away! In taking into account the house color, roof color and path color we fell in love with Coconut Husk by TimberTech.

Now a floating deck doesn't need a railing but in order to get that cozy wrap-around porch feel that we so badly wanted, we decided to add rails in order to close us in a bit more. It will also give us a bit more privacy and enable us to have our dogs outside with us. We are going to add an outdoor baby gate to keep them on the porch with us. They are still puppies and like to run off if they see a person that they think is dying to pet them.

For rails, we went with Trex Enhance Horizontal Rail Kit for the sections of railings. For the posts, you will need to pick up Post Sleeves, Post Caps, and Post Base Trim/Skirts. It's all super easy to install with the instructions they provide.

In order to get the porch looking like an extra "room" to our home we need to decorate the space and add some layers. For this porch that meant I wanted the decor out here to give people a glimpse of what to expect when they walk in our home.

We flanked our front door ceramic blue and white ginger jar style Ceramic Stools and put out a chic Doormat that works perfectly with the decking.

The perfect home decor accessory is always flowers in my opinion. Fresh flowers will never go out of style. They are a classic. For this space, we wanted flower boxes at the windows and then added a flower bed at the base of the deck.

I love the Flower Boxes we picked out. They are available in black, brown and white and are made out of polyethylene which means they stand the test of time outside. They also have a self-watering feature where you can fill it with water, which is amazing because I can be a bit forgetful when it comes to plant care.

It's time to have friends and family over to enjoy your beautiful new outdoor room!