I need to completely rebuild the (covered) front porch for our 1870's
Italianate clapboard house.
I am looking for 1 or more books for the following two purposes:
1. Basic construction plans, tips & techniques for constructing the
bones of the porch. This should not be too style dependent. I am
looking mostly for general rules & codes for choosing the spacing and
size/span of the various beams, joists, posts, and footings. Also,
best practice suggestions on how to attach & flash the ledger, etc.
I need to first draw up a plan that will pass muster with my local
building department.
2. Design ideas for the railings, roof support posts, and trim that
would be consistent with Victorians in general and with the Italianate
style in particular. For this I am focused on style suggestions more
than construction details
Any recommendations would be much appreciated!
Thanks
On May 13, 2:24=A0pm, blueman <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I need to completely rebuild the (covered) front porch for our 1870's
> Italianate clapboard house.
>
> I am looking for 1 or more books for the following two purposes:
>
> 1. Basic construction plans, tips & techniques for constructing the
> =A0 =A0bones of the porch. This should not be too style dependent. I am
> =A0 =A0looking mostly for general rules & codes for choosing the spacing =
and
> =A0 =A0size/span of the various beams, joists, posts, and footings. Also,
> =A0 =A0best practice suggestions on how to attach & flash the ledger, etc=
.
> =A0 =A0I need to first draw up a plan that will pass muster with my local
> =A0 =A0building department.
Find out from your local building department what code they've
adopted. Most likely it's the IRC or a slightly modified IRC. Your
local code and/or state code will have the design load information you
will need to size any structural elements. If that proves
problematic, your local building department should be able to tell you
the design loads. The Canadian Wood Council web site has a span
calculator, the rafter calculator will be fine, but I'm not sure if it
has 'porch' as one of the categories for floor loads. Your local
library will have Fine Homebuilding and other books by Taunton Press.
They're very good for flashing details and such. This Taunton book is
getting a bit long in the tooth, but it's still a good place to start:
http://books.google.com/books?id=3DT-mLmRlxC6wC&lpg=3DPA10&ots=3DjYYwtNMLsS=
&dq=3Dtaunton%20press%20porch&pg=3DPA22#v=3Donepage&q&f=3Dfalse
Google has the first couple dozen pages online.
It's very likely that your 1870's construction wouldn't pass muster
with today's code requirements, and you may be required to up-size
beams and such. Depending on where you are you may be required to
submit drawings sealed by an engineer or architect, so the building
department will not be going out of their way to help you design it
yourself. They'll just tell you to contact a design professional.
> 2. Design ideas for the railings, roof support posts, and trim that
> =A0 =A0would be consistent with Victorians in general and with the Italia=
nate
> =A0 =A0style in particular. For this I am focused on style suggestions mo=
re
> =A0 =A0than construction details
Google - Italianate porch detail, and click on the Images tab on the
results page. That'll give you hundreds of pictures and many leads to
more information.
R
> > I need to completely rebuild the (covered) front porch for our 1870's
> Really? Round here the Conservation Officer (who has responsibility for
> historic buildings) trumps the Building Inspector every time. Surely you
> don't have local Council technical know alls empowered to wreck heritage
> buildings ??? That sounds like a desaster.
>
> Tim W
We can't assume this is historic preservation for the benefit of
society. Considering the info given, I understand this home to be a
private home, with no historic relevance, and does not qualify for
historic conservation exceptions to updated codes, despite its age.
If this is the case, then I would think the local building inspector
has the last word.
I don't know codes or rules, so just speculating: I would also think,
if a homeowner wants to preserve a private dwelling to a large degree
of its original construction, local codes may have modification
clauses to help accommodate some aspects for original work.... not be
held to the letter of the updated code(s). Example: Construction
elements remain original, but aspects like fire safety, plumbing and
other safety/health factors updated. The only construction elements
required to be updated would be those that are required for
accommodating the fire, safety/health, etc. updates.
Sonny
"blueman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I need to completely rebuild the (covered) front porch for our 1870's
> Italianate clapboard house.
