No wonder they say that a house begins with a porch. The same can be said about the dacha. The porch is not just the entrance to the building. It can become a real decoration for your home. Building a porch in the country with your own hands will be much more pleasant and cheaper than resorting to the help of specialists. Fortunately, the choice of materials on the market is huge. It must be borne in mind that each of them has its own installation technique. You can learn more about how to build a porch in the country from this article.
Before taking on the installation of the porch, you must decide on the design and material that you need:
When choosing a material for a porch, it is necessary to take into account the architectural features of the facade of the building and the landscape of the territory. Do not use old concrete, damp bricks, raw wood or wood trimmings to build a porch. If the house is built of timber, then it is better to build the porch from wood. For a house made of concrete or brick, a porch made of concrete, brick or metal, respectively, is suitable. The porch can be round, square, rectangular, have one, two or more levels. The porch canopy can be made in the form of a regular visor, or you can build protection from all sides.
What a porch in the country can be like can be seen in the photo.
Laying the foundation
Before proceeding with the installation of the structure itself, it is necessary to fill the foundation, otherwise the service life of the porch will be short-lived. When pouring the foundation, it is recommended to take into account the following nuances:
It is not recommended to replace the foundation with concrete slabs. They can be damaged by melting snow or heavy rainfall. Choose the type of foundation depending on the soil, groundwater level, climatic conditions. Consider the weight and size of the porch structure when pouring the foundation. For dry soils, stone slabs on a sand substrate will be the best choice as a foundation. Even with a limited budget, do not save on the foundation, otherwise you will face a problem in the form of cracks and sprinkling of the facing material.
Foundation types
There are several types of foundation:
concrete pad;
columnar foundation;
strip foundation;
slab foundation.
Concrete pad
This type of foundation is suitable for the construction of simple structures made of wood and metal.
Stages of installing a concrete pad:
To lay the foundation, you need to dig a pit. Its depth depends on the depth of the building itself, to which the porch is attached, but most often it is somewhere around 30-40 cm.
A wooden formwork is installed in the pit, onto which a 10 cm layer of sand, broken brick or gravel is poured.
Now you can fill the bottom of the foundation with 3 cm of cement mortar.
The next step will be the installation of a reinforcing cage made of 12 mm thick rods.
Then the base of the foundation is poured with a concrete mixture consisting of cement, sand and crushed stone in a ratio of 1: 4: 4.
To avoid the formation of voids in the solution, it is necessary to pierce it with any thin object in different places.
You can now level the foundation surface. A reliable and durable foundation in the form of a concrete cushion is ready.
Column foundation
For a wooden porch, a simpler and cheaper, but less stable columnar foundation is suitable. Wooden stairs are supported by pillars that are driven into the ground. Several types of pillars are used:
concrete block;
monolithic block;
brick block.
Strip foundation
When installing the porch, which is built into the veranda, a strip foundation is used.
Stages of pouring a strip foundation:
First, markings are made and a trench is dug around the perimeter of the veranda.
Sand is poured into the bottom of the trench, and formwork is made of edged boards.
A support is made at the bottom of the trench from wooden 5 cm bars, which will serve as a support for the reinforcement.
The reinforcement of 12 mm rods is installed in the formwork, which is poured with concrete mortar.
The formwork can be removed one day after pouring.
2-3 weeks after pouring the foundation, you can mount the veranda itself.
Slab foundation
The slab foundation is poured under heavy structures - concrete or brick. It looks like a monolithic slab, which is poured under the entire area of the porch structure. The installation steps are exactly the same as for the concrete pad version. The depth of the pit depends on the depth of the foundation of the house itself, but not less than 50-70 cm. If you want to build a porch in the country with your own hands, do not forget to take into account all building codes:
In order for your structure to be even, you need to install it using a level and a plumb line.
When calculating the steps, keep in mind that the width of the tread should be at least 30 cm, and the height of the riser should be approximately 15-17 cm. The width is about 90 cm. It will be convenient for both children and adults to climb these steps.
Do not make the height of the stair railing less than 90 cm, it is not safe, especially for children.
Railings should be comfortable, carefully finished and polished so that they are comfortable to use.
When calculating the area of the visor, keep in mind that it should be wider than the porch itself in order to shelter it from precipitation.
Porch decoration
To give the porch a more beautiful and stylish look, they use finishing materials, the choice of which is huge on the market:
The steps and walls of the porch can be decorated with natural stone, plastic or special ceramic tiles.
Ondulin, natural and artificial tiles or siding are suitable for covering the visor.
Porch lighting
Since the porch is also used in the dark, it is necessary to provide lighting on it. The switch is best located immediately at the entrance. For greater convenience, the porch is equipped with motion sensors.
Porch level
To make it easier to enter the house from the porch, the latter is made on the same level as the first floor. The front door of the house opens outward, which is required by fire safety rules, so the porch area should be 5-7 cm below the bottom of the door being opened.
