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Can You Build a Shed with Porch Attached?

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Wouldn’t it be great if you could sit out on the porch on your shed? You could also use this covered area to store some items out of the weather and no to mention that shed with porch attached will add some design wows to your shed.

You certainly can build a shed with porch. One easy way to do this if you have a gable or gambrel roof is to use longer rafters on one side of the shed to make your porch roof. If you use trusses for your roof, you can attach rafters for the porch roof from the top plate of the shed. If you want your porch to be on one of the shorter sides, you can add a roof there.

You can even have a porch with a regular door on one end, and double doors on the other end of the shed to get your riding mower or other equipment in and out easily. Some people build a regular shed and enclose only half of it along the ridge board, using the other half as a porch or open storage.

If your shed is insulated and heated, you may even be able to use it as a small guest cottage when unexpected company shows up, and the porch makes it that much more inviting. Of course, the porch is a good place to take a break from work as well.

There are many plans available online with exact materials listed and measurements for everything provided, doing away with guesswork and figuring. They feature porches along both the long and short sides of sheds. Browsing through some of them might give you ideas for a type or placement of the porch you hadn’t thought of, so it’s worth the look.

Can You Add a Porch to a Shed?

It’s not a lot of trouble to add a porch to a shed if you have the right type of shed. You’ll need rafters, headers, a ledger board to attach the roof to your shed, 4 x 4s for support posts, roof covering, and ground anchors. All the wood should be pressure treated to withstand the elements. Ground anchors for the support posts can be constructed yourself or you can buy them precast with metal clips on top for attaching the posts. In my article The 7 Most Popular & Practical Shed Roof Designs you can get some ideas on the types of sheds roofs and see which ones can work for you.

Shed type – Of course, the type of shed you have will determine the feasibility of adding a porch. If you have an all-plastic shed, it won’t be suitable for attaching a porch. You may need some professional help or advice if your shed has corrugated metal siding as well. If you bought a pre-built shed with a stud framework, you still may want to check the stud spacing to make sure it is enough to carry the weight of an added roof. Some shed manufacturers save money by spacing out the studs a bit too far.

Special care must be taken to ensure that there is no place for water to seep in around fasteners when attaching the roof to your shed. In addition, if your shed is all metal and doesn’t have a wooden or metal framework inside for attaching the porch roof, you can’t just attach it to the metal siding.

Building codes – One consideration is local building codes. Before you start, you should check to see if you need a building permit or if there are specifications as to the roof slope. Many building codes specify a minimum slope, and you may find you have to build a shorter roof than you wanted to in order to satisfy the slope requirements. For more information on building codes read my article Do You Require a Building Permit For a Storage Shed?

Foundation – Another consideration is whether or not your local codes require you to have an actual foundation for the porch. Many lean-to designs are based on simple builds that just require posts to be set in concrete or attached to concrete piers at a certain distance apart, but your local codes may require more. You should check before you get started, in case they require a foundation which may make the whole porch project a bit too expensive.

How Do You Add a Porch Overhang to a Shed?

You can use the same size rafters as the shed and extend them on the long side, nailing your new rafters to the ends of the old ones. Remove any existing trim or fascia to uncover the rafter ends on that side.

You can nail the old rafters and their extensions together so that they both sit on the top plate or attach them to the end board, extending the existing overhang from there. Your support posts should sit no more than eight feet apart, so keep this in mind when planning your porch roof. If your shed is several years old, you may want to put new shingles on the whole roof when you’re done to make sure they all match.

For the anchors, you can use precast ones that will include metal clips for attaching your posts. Bury them according to recommendations. Another method is to bury the ends of your 4 x 4 posts about three feet into the ground and pour concrete in around them or pour your own concrete and set in clips for the posts.

Depending on the length of your porch roof, you may be able to use shingles. If it is too short for that, you can use roofing felt or corrugated metal. In any case, you should install metal flashing where the new roof meets the shed wall to keep any water from seeping through. Check out my article How Much Roof Overhang Should a Shed Have? for tips and ideas on using a wider roof overhang.

How Do You Add a Porch onto a Shed?

You can use a ledger board to attach the roof to the wall. This will allow you to install the porch on the short end if you want, and also to have the roof at just the height you like. It will also allow you to have a different roof slope if you want.

The ledger board is a 2 x 6 nailed into the wall studs. Since it supports the roof at the shed side, a narrower board may not be a good idea. Make sure the ends are at an even distance from either side of the shed. Attach your rafters to this ledger board. If your porch will extend no more than eight feet, you can use 2 x 4s for the rafters, otherwise, 2 x 6s are recommended. An end board fastens them all together.

