Back Porch Project: Floor Part 2

 Continued from Part 1

So here's where we left off last time.

The porch floor was completed almost to the top of the old concrete porch. Before Dan could continue, he had to address two things:

• How to fasten the wood flooring to the concrete
• The levelness gap between the old porch and the new. The old porch slopes away from the house, while the new floor does not. 

Picture from last post.

Then there were questions about the porch roof posts and the downspout. 

Photo from January 2020, before
Dan replaced the knee braces.

The little roof is narrow and only there to keep the rain off your head when opening the back door. The posts sit on each edge of the concrete porch. Since we're extending the porch to the house, we wondered about the farthest post. It might be in the way; something to have to walk around when the new porch is finished. Both porch corners have a knee braces on the ends, so Dan wasn't sure we needed both posts. 

The remaining center post would have to be shortened because the floor will be raised by the thickness of the boards. Another detail to tend to.

The other item in question was the downspout. 

Photo from when we were just getting started.

To leave it he would have to cut the floor to accommodate it and he wasn't sure he wanted to do that. And then there was the idea of crawling around under the porch if the downspout needed maintenance. Instead, Dan decided he would move it to the other side of the porch roof where it can drain into the driveway. 

Decisions made, it was time to get to work. Here's what Dan did to install the wood boards over the old concrete porch. He made tapered shims. 

Violet

To fill in the space where the first concrete step made a hole, he fitted the board in the space as a joist with a long tapered end.

I have no idea if that description makes sense, but I think the pictures explain it better than me!

Gracie and Violet are playing ambush-and-pounce. That's Gracie on
the concrete, while Violet is below, hiding under the board floor.

The shims took several fittings and trimmings for snug placement. Once he was satisfied, Dan glued them in place with adhesive, weighted them with bricks, and let sit until the next day.

To install the boards, he predrilled holes with a concrete drill bit. 

Concrete screws were used to secure the boards in place. 

Adhesive flashing along the edge of the exterior wall.

So here it as at the moment, with a new porch post.

The new porch floor is very solid underfoot.

Cat trivia: One feature you might have noticed is our kitty door. I have to mention an interesting historical tidbit I picked up while listening to Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery on audiobook. He spent his early childhood as a slave on a plantation in Virginia. He noted that every house, from mansion to shack, every house had a cat door. Kitty doors are nothing new.

Porch railing is next.

Back Porch Project: Floor Part 2 © 2026

by Leigh at https://www.5acresandadream.com