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Choose a Porch Columnn Layout (3 pics to vote on)

EngineerChic
11 years ago

We're getting close to needing to place the support columns for the porch. The inspiration for our remodel was a symmetrical Cape where the door was centered on the house. Our door (and stairwell) are NOT centered. So we've been adjusting things as we can to get the appearance of balance.

The beam along the front of the porch is oversized, so we can move the columns away from the posts a little bit. These are the options I've come up with so far.

Option A: Centers the porch columns between the upstairs windows and almost centers the stairs on the door (it's cheated a little bit off center):

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Option B centers the columns and stairs on the house, despite the position of the door and upstairs windows.

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Option C centers the columns on the house and the stairs on the door.

{{gwi:21781}}

The size of the white lines for the columns and railing is approximately right. The columns are 8" square, the supports for the railings are 4" square. But the pickets on the railing are probably showing up thicker than in real life.

I've stared at this so long I'm not sure I even see the difference any longer, but when I had a strong opinion I liked the first option best. Now I could just as easily pick option C. Option B is the only one I'm really not happy with.

Thoughts? What am I missing?

(Disclaimer - this was posted way down on a thread on the Landscaping Design Forum as well, but there seems to be little or no overlap in readership ...)

Thanks in advance!

Comments (10)

  • kirkhall
    11 years ago

    I like option 1.

  • _sophiewheeler
    11 years ago

    Option A would be the best compromise as you show it, but the look will also change when you add in the railing for the stairs. You might want to mock that up as well. It will de-emphasize the actual location of the front door and emphasize the railing and stairs more. I'm thinking that with the stair railings added that Option B may end up being the winner. It's only directly in front of the home that you will get the head on view. Look at it from the way that you most often approach the home.

    I also have to say that I find the stairs a bit dinky in proportion. I think if you were to widen them to the entire width between the two columns in B, I do believe the "problem" would go away entirely. And it would be a much more gracious look. It feels cramped and a bit claustrophobic now with the more narrow stairs pictured. By the time you add in the railings, it will feel even smaller.

  • _sophiewheeler
    11 years ago

    Option B1. Forgive the poor photo alterations.

  • EngineerChic
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the additional mock up, I do like that. Our stairs are set at 7' wide because the gate that matches the railing is only available as 3.5' or 7' wide. So that dictated the width. The house is only 34' wide.

    If we didn't need the gate to keep our dog on the front porch I would go with your version of B, though!

  • kirkhall
    11 years ago

    There is nothing wrong with full size stairs and railing/gate across the top to narrow them. I would be worried about making a long term decision (stair width) based on a fairly short term need (dog).
    Your inspiration picture also has nice wide stairs.

  • EngineerChic
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Not to be difficult, but do you think 7 feet is too narrow for stairs? Yesterday I stood on the porch and imagined the stairs being 11' wide and it felt ridiculous. It was too wide for this relatively modest cape.

    The dog is only 4 and our last dog that was this size was 16 when he died, so I figure we have 12 more years with this one (hopefully more). He's a long term part of our lives :)

  • _sophiewheeler
    11 years ago

    Stairs are meant to transition between one level and another. The higher the transition need, the wider the stairs need to be in order to feel proportionate and welcoming.

    I didn't do the math to see how wide this would be to work with your gate, but there is no real reason that the posts need to be placed equidistant from each other. You might have to bump up the headers or go to an engineered beam to span the longer distance, but I think altering their placement to be symmetrical in a different fashion can work here. It still leaves the centrally placed stairs as the visual focal point, removing the emphasis on the non symmetrically placed door.

  • dseng
    11 years ago

    Just an idea here - if you want to have the 7' opening between the posts... Could you use two gates? When I built the gates for our cedar fence I wanted to ensure that I had the ability to get small equipment into the yard and so built two 4' gates. One of them is essentially stationary and closed all the time, but when we open both we then have 8' clear space.

  • GreenDesigns
    11 years ago

    I'm sorry, but a gate will greatly negatively impact the whole appearance of the home. I wouldn't do it. No way. Nor would I plan the whole look of my home around such an arbitrary size. You need the larger steps and opening because of the height of the porch above grade. Or else put the opening and walkway at one end instead of close to the middle.

    I get that your dog is a major family member. My animals are also family members. But what I would suggest would be obedience training so that your dog knows "stay" when out on the porch with you off lead. If she cannot learn that, then she should only be on the porch with you on a long lead. No unsupervised time except in a back yard with a fence. Dogs can surprise you as to what they can learn if you challenge them and give them a "job"!

  • EngineerChic
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    The 7' gate is a double gate the way it's set up, it's two 3.5' gates that meet in the middle.

    Since it will match the railing, I think it won't look bad at all when it has to be closed. Most of the time it will be open.

    I do trust my dog in 99% of situations but not with squirrels. He is part terrier (at least the vet thinks so) and he really, really loves to chase squirrels. He is off-leash trained & we go for walks on trails & can call him back if he chases a squirrel or chipmunk, but the time delay between me noticing him going after a squirrel and calling him back could be long enough for him to get into the street. Our front yard is only about 50' deep & he's a FAST dog. He can cross that distance in a few seconds.

    The good news is that we are going to add the gate at a later time, so we have time to think about the overall effect before committing to that purchase.

    I think 7' is wide enough for the 5-6 steps we'll have there, though. The stairs will still appear to be significantly wider than they are tall.