Composite Front Porch Floor Design & Benefits in DC
Like many historic row homes here in Washington DC, today we’re looking at a row home front porch floor where the flooring has been replaced with a composite deck board. The materials used here are very similar to the typical type of materials we use on regular backyard decks, particularly when a non-natural material is preferred. Synthetic boards are similar to natural materials but have more consistency in their shape and form and resist the elements much better. In this particular example, as you can see below, the deck, although modern is an older installation.
New installations always look close to perfect and brand new, they don’t have the signs of aging and fading. Here, in this example, you can see there is a bit of fading at the surface of the composite deck boards because after many years of exposure to the ultraviolet light naturally found in sunlight, the color has faded slightly. The deck still looks pretty good, it hasn’t faded significantly or to the point that it looks like they it’s old and or beyond it’s useful lifespan. But there is a difference, brand new boards do look brighter.
<span”>Here, in the next picture below, you can see the full span of the porch. Like a typical backyard deck, this porch is a perfect area for seating. The only difference is though that backyard decks can generally be a bit larger and allow or accommodate a bit more space for a table for eating and gathering and or entertaining with friends and family. Here though, this front porch works to allow for a spot to relax outdoors and enjoy nature and the elements.
Historically, before the advent of indoor air conditioning, the residents of Washington DC used their front porches and back porches and decks much more than they do today. People today, generally spend a lot more time indoors than they did in generations past. The difference is so extreme that it affects our lifestyle completely. In historic times, people would often sleep on the back porches because the temperatures inside of the house were so warm that it would be very uncomfortable and hard to sleep while sweating the night away.
This type of deck configuration and orientation is sometimes referred to as a breadboard style because unlike a simple one direction layout of the deck boards, the front edge is terminated with a perpendicular board that conceals the cut edges of each of the individual main, middle, field area deck boards. Those deck boards do not have a consistent profile, and when you look at the cut-end, they appear to be a manufactured synthetic material.
They are in fact manufactured and not natural, although they include some natural wood byproduct, they’re not forest product themselves. This is really apparent that when you look at the cut edge because the cut edge shows a profile where it’s obvious that the boards are manufactured. The breadboard orientation or configuration with the containing trim boards at the front and sides conceals the cut edge.
From a lower angle, you can see the edge or bullnose, that is created at the front end of the deck or front porch. A bullnose is a relatively common type of profile or contour of a stair tread or even countertop or table top. Unlike a sharp 90° edge, with sharp corners at the top and bottom of the board edge, here the edge is a bit more rounded which is forgiving and softer. This contour is a bit more eased so there is a more graduated transition.
This graduated transition helps in a few ways. First, it’s is gentler on bare feet and or shoes that are not as rigid and tough to absorb impact. Walking up a set of stairs with a sharp 90° edge can actually hurt a little bit. If someone were to slip and fall in those steps, they could actually injure themselves because a 90 degree corner on a relatively hard material can hurt.
Secondly, the eased contour can actually help the boards themselves because as people come up and down the steps every single day and especially when they drag heavier things across the steps such as suitcases, mail carts, grocery bins and things like that, the stairs themselves take a considerable impact and 90° corners have a higher tendency to break or sheer off at the edges then eased or rounded corners like this.
Use a contractor who understands and cares about doing things right. Always, feel free to reach out to us here at Dupont Decks and Patios. We are happy to help with almost all steps of the deck building and design process. A backyard and outdoor space should make a significant, positive impact on both quality of life and home value. We can help with more than just decks, we also build patios, pergolas, ramadas, awnings, gazebos, arbors, and privacy fences.
Let us know about your ideas and talk to us if you have questions about possibilities. We are happy to participate in improving your outdoor space and quality of life! Ready to start your deck or patio project? Call us at (202) 774-9128 or visit https://dupontdeckspatiosdc.com to learn more and contact our team through our convenient online form.
