We began this project to redo our front porch surround last year. It’s not totally finished, but it’s at a point I thought I’d share it with you.
The house originally came with an enclosure around the little front porch/patio area that made it feel like you were behind bars, doing time for a crime you didn’t commit. We took a saw to the original porch cover and provided some breathing space in it, but it always felt like an uncomfortable retrofit. As the termites dealt a terminal blow to the first enclosure, I developed this completely reworked design, sort of a deconstructed patio cover, with openings through the front screening panel, as well as an open, incomplete canopy overhead.
This shows the shelter from the front of the house. The big window cut into the screen lets you see out into the neighborhood, while not making you feel caged.
Another front view, approaching from the side of the house…
And a last shot from the roof, showing the partial covering overhead. Many of days are overcast, and we really would prefer sun over shade most days. This reduced cover shelters the big main window and front door, but lets more light in than an edge-to-edge cover.
The new wood needs to season just a little bit before the final finishing, and the old wood will need to be scrubbed to clean it a bit. But once the finish is on, it should really look great. I’m pleased!
Main materials: pressure-treated lumber for the support structure (painted black, to fade into the background); ipe hardwood lumber for the slats; exposed stainless steel screws for fastening the slats. The ipe hardwood is potentially the least green component of this project. Although my local lumber supplier is assuring its users that their ipe “is harvested from professionally managed sustainable forests,” some of my research is now saying that the claim just may be a crock of greenwashing. Ugh.
Choosing sustainable materials for an outdoor project is challenging. There are interesting discussions you can wade into, including an introductory Sustainable Decking Solutions post that’s worth a look. If you must use ipe, a supplier like AltruWoods can supply FSC certified lumber for a project, and might have been the better choice for getting materials for this project.
Whatever you do, reducing the amount of materials you use is a beginning. The post above recommends that “[o]ne green building idea with a lot of merit is treating wood as a luxury. Trees help the planet the most when they’re alive and globally, the acreage per forest is dwindling rapidly. Using wood as a common structural and outdoor finish material is not a long-term sustainable practice.” Good advice.
How do you all approach trying to be greener in your outdoor projects? I suppose one excellent alternative to a patio cover would have been to plant a tree. It’s a concept our grandparents would have signed on to…
James, I love this! What an innovative way to highlight an entry. Very California cool. You should send it to Sunset!
I haven’t been to visit in a while apparently. I still have the mental image of the periwinkle, yellow and red phase… I like this better!
Planning. It’s a concept I need to embrace, but I haven’t quite gotten there yet.
It looks very nice. For sure the partial shade/sun effect of the slats works quite well. Good job!
Thanks, Susan. An aunt sent us Sunset for years and I think some of the Sunset look has stuck.
Jenny, that must have been the late 80s/early 90s when the world was a much more colorful place. The current project was way more exacting work than a few gallons of paint, and required a few more construction chops than we had 20 years ago.
Tina, thanks so much. You seem to have the best shade solution of all–trees. Though it sounds like you might a couple fewer so you could grow a few more plants.
This *is* “California cool,” as Susan wrote, and it’s a look that’s increasingly popping up in central Austin neighborhoods as well. I love it. You did a great job. But what, no “before” pictures so we can really be wowed by the changes you made? 🙂
That’s a really nice looking structure. I’ve always liked that style. I think you’re right on in reusing some elements. That’s how I try to stay green in our outdoor projects but I haven’t figured out a green way to finish off our backyard fence.