Porch installation
If you have already poured the foundation, you can proceed with the installation of the porch itself. Consider how to make a porch in the country, depending on the chosen material.
Wooden porch
A porch made of wood has one big advantage - it does not require additional finishing, while it looks picturesque, and is inexpensive.
How to mount a wooden porch:
The angle of inclination of a comfortable step is made in the range from 27 ° to 45 °.
The width of the step is at least 30 cm, the height is at least 17 cm.
Railing height - from 90 cm.
To install a wooden staircase, you will need:
Edged board for steps and stringers.
A bar for supporting the porch with a size of 80 x 80 mm.
Board 3 cm wide for the bowstring.
For the frame of the visor and the railing, you will need a beam of 50 by 50 mm.
Plank 2 cm wide to sheathe the visor.
After all the calculations, you can proceed to the installation of the wooden porch:
Supports are installed in pre-prepared pits 50 cm deep in the width of the site of the future porch.
To keep the supports as long as possible, lubricate the ends with automotive oil.
Now you need to put together a porch area. For this you need stringers and a bowstring.
One end of the stringer is attached to the upper platform, the other rests on a concrete pad.
Next, you can fill treads and risers.
Use bolts and nuts for fastening, self-tapping screws may loosen over time.
In the next step, you can start installing the railing. To do this, you need to mount the balusters on metal studs. Then, using bolts, handrails are attached to the balusters.
The installation of a wooden porch is completed by installing a visor.
Metal porch
The technology for building a metal ring is slightly different from installing a wooden porch.
To mount a metal porch, you will need:
Metal support 50 x 50 mm.
Metal corners and profile.
Wooden edged board.
Anti-corrosion varnish.
Protective decorative paint.
Profiled sheet or polycarbonate for the visor.
Welding machine.
Installation of a metal porch:
First, you need to install supports from a metal pipe, angle and profile at least 50 to 50 mm.
The next step will be to make the frame of the upper platform.
A metal corner or channel is used to make a bowstring.
The steps are made from a metal corner, as a result, a frame is obtained to which it is necessary to weld racks with a height of the riser.
Now the upper edge of the bowstring is welded to the resulting structure.
The next step is to screw the edged board to the corner.
The metal structure must be treated with a special anti-corrosion varnish, then a protective and decorative paint can be applied.
The installation of the metal porch is completed by installing a visor. The frame for it can also be welded from metal, into which a profiled sheet or polycarbonate can then be installed.
Concrete porch
If your summer cottage is built of stone, a concrete porch will suit it best.
To build a concrete porch, you will need:
cement;
sand;
crushed stone;
edged wooden board.
Installation of a concrete porch:
First of all, formwork is made from edged boards. If a large load is planned on the concrete porch, then it must be done using reinforcement made of metal rods (12 mm). For the construction of a porch with a normal load, you can do without reinforcement.
At the next stage, it is necessary to fill the frame with concrete, which is prepared from cement, sand and crushed stone (1: 4: 4). The best brand of cement for a strong and durable concrete porch is M200.
After pouring, the concrete must be leveled with an ordinary shovel.
To avoid deformation of the frame, you can strengthen it with wooden struts, which are attached to the formwork boards.
After about 3-4 hours, you can start to dismantle the frame. To do this, it is necessary to tap the formwork with a hammer. After that, you can start removing the boards. Do this carefully so as not to disturb the concrete structure.
Now that the frame is removed, you need to grind the steps and you can start finishing decorative work.
You can learn about the construction of a concrete porch by watching the video.
Block porch
Another of the inexpensive and reliable options for a porch in the country can be a block porch. For its construction, cinder blocks or expanded clay blocks are used. It is better not to take cellular concrete for construction, it actively absorbs moisture, and this leads to fragility. The most suitable block is 600 * 200 * 300 mm. It meets the requirements for the size of the steps - height 20 cm, depth 30 cm.
Installation of a block porch:
First, they mark the place on which the porch will stand.
The next stage is pouring the foundation.
Now you need to erect parapets from solid blocks, which are laid out with a spoon with bandaging the seams. The blocks are fastened together with concrete mortar.
For evenness of the masonry, a special cord is pulled between the parapets.
Then the parapet is filled with blocks, which are also fastened together with concrete mortar. This is how the first step is made.
In a day, the place behind the laid out step is covered with broken bricks or stones to the level of the step itself. Then you can start laying the second step. All the steps are laid out in the same way.
The last stage is laying the upper platform.
The installation of a block porch is completed with a cladding of tiles or wooden boards.
For the installation of a porch made of brick or stone, the same technology is used.
As you can see, it is quite possible to build a porch in the country with your own hands. The main thing is to take into account that, depending on the material used for construction, various technologies are used. For the construction of lighter structures made of wood and metal, the foundation can be filled with a lightweight and inexpensive one. Heavy ladders must be installed on solid and reliable foundations.
