We have a screened sun porch on one side of the house (we live on east coast). It is 12X12. We want to make it in to longer so it would be 12X16 three season porch. The floor of existing porch has concrete and some kind of tiles on the top. What would be the best way to extend the floor to 16 ft from 12 ft? One of the contractor said that he can use Sono tubes but I am not too comfortable with it. Can he just pour concrete on the ground level up to the existing floor? Also, which is most economical and safe way to do it?
Thanks
Discussion Forum
Discussion Forum
Up Next
Video Shorts
Featured Story
You don't have to sacrifice historical elements of a house in the name of energy efficiency.
Featured Video
Highlights
"I have learned so much thanks to the searchable articles on the FHB website. I can confidently say that I expect to be a life-long subscriber." - M.K.
Replies
I’m assuming the addition will require a new roof or extending old roof? If so, the contractor is right. You need to have proper footing depth to accommodate frost/thaw cycles. If you place roof posts directly onto a concrete slab the roof will move with the slab during freezing and thawing events. You’ll need to install footings at porch post locations at proper footing depth for your area and isolate that from the pour of the slab. You need to assume the slab is going to move and want to prevent posts from moving with it. The other more expensive option is to install continuous footing around perimeter of porch and pour slab on top of that to prevent slab from moving. You can place roof posts directly on slab if you do this option.