From the beginning, we planned to have a porch so we included a foundation for the concrete pad in our house plans.
After the foundation was in place (way back in 2012), the form work was placed for the concrete pad:
Next, we added a simple, low cedar deck to extend the living space adjacent to the house. This deck was designed after the house was built - we weren't sure how high or how large we wanted it until living in the house.
For the porch structure, we contemplated building a traditional mortise and tenon timber frame structure but felt that look would be too heavy and that new timber wouldn't have the right effect.
We decided on a traditionally framed structure, but with reclaimed wood. After months on the hunt, we located a barn in Eastern Ontario that had posts and beams in the sizes we needed. These were used which in addition to four posts salvaged from our old house.
The roof trusses were also salvaged from our old house.
After the roof trusses were put in place, plywood roof decking was installed.
Next, a layer of ice and water shield was installed and finally, cedar shakes.
The final piece that the porch needs is a steel beam at the end to stabilize the structure (there is a 2" x 4" and strapping there now in above photo).
Josh designed and built this porch structure - talented guy, he is!
