# Porch roof sagging/rotted wood in a bad spot.



## jowint (Mar 23, 2011)

Okay, I think the pics will be self explanatory but I will leave a brief description of the issue here.

I noticed that the short gutter on my porch overhand was running over badly during hard rains so I adjusted the gutter as high as possible to try to get it to drain back to the longer gutter but it seems that the water has rotted the wood at the base of the deck (right under) the corner post.

It looks like the framing of the deck is resting on bricks with mortar joints, and possibly blocks underneath that but I have not dug down to see as of yet.

It seems that the rotted wood has caused a significant roof sag.

I am wondering what is the best way to jack up and support this roof overhang while I replace the rotted decking and framing.

I may even use larger posts to replace the 4x4's that are currently there.

i am hoping that the sag is coming from only the rotted wood and not from the foundation itself.

Here are some pics so please let me know your thoughts/suggestions/advice.


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## jowint (Mar 23, 2011)

Update.

I dug down and found out that at least there is a poured footer that the brick rests on, and I took a level to the top of the brick and it's level so the sag is only coming from the rotting wood..whew...good news.

My plans are to secure the overhang with 2x8's and rebuild the entire deck using pressure treated wood, and beefy posts.
I'm gonna use treated 4x6 to rest on the bricks instead of 2x6 like the one's on their now.
Looks like the porch was made entirely of interior lumber.

Home was built in the early 70's.


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## nealtw (Mar 24, 2011)

The vertical 4x4 should be treated and you want take it right down to the concrete and attach it there with a saddle. If you don,t want to destroy the ceiling when you rip it out, just cut it about 8" from the top and use a couple strap ties to join in the new one and put a trim over that.


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## jowint (Mar 24, 2011)

Thanks for the reply Nealtw.

Now my Wife says she wants the porch floor to be concrete that way we won't have to worry about rotting wood ever.
Looks like I'm gonna have to hire a pro because I know nothing about concrete and don't have the time to learn.

I am thinking the price will be at least three times that of building a new porch out of wood.


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## nealtw (Mar 24, 2011)

I think for a good repair the price will be near the same for concrete or wood, concrete is a good choice.


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## nealtw (Mar 24, 2011)

You may want to look at the leval of the dirt around this area, you will want to have the concrete a few inches lower than the door and sloping away from the house, your gardens look like they are a little high. You don't want to cause a problem by solving another.


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## jowint (Mar 25, 2011)

nealtw said:


> You may want to look at the leval of the dirt around this area, you will want to have the concrete a few inches lower than the door and sloping away from the house, your gardens look like they are a little high. You don't want to cause a problem by solving another.



Yeah, I had in mind to drop the soil level and cover the soil near the porch with plastic and much over that so the rain don't splash mus all over the porch.


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## jowint (Mar 30, 2011)

I spell bad when in a hurry, lol.

Update for what it's worth.

I bought some adjustable jack posts and used a 12 ton bottle jack from my shop press to jack up a 4x4 to raise the overhang about 1", snuck out the old 4x4 and replaced the 4x4 post using those galvanized brackets,  replaced all the decking under it and beefed up the corners underneath.

I replaced two posts in the front and I am doing the other side this weekend.

I will end up replacing all the decking boards on the entire porch since they have about four different color layers of paint and are showing some signs of surface rot plus that way the whole thing will match, then I will stain it with a semi transparent green.
Now essentially I will have built a new deck all while leaving the porch overhang intact.

It is treated wood so I will wait till mid summer to put the stain and sealer down.

Yeah we decided to forgo the concrete and just work with what we had and do it myself to save money.
Luckily I have a great friend that helped me for half of the day on Sunday to get it done.

I learned alot by doing this myself thanks to some research I did on the internet on how to properly jack up and support a roof overhang.

I will post some pics later after it's all done.


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## oldognewtrick (Mar 30, 2011)

Don't forget the most important step of this whole process...pics, we've seen the before... now lets see the after. And congrtas on doing it yourself!


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## jowint (Apr 6, 2011)

oldog/newtrick said:


> Don't forget the most important step of this whole process...pics, we've seen the before... now lets see the after. And congrtas on doing it yourself!








I supported all the posts and replaced them first.
Then I pried up the ends of the decking boards and pulled the nails-some I had to cut with a sawzall.





Snuck new boards in.





Finished corner-ended up using some old brackets I had lying around, ahd to cut the mortar tabs off of them.





Now all I have left is to replace the decking boards which will be cake to replacing the posts and lower boards.


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## jowint (Apr 6, 2011)

Git r dun. LOL.


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## nealtw (Apr 8, 2011)

Looking good!!


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