How to Redo Porches

Sketch the entire house to see how porch roof lines can change. Draw a tiny porch roof larger, for example, or figure out if taking off a porch roof entirely will open up patio space. Use home design books and porch magazines to get ideas.

Get a building permit to remodel. Visit your local building authority office to get a list of building codes and restrictions. Find out, for instance, if you can build a porch closer to a neighbor's property line in the remodel process. Don't assume it's okay to extend a porch, because it's not an enclosed structure.

Plan the basic shape of each porch and design any enclosures. Construct the framing you will need using 2-by-4-inch boards to turn a porch into a sun room. Leave openings for the doorway and windows. Go over ideas for using energy-efficient windows to surround part of the porch to enclose it as a glass room. Look into purchasing a sunroom kit for part of the porch area or all of it.

Plan foot traffic around a porch conversion. Use the back door of the home while the front porch is under remodel, for instance. Schedule the makeover during summer months when children are out of school or during fall months when they are in school, if this works best for your family.

Get a new porch roof and side enclosures into place quickly. Don't allow a lot of rain to saturate porch attic joists, for example, because this will cause mold growth inside the room. Work on the interior as time permits, but never drag out the process of getting fresh wood structuring under cover. Keep in mind that mold is a known health hazard.

Install roofing materials that fit with the rest of the house. Use asphalt shingles to match the rest of the house, as one option. Install copper roofing on a new front porch, although you have shingles on the rest of the house, as a possible choice. Use cedar shakes on small porch roof areas on the side or back of the house along with shingles on the rest of the house.

Include appropriate landscaping and amenities. Install new brass light fixtures on a porch, for example, and porch furniture. Landscape the porch border to fit with the entire house landscaping. Install small evergreen bushes surrounded by mulch around a front porch, as a possible option. Use hanging baskets of greenery to accent a porch as well.