The Front Porch Beautification Project

I love the little front porch on this house.  And it was in pretty decent shape.  But as we started to update all the other finishes around it, the ‘while we’re at it’ syndrome hit us.  The floorboards had gouges and splinters, the railing was the wrong period and the steps were a bit wonky.  So 'while we're at it', we decided to update it to look as nice as the rest of the exterior.

We decided to give it a facelift.  As you can probably guess, this facelift was a little more than skin deep!  The guys updated the framing with joist hangers and modern building practices.  It included adding some new substructure, so the deck can be‘picture framed’, to give it a more polished appearance.

The first step was new decking.  While I’m a fan of composite decks for their low maintenance, I just couldn’t bring myself to put plastic floorboards on this antique house.  So we opted for mahogany decking – you can’t beat the beauty of natural wood on an old house!  

Updating the framing to meet current building code

The steps are 'picture framed' to provide a more finished edge 

Underneath, we wanted to use traditional lattice like we found on the house when we started (it also helps deter critters from living under there).  But since this is all close to the ground and will get splashed in the rain, we used a PVC product that can’t rot and will look great for many years.  It will be painted, so it will still look traditional.

Meranti is naturally decay resistant, but we added this oil to enhance it's beauty

 

The next step was the railing, with the antique balusters I spent so many weeks working on.  We modeled the design on other railings in the greater Portland area. They include the tri-color paint scheme that we’ve used on the rest of the exterior.  

 

The final step is to reinstall the brackets that were on the porch.  I’m not convinced they’re original to the house – but used them as a style guide for the rest of the brackets we added to the house.  And they are in good shape (under 50 coats of paint!), so we will reinstall them - after I get them cleaned up.

Look how close the rings are on this wood!!!  These are old! 

The result so far?  I’ll let you be the judge, but I’m pretty pleased with the first impression this will create as someone enters the home. And of course that ‘new’ antique front door is a big part of the overall look! 

The newel posts are still a work in progress

It's changed so much in the last 6 months! 

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