How to Design a Back Porch Roof

A back porch adds square footage onto your home because it extends your living area into the outdoors. Adding a porch roof not only adds architectural interest, but it makes the porch a more functional space, providing shelter from sun and rain. If you're installing a roof over your porch, carefully consider the design to create a feature that ties in with the look of your home and doesn't simply look like an add-on.

Graph paper

Instructions

- 1
  Assess the design of the back of your home and the porch. Look at examples of porch designs in your neighborhood, in magazines and books and on the Internet.
- 2
  Consider the slope of the existing roof. Include eaves, gutters and overhangs that coordinate with the style of those already installed on the roof of the home. The roof must drain water efficiently away from the house.
- 3
  Incorporate that tie-in with the look of your home's exterior. For example, if you have a Craftsman-style home, consider posts that are made from natural wood or stone veneers, or if you have a Romanesque-inspired home, opt for marble posts to tie into the look. Pick roofing tiles that match the roof on the rest of the home.
- 4
  Sketch out the design of your porch roof on graph paper. Draw an image of the porch and the back of your home. Draw a roof over the porch that incorporates the elements you want to feature to gain an idea of what the roof will look like.

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