How to make a porch of concrete with your own hands?

Make a porch of concrete with your own hands - it means to save considerably on repairs, while creating for your country house not only a functional addition, but also a beautiful appearance, because the porch of concrete can be supplemented with handrails or beautiful trim.

In the article you will learn how to create a porch, what stages precede it, and how to do the work so that the repair of the concrete porch is not required in the next 10-15 years.

Also we will talk about the finish of the construction.

Photo and video will help you at every stage of the work, and as a result you will create on your site a quality porch that will not differ from the work of professional builders.

Preparatory work for

Since the porch made of concrete can be made by anybody today in any shape and height, you have to decide how you want the design to be before you start creating a drawing.

To do this, you can look at the photo options and choose which porch best fits the design to your home.

Manufacturing technology differs depending on the form: the porch can have the form of a trapezoid, a rectangle, a square or a circle.

On the device the porch can be open, closed or have a verandah type. The handrails and steps are always located either on the sides or on the front side.

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Determining the size and shape of the device will help you the style of the building, if it is already erected, as well as the area under construction, which you have.

The easiest way is to build a porch of concrete in parallel with the construction of the house, however, if the building is already erected - do not despair, in this case, a concrete porch is also possible to erect.

Do you build a porch with the house, or separately, in any case, you need to conduct a waterproofing so that moisture does not get into the concrete, becausethis will significantly shorten its service life.

If the manufacture of the porch takes place separately from the house, do not forget to take into account that it should be located 5 cm lower than the front door.

The number of stairs steps will depend on how high your door is.

In addition, you need to determine the size of the porch. To do this, first calculate the length of the distance from the ground to the threshold - this will be the required height of your future porch.

To calculate the size of the steps, measure the door - they should be 15 cm wider and the top step should be the widest - about 1 m - this is necessary to make the staircase safe.

To calculate the height of a single stage, the height of the porch is divided by the number of steps it is supposed to make.

When buying a material, do not try to save - in the end it will cost you more.

For a concrete porch to last long and has been made correctly, the material must be of high quality, resistant to moisture and temperature extremes.

The latter is especially important if you live in a northern region where there are severe frosts.

Before you start the device of the entrance ladder, you need to prepare a place, and also to dismantle the old porch, if it has a place to be.

You also need to prepare the ground for the foundation: for this you need to dig a hole 20-30-50 cm deep( depends on the depth of groundwater in your area) and a width that exceeds the size of the porch area by 2.5 cm( that is, you need to havea ready-made drawing of the porch, in which all future dimensions are reflected).

The pit needs to be covered with layers of crushed stone and raw sand so that the sand fills the voids formed after the filling of the rubble.

Stages for creating the

structure Now you can start the porch device.

The formwork must be manufactured according to the ready-made calculations, so as a result the ladder is not too long, too wide or simply inconvenient for use.

The height of the formwork should be 30 cm higher than the height of the porch,later it will go largely into the soil. With a strong ground, this figure can be reduced to 20 cm.

Before starting the manufacture of formwork, look at the video or photos of the work stages - they will help you do the work correctly.

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The construction technology itself is the following: first you need to draw treads and risers, observing the angle of 90 degrees.

Afterwards it is necessary to draw the platform itself and the treads, which should have a slope of about 6 mm and a depth of water flow of about 30 cm.

The slope of the riser should be 15 degrees. For accuracy of calculations use a square.

The stiffeners are attached to the sides of the formwork, which give stability to the structure, and special shields are installed to the walls of the building with an indentation from the house of 1 cm.

The stakes are clogged into the ground by 25 cm and indented 45 cm from the notch. Between the stakes and the formwork it is necessary to install spacers, fill the ground approximately 10 cm and tamp well.

Cut the boards so that they match the size of the risers, and then nail them to the formwork. It is better to use nails with a double cap for this, then the construction will be more stable.

Now you need to conduct a waterproofing device and concrete the foundation.

The inner formwork should be treated with grease before filling, so that the concrete does not stick to the wooden material.

For waterproofing suitable thick film or roofing material, which covers the base. On top, apply sealant.

After pouring the foundation, it should take 2-3 days for the structure to become sufficiently strong, and you could continue to further install the porch.

Porch will be more durable if it has a reinforcement in the base. Set pre-cut stakes from the reinforcement, and then connect them with wire.

In addition to the reinforcement, it is possible to add to each layer of broken brick and small stones - this will not only give stability, but will also significantly save on concrete.

For the quality of the concrete mix to be higher, it is best to prepare the mortar with a concrete mixer.

Filling takes place on the steps, starting from the bottom.

Pouring of concrete should be carried out immediately after the solution is ready - the longer you wait, the worse will be the strength of the material, so it is better to prepare everything in advance to fill the solution immediately.

All layers of concrete should be rammed so that no voids remain, and only then move on to the next layer.

In no case should there be any voids, becausethey very quickly provoke the destruction of the staircase.

Look at the photo of the formwork before proceeding to pour the material so that all work is done correctly.

Tamp concrete using a shovel or trowel, after which you need to check how exactly it lay down.

The second layer is poured some time after the first layer is laid, so that the material has time to dry and seize. The last step is put the concrete on the top step.

Look at the video of laying the steps from start to finish - it will make you understand all the stages of construction.

After the work is finished, leave the formwork for a week, until the solution dries completely. On this porch can be considered ready, only the finish remained.

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Finishing of steps

The most popular and simple way is to simply paint the surface in the color you want, which is in harmony with the house.

Although, in general, the finishing of concrete steps is not required at all - everything can be left in its original form.

If you want a concrete porch to be beautiful, then first look at the photo options, how it can be finished.

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Often, for example, during the pouring of concrete, stones and pebbles are laid out on the steps - this is the way to create a ladder longer, but the result is better.

Instead of painting, you can finish the steps with clinker tiles - it comes with a special coating that does not slip, which is very important during rains or in the winter.

Handrail and visor - another simple and functional way of decorating stairs( they can also be painted).

The choice of material for the handrail depends on the overall style of your house - they can be made of stone or metal.

Wood in combination with concrete is less common, but also a possible option.

If you want wooden railings, you can combine materials, for example, make only the handrails from the wood, leaving the rest of the structure out of metal.

Along with the fact that the porch can be painted and covered with tiles, one can use one more durable and attractive material - porcelain stoneware.

They can decorate the steps or the side parts of the structure.

On the side walls you can make a laying of clinker bricks, siding or other similar in properties and appearance of the material.

Clinker brick can be laid and around the steps of the stairs to make a pad.

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For the same purpose it is possible to use a tile - from it it is possible to lay out not only a platform in front of the porch, but also a path to the house.

You can refuse the finish and simply paint the surface for the color you need, with decorative elements: railing, canopies, etc.