Over the years since the house was built in late 1999, the back porch/deck, never having been treated with stain or paint, had become pretty disreputable looking. In addition, the steps down to the patio had been built with a weird height (5.5"): tread (11") ratio which caused me to stumble on them, going down the steps, frequently. Then, when I grabbed the handrails to keep from falling I was treated to splinters in my hands.
Here's what the back porch looked like last week (photo, below).
Tuesday, the workers tore out the porch. By yesterday, this (photo, below) is what the new porch looked like. Note that I had the step height to tread ratio increased to about 6.75" to 11", and added two feet in length to the left side of the deck.
On Tuesday, after tearing out the old porch, the workers poured some footings. They muttered around about how the new local building code changed how the support posts would be installed. Previously, support posts were set into the concrete. The workers could not tell me why the change had been made to the code. It took me a while to figure it out. I think the new configuration is to lessen damage caused by an earthquake. With all of the water injection (due to oil/gas extraction wells) within 100 miles of us, that is a good thing. We do have some hairline cracks in one brick and at the corners (inside the house) where walls meet. A photo of the "per code" installation is below.
Below is a photo showing how they improved the looks of the post by hiding the metal bracket behind wood.
I am very pleased with the whole back porch/deck installation. I hope that Hunky Husband is as pleased as am I. I like the materials, and the workers are thorough, knowledgeable (except about earthquake abatement!) crafts people. Tomorrow, I'll post about the replacement of the front steps.
Glad to see you enlarged the back porch during the replacement. It looks great and yeah, the step heights seem much better.
Posted by: bogie | October 22, 2017 at 05:58 PM
That porch looks great. Nice improvement.
Posted by: Ingineer66 | November 13, 2017 at 11:32 PM