If you like it, put a roof on your Columbus porch

Ask any self improvement guru and they will tell you to celebrate the things you love about yourself and then identify and take positive steps to change the things you don’t. We have a similar approach to assisting our customers in designing their new outdoor living spaces. We ask them to tell us what they love about their house and what they want to change to create their fabulous new Columbus deck, porch or patio.

This Westerville porch project had, literally, a good base to start from. The house boasted an existing variegated stamped concrete pad for a patio. The trouble wasn’t the pad, it was in great condition. The problem was the punishing sun hitting the west side of the house nearly every afternoon during the summer. Our mission: create an open porch working around the existing pad that didn’t block the many windows adorning the rear of their lovely home.

We opted for a combination gable roof to accommodate the windows. One gable faces the side and one faces the back. Both offer plenty of height to allow for amenities like lights, ceiling fans and outdoor speakers. The vaulted interior cathedral ceilings are beautifully appointed in cedar tongue and groove planks. The owners liked the look of a beam ceiling as well, so we added decorative beams perpendicular to the planks that are painted to match both the exterior of the home and the paulownia-wrapped pillars.

We wanted to minimize the number of times that we cut through the concrete pad so that we wouldn’t risk damaging it and could minimize project costs. Our design demanded just seven columns to hold up the entire structure. Of these, only one was drilled through the slab. The pillars were constructed from Unilock in Brussels Sierra. The pillars were important from a practical standpoint because they allowed us to give us lots of elevation for the high roof. From a design perspective, they just look fabulous. They complement the patio as well.

I’d like to include a note about paulownia, the wood we used to wrap the pillars and beams. This variety is unfamiliar to many Americans, but it is, in fact, native to North America. It is very lightweight for its strength and easy to work with. It’s also very fast-growing (as much as 20 feet in one year!) so it is highly regarded for being eco-friendly. It is resistant to rot and insects so it is useful for many outdoor applications, but is too soft to use for most horizontal applications like flooring. It was a perfect match for this project and can be painted any color.

If you’re thinking about adding an outdoor living space to your Columbus backyard, give us a call to see how we can make creating your dream backyard an enjoyable experience, start to finish. The consultation is completely free. Call (740) 879 – 3730, visit our website at columbus.archadeck.com or email us at westcolumbus@archadeck.net. We look forward to your call.

Author: archadeckofcolumbus

I began my association with Archadeck in 2001 when I was working for a subcontractor that Archadeck of Columbus was employing for patio installations. I had been working in the Landscape/Hardscape industry for quite a few years at the time and immediately noticed a difference in how Archadeck operated in comparison with other deck companies that we worked with. Over the years of working with Archadeck on numerous projects, large and small, I came to realize the importance of what they were selling; beautiful designs, top-notch craftsmanship and a world class customer experience. This is what drove me to start working for Archadeck in January of 2011 and eventually buying the company in 2016. My wife, Amber, and my son, Logan, could not be happier to be a part of such a wonderful organization. We look forward to the future as we build the outdoor living environments our customers dream of with the “world class” service they deserve! View all posts by archadeckofcolumbus