How to Add a Front Porch to Your Home

First impressions are important, and nothing introduces your guests or neighbors to your home better than the design of your front porch. It is common for porches to be standard in the home construction business these days, but there are occasionally some homes where this addition is absent.

If your home is missing a front porch, now is the time to start building one yourself. But what should you keep in mind when you are wanting to build a porch? These are some of the key moments and good practices you will need to know about during the building process.

Securing Building Permits

Before you begin constructing your deck, you will need to get the proper permits for building. You will need to contact your city officials to illustrate your experience and share your knowledge of city rules. Make sure you get this before you start building, otherwise you can receive fines depending on your city.

Getting a permit may seem irritating to some, but its purpose is to keep people safe—including you. If a structure is improperly built, it can cause your home to have flooding damage or a shaky foundation. It also ensures you are following zoning laws city planner’s make. Permits are essential.

Creating a Budget

The next thing you should consider before building your front porch is the amount of money you are willing to spend. Home improvement projects are expensive, so it is important that you map everything out before you take the plunge. Consider the materials you will need to build the deck, permit costs, labor costs (unless you plan on doing it yourself), and decorative purchases.

Planning this all out is exciting, and can raise your anticipation for the porch as a finished product. Budgeting will help you enjoy your investment more, as you will know exactly what you are spending in advance. This planning will go a long way.

Outdoor Lighting

Once your porch is finished, you will want to think about the best ways to light it up. While some lights are more practical than others, there can be creative lights you can purchase to make your front porch a spectacle. Good lighting can also highlight areas of your front porch and yard that you want to highlight to passersby.

These lights can also complement your outdoor furniture, whatever you choose. These designs can make your home pop. Whichever route you go, it is important to have some light source in the front of your home, as it not only looks good, but can be used for protection.

Adding Furniture

If you spend all this time creating a five-star porch, you will want to spend some of your time there! Adding fun outdoor furniture will enhance your home’s presentation and provide you a nice place to relax. There are a few things to consider when selecting furniture.

Pay attention to the weather in your area, and select furniture accordingly. Extreme temperatures and humidity can cause permanent damage to wood furniture. As such, they are not usually the best outside choice. You also might want furniture that is easy to bring inside if you live somewhere that rains and snows often.

Creating Shade

Planning out areas to provide your front porch with shade is a great practice to adhere to. While it might not seem like a big deal, shade on your porch can protect your home from the sun, keeping things cooler indoors. It is also very pleasant for the days when you want to stay outside.

There are several ways to “create” shade near your home, and some of them are not immediate solutions. Planting a tree in your front yard can help prove a superb shady protection. Planting hedges and bushes can also guard your home from the sun’s rays. If necessary, you can also get umbrellas too.

Gardening Plots

Keeping your home cool is not the only reason to plant shrubs and trees, though. Your home can have an excellent presentation if you leave space near your front porch for gardening. While this is not crucial to the building of your front porch, it is something that you will want to consider.

If you are passionate about gardening, you should plan out what you are going to plant. This can give your home extra style and give your own personal touch to your front porch.

Security Installations

Once you have built your porch, you should think about how to best protect your property—including the furniture items you have sitting on your front porch. Thankfully, there are a lot of security devices and companies you can turn to. Having some of these will be a great investment, as thieves are much less likely to target your home knowing a camera might catch them in the act.

On top of that, there are also alarms that can sound—deterring potential thieves from even trying to walk to your front door. Even keeping your front porch well lit can make your home less of a target.

Add Decoration

Adding decoration can turn the average front porch into one other people gaze at longingly. While, again, this isn’t essential by any means, it is important to think about how your porch looks—especially if you are wanting to sell it in the future. There are plenty of great porch decorating ideas online. Pinterest is another great place to do some personal research.

Use what you have first. If you have gardening skills or nice furniture, you might not even want to add much more décor. However, decoration can give your home that personal finishing touch you are looking for. You can also adjust decorations based on the different times of year, which can be fun.

Your front porch is something you should be proud of. While there are a lot of things you should consider when building and designing, make sure you start by planning it out right and acquiring the proper permits. You then can add your own personal flair through the decorations and furniture. By doing this, you will make your porch the perfect investment.