Dig 12-inch-wide holes for your support posts about three feet deep. Pour in concrete, setting clips for your posts into the top of the concrete before it cures. You can also set your posts in concrete poured into the holes, making sure the tops of all the posts are plumb and that the height is correct to form the roof slope you plan. You can nail a temporary brace across the posts to secure them while you work on the rest of the build.

A 4 x 6 beam is recommended for the end beam of the post. If this size lumber is not available, you can use plywood glue and attach two 2 x 6 boards together. Attach it to the tops of the posts, making sure the ends are even with the ends of the ledger board and that the side overhangs are equal. Use 4 x 4 lumber for diagonal cross braces between the posts and top board.

Your rafters should be 16 inches apart. You can use rafter hangers to fasten the rafters to the back ledger board, and rafter ties to fasten the other end to the end board, allowing for the desired overhang. Keeping the same overhang distance as the rest of the shed roof will keep the look uniform.

You can use half-inch plywood for the roofing base, with screws attached every eight inches along your framework. Then your flashing goes on at the joint between your new roof and the shed wall. You can use roofing materials to match your shed or something completely different if it suits you.

Do You Need a Separate Foundation for a Porch?

Since most sheds are built close to the ground to allow for wheeling things in and out, you probably can just build a porch roof with the aforementioned posts and concrete bases. You can use a gravel base or just use the bare dirt if the soil and terrain are suitable. Check with your local building codes first to see if a foundation is required.

Paving blocks make a great floor for a shed porch. Remove about six inches of dirt from your space, then tamp and level it. Then lay landscape fabric over the space to keep weeds from poking through, hanging it over the edges a few inches.

Making the graveled space a little larger all the way around than the planned area for the pavers will help steer water away, especially the rain that runs off the roof. Then the space is filled with crushed gravel for drainage and the gravel is compacted.

Lay a two-inch-thick layer of sand and cement mixture made up of one part dry cement and eight parts dry sand mixed thoroughly. Smooth and compact the mixture once laid. Then lay your pavers, using stakes and strings or a chalk line to keep them in place. Keep them about 14 inches apart on all sides, and make sure each is level before laying the next. Leveling is easy with a rubber mallet.

Spread some more of the sand and cement mixture over the top, brushing it with a broom to make sure all the spaces between the pavers are filled. Make sure no mixture is left on top of any pavers. Dampen it with a garden hose, using a fine mist spray. Your pavers should be set in 24 hours. If you need some help on deciding which shed foundation is be for your situation check out my article What’s The Best Shed Foundation Option For You?

How to Build a Shed With a Covered Porch

The easiest way to do this is simply to build a gable-roofed shed so that half of the shed is actually a covered porch. This allows not only for a porch but a great shelter for an extra vehicle when needed. For instance, plan out a space and foundation for a 16 x 16 space. Your long wall and the two end walls will be 8′ 1-1/8 inches tall. The wall that goes under the roof ridge will be 10′ 7-1/4″ tall.

You can put a door here for easy access to the porch. Set your porch support posts eight feet out on the other side at the height needed so that the top of the roof beam aligns with the top of the wall plate on the other side of the shed. You’ll need four posts for this size shed.

Build your rafters and roof as you would for a regular shed, attaching the ends on one side for your wall plate on one side and the porch beam on the other. Allow for sufficient overhang on both sides. You’ll need to install studs on the gable ends of the walls between the rafters and top wall plate. Leave the outer siding for last.

Another way to build the same type of shed with a porch is to use roof trusses. You’ll need to install your porch posts and end support beam as before to lay the trusses on for this side. Using trusses will eliminate the need for constructing studs to connect the roof to the wall plates on the gable ends.

You can also add a porch over the short end of your shed. Just make sure you have sufficient slope to the roof you add, especially if building codes govern your locale. They may specify the minimum slope of a roof.

If your shed is raised a bit so that it has a ramp for wheeling things into the shed, you may want to frame and install a door on the other end of the shed and install your porch on that end. This will ensure a level space to put out your lawn chairs and perhaps a small table.

If you don’t have a ramp, you can build a roof over the existing door. This will form a great place not only for sitting and admiring your work when done but provide protection from such weather problems as a sudden downpour when you’re in the middle of changing the mower oil.

Conclusion

Whether you are planning to build your shed with a porch or are adding a porch to an existing shed, a porch adds additional functionality to your shed. It also helps dress up the yard. Your shed can look like an attractive little house instead of a shed. Explore the many design ideas available and see what suits you.

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