Any country house will be transformed if it is complemented by a beautiful porch with original railings and a reliable canopy. You can equip the building with different types of structures, each of which can become its decoration.
Popular designs
The porch can be very different - simple or non-standard, open or closed, with or without a roof. But the main rule of choice should be a harmonious ratio of the parameters of the main building and the platform with steps. Only in this way the entrance porch will complement the look of the house, and not spoil it. In the standard version, it has several steps and a small platform, which often acts as a terrace or veranda. Depending on the design features, the porch can be:
- attached: it is designed as a simple platform located in front of the entrance to the house, if the building is wooden, it is recommended to attach the porch directly to the log house;
- built-in: in this version, the porch is built along with the house, which is fixed in the project.
Proven are designs in the form of a covered area with a canopy. If you want to decorate a beautiful front entrance, the arrangement of the porch should be given closer attention. In this case, you can use two-flight stairs with intermediate platforms, which are complemented by a railing or a visor.
What design?
The design of the porch can be very different, depending on many factors. Someone likes a simple design using wooden balusters, while someone likes to surprise and chooses openwork railings with wrought iron elements. Since the porch is an external extension, it can be supplemented with a canopy, the supports of which will be concrete, brick, wooden elements. The canopy will not only complement the overall exterior composition, but also protect the steps from external factors.
How to choose?
Which porch design to choose? We offer some of the most popular destinations:
- porch flowing into a terrace: if the size of a country house allows, you can always build not only the entrance to the housing, but also a full-fledged outdoor recreation area, but under a canopy;
- in two-story mansions, the porch is often combined with a balcony, while the main decorative elements - railings and balusters - are made in the same style;
- stone or brick extension can be supplemented with other materials - plastic, glass, making it easy to create a certain facade ensemble;
- you can emphasize the integrity and unity of the composition with color - for example, pick up beautiful railings for a porch with black forging and repeat it in the design of supports or a visor.
In any case, the design should be thought out in such a way that the exterior of the buildinglooked harmonious.
Popular Solutions
You can use a variety of ideas for your porch design. So, the classic is always in fashion, which involves strict and seasoned lines. The classic is expressed in the installation of a gable canopy, the porch itself is often decorated with columns and railings with original balusters.
Traditional Russian style involves the presence of ornate patterns, carved balusters, and all elements are made of wood. Proponents of the European style prefer neat designs of the correct form with restrained lines.
Design Features
The porch is a seemingly compact extension, but its construction must be recorded in the corresponding project. It is developed taking into account the material from which the house is built, the climatic conditions in which it is operated. Parameters such as the proportions and dimensions of the house are also important, because the size of the porch should be in harmony with the main appearance and physical parameters of the building.
Standard porch design involves attention to a number of factors that relate to constructive solutions. When designing, the shape of the extension is taken into account:
- Rectangular and square is the easiest option, as it requires a flat area to build.
- L-shaped is most often used in the construction of a terrace. That is, according to the project, it turns out that the porch smoothly turns into a terrace, which is located along one of the walls. This solution is convenient becauseavailable space, you can arrange a summer kitchen or a recreation area.
- Round and semicircular porch is the most effective option, allowing you to jointly arrange both the platform and the steps of the house in the form of a circle.
When drawing up drawings, it is important to pay attention to the foundation. The depth of its foundation depends on the depth at which the residential building itself is laid. If a strip foundation is chosen, it can be combined with the main one. An independent foundation is easier to build, but there is a risk that cracks form between the house and the porch as it shrinks.
Important: the design must be based on generally accepted standards that regulate the height of the porch fence (from 0.8 m) and the clearance between vertical elements (up to 0.1 m).
Open or closed?
An important point in the design is to decide whether the porch will be open or closed. With the open version, the entrance to the house is simply steps that are not limited by either partitions or walls. An enclosed porch is chosen if there is a need to separate the interior living space from a busy road or street noise. In this case, the design is a porch with a dressing room, where you can change shoes, leave things.
A simple canopy can be erected over a closed porch, or a canopy can be built. Such a complex will already act as a covered porch, protected from above. The closed porch is protected from all sides and acts as a kind of vestibule leading to the house. It is advisable to choose such configurations according to severalreasons:
- the room will be protected from the sun, rain, snow, dirt,
- roof, continuing the roof of the house, will give harmony to the entrance group.
Another option for arranging a porch is a terrace, that is, an extended version of an open area. It is chosen for large country houses. When drafting a porch, it is imperative to indicate what materials it will be built from. There are actually a huge number of options, and they are all very interesting.
From wood
The wooden porch looks beautiful against the backdrop of a house made of logs, profiled timber. Lovers of rustic style choose just such a design. Wood is a unique material that is easy to work with, creating a variety of design solutions. The only caveat is the mandatory impregnation of wood to protect it from destruction due to external factors.
A beautiful wooden porch is a good solution for any home, especially if it is decorated with carved elements. Once the structure has been erected, the platform with steps can be finished in various ways, such as colored mosaic-based glazing.
From concrete
The concrete porch looks monumental and powerful. The solid structure is durable, but only if it is built taking into account the requirements of SNiPs. The process of creating such a porch involves the use of a wooden formwork into which a concrete mixture is poured. The formwork is created from durable boards that will withstand concrete. The mixture is created from cement grade M400, theresand, crushed stone or any other filler is added. A frame is created on the facade of a wooden house, where the finished mixture is poured. After drying, the boards are removed, and the concrete porch is ready for use.
By the way, it is worth remembering that a round concrete or brick porch requires a foundation at a sufficient depth - below the freezing level. Otherwise, the base of the extension will quickly collapse under the influence of moisture, and cracks will appear.
How to build?
To make the porch strong, it is advisable to build it at the stage of building a house. In this case, the structure will be protected from deformation and cracking, since the extension and the main building will have a common foundation and waterproofing.
But any porch - made of wood, concrete, metal - can also be erected as a separate extension after calculating the dimensions of the future extension. To build a porch, you need to follow a few steps:
- Think over drawings in which you need to decide on the shape of the extension, its size and location on the facade of the building.
- Establishing the foundation. It is necessary if construction is carried out in areas where it often rains and frosts. If there is no foundation, the porch will eventually deform and warp. Depending on the type of construction, the foundation can be either strip or slab.
- The foundation is supplemented from above with a sand or gravel cushion, then with a reinforcing frame to createwhich can be used with metal fittings with a diameter of 10-12 mm.
- The prepared structure is poured with concrete and rammed.
- To create a beautiful porch, you need to think about what the steps will be like. They are built from bricks and blocks, and additionally finished with a number of materials.
If the porch is closed, you can build brick walls. But the masonry must be waterproofed. Protective operations play an important role, as a closed vestibule will serve as a reliable barrier to precipitation from entering the premises.
How steps are created
Steps in the porch play an important role. When installing, you need to pay attention to ensure that the extension is not only solid, but also smooth and neat. Before installing the steps, a site is prepared based on the drawings. Then the flooring is nailed, the steps are fixed. If the design of the porch is complex, then you will have to prepare all the elements - ledges under the risers, tread - in advance and assemble them before the construction of the extension. Otherwise, alterations may easily be required if the porch is not assembled correctly.
What roof?
It is very easy to create a beautiful porch if you add it to the original roof. It is necessarily attached to the facade in order to prevent possible deformations as the extension is used. In the simplest version, the roof is created in the form of a wooden structure based on a supporting tier of timber, which is installed around the entire perimeter of the extension.
The second popular option is a one-slope roof, which includes a truss system and roofing material. To create a harmonious space, the interior of the porch is often finished.
