Is Wood the Only Material for an Outside Floor on a Victorian Porch?

Wood Floor

• Wood was the surface of choice for most Victorian homes. However, foot traffic, wear and tear and exposure to the elements took their toll on these porches, and few original wood porches remain. Victorian porches rotted and deteriorated, starting around the outer edges where blowing rain soaked into the ends of the boards. Deterioration accelerated when homeowners deferred maintenance and let the floor on the paint crack and peel. The most desirable renovations replace a painted wood Victorian porch floor with original material -- painted wood.

Other Materials

• Although most Victorian homes were made of wood, in some parts of the country, builders made Victorian houses of brick, stone and masonry. Some of the porch floors on large, masonry homes were made of stone covered with ceramic tile. Some of the tile patterns that Victorians used on porches included geometric patterns with decorative borders around the edges. However, a homeowner should not use masonry or ceramic tile for a porch floor if his home is not made of stone or masonry.

Porch Steps

• Although brick is an acceptable finish for the porch floor if the house uses stone or masonry, builders never used brick for Victorian porch steps. Porch steps for a Victorian home should be made from wood or stone. Homeowners who undertake the restoration of a porch should try to find photographs that show what the exterior of the home looked like when it was new so they can copy the location and appearance of the original porch steps. Talking to long-term residents in the neighborhood may help identify sources of information.

Porch Lighting

• Using the right materials for the porch floor and steps is a good start for a Victorian porch restoration. When purchasing lighting, preservationists should resist the urge to purchase Victorian-style light fixtures. Victorian homes were built without exterior porch lights, so adding a porch light to a Victorian home necessarily interferes with the original design. Rather than installing a fixture made in the Victorian style, preservationists recommend installing a plain, flush-mounted light in the porch ceiling. Using a porch light that doesn't call attention to itself is in keeping with original Victorian style.