Front Porch

When we bought our home, we knew there was a problem with one of the front porch supports.

I had to move a few rose bushes from in front of the porch, just so we could even get a good look at the problem.

Once exposed, we hired a contractor to come in and fix it up for us.

A couple of the roses that need to go!

Roses are gone, now to get rid of the plastic lattice

Ahhh.... look at that! A quick fix by the previous owner in hopes the support didn't fall over completely

The sono-tube foundation wasn't put low enough in the ground and it has fallen over

Scott and I have placed a new support, our quick fix until we can hire someone to come and put new footings

Both old sono-tube footings are gone, new ones on their way in

Our contractor found an old foundation in this area, which is why the sono-tubes couldn't be placed low enough in the ground the first time. Our contractor had his work cut out for himself. But success, we have new footings!

Waiting for the concrete to cure

A now our front porch won't fall down!

We have discovered that the front porch stairs are in need of replacement. The stringers are built right into the concrete step at the base and are rotting, and they are attached at the top, with vertical pieces of plywood that is now starting to fall apart. The concrete pathway from the driveway to the steps has also sunk down, and we believe it is hollow underneath it. At the edge we can push a stick underneath it and when you walk on it, it sounds hollow.
This fall we will look at getting a new concrete pathway and then re-do the stairs and then re-do the surround at the base of the porch. I hope not to put back the plastic white lattice... stay tuned to see what we end up doing.