>
> I am looking for 1 or more books for the following two purposes:
>
> 1. Basic construction plans, tips & techniques for constructing the
> bones of the porch. This should not be too style dependent. I am
> looking mostly for general rules & codes for choosing the spacing and
> size/span of the various beams, joists, posts, and footings. Also,
> best practice suggestions on how to attach & flash the ledger, etc.
> I need to first draw up a plan that will pass muster with my local
> building department.
>
> 2. Design ideas for the railings, roof support posts, and trim that
> would be consistent with Victorians in general and with the Italianate
> style in particular. For this I am focused on style suggestions more
> than construction details
>
> Any recommendations would be much appreciated!
> Thanks
>
B:
A trip to a larger public library, the use of interlibrary loan
for volumes outside your system or a leap to
Amazon on a search for "Victorian" plus any
combination of "houses" "house plans" or "construction"
would probably yield great results in the "books"
category. Find the most interesting and best-rated
volumes and see what they tell you. Certainly
look at what Internet images catalogue.
As Rico said, you local building department would
be a first stop. Some cities have a modified set of
rules for houses in a "heritage district" or the like.
Check if you are.
There is a famous book "Painted Ladies" which I
believe deals with San Francisco Victorians. That
is one quakey place. Logic would say that they
build or re-build porches tough and in a way which
may give you inspiration.
Regards,
Edward Hennessey
"blueman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I need to completely rebuild the (covered) front porch for our 1870's
> Italianate clapboard house.
>
> I am looking for 1 or more books ....
>
> Any recommendations would be much appreciated!
I don't know much about American Architecture so I can't answer your query.
I do know something about old buildings so I will comment on the general
procedure.
First thing is conservation. It's too easy to say replace and rebuild. If
the building is old or rare it needs to be preserved in detail and that
means not knocking bits down and replacing them. It's never the same. The
old stuff will be lost forever. So the first thing is to look carefully at
repair, renovation, mending and strengthening what is there. If you really
need to make bits new they should be as carefully copied from the old as you
can do. You should avoid at all costs any imaginitive re-creation of what
you think 1870s carpentry was like. You will always be wrong.
If the porch or parts of it are actually missing and lost then you have no
choice but to try to recreate it. Again you should avoid all impulse to be
imaginitive or creative in any way. The key is to research and find patterns
and similar structures (as you are doing) hopefully close by and local but
most definitely strictly period. That means well within ten years of the
date of your house. Then copy.
Good luck
Tim W
"RicodJour" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
On May 13, 2:24 pm, blueman <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I need to completely rebuild the (covered) front porch for our 1870's
> Italianate clapboard house.
>
[...]
It's very likely that your 1870's construction wouldn't pass muster
with today's code requirements, and you may be required to up-size
beams and such.
Really? Round here the Conservation Officer (who has responsibility for
historic buildings) trumps the Building Inspector every time. Surely you
don't have local Council technical know alls empowered to wreck heritage
buildings ??? That sounds like a desaster.
Tim W
On Fri, 13 May 2011 14:24:15 -0400, blueman <[email protected]> wrote:
>I need to completely rebuild the (covered) front porch for our 1870's
>Italianate clapboard house.
>
>I am looking for 1 or more books for the following two purposes:
>
>1. Basic construction plans, tips & techniques for constructing the
> bones of the porch. This should not be too style dependent. I am
> looking mostly for general rules & codes for choosing the spacing and
> size/span of the various beams, joists, posts, and footings. Also,
> best practice suggestions on how to attach & flash the ledger, etc.
> I need to first draw up a plan that will pass muster with my local
> building department.
>
>2. Design ideas for the railings, roof support posts, and trim that
> would be consistent with Victorians in general and with the Italianate
> style in particular. For this I am focused on style suggestions more
> than construction details
>
>Any recommendations would be much appreciated!
>Thanks
"High Cliffs" by Eileen Dover had a chapter wherein she describes a
summer spent doing exactly that.
-TES