Measurements for Porch Plan

We want a great front porch on the cabin. The plan was to do something like this, with the porch starting at the end of the cabin.

But now that Mom has moved in, she doesn’t want the living room window covered by a porch. She wants to keep the light and the view.

That’s OK. There is still plenty of room left. If we start past the window, kinda halfway between the outdoor light and the window frame, there is around 22-feet to the meter box on the other side of the laundry room window.  That is more than enough room.

Another advantage to this is that most of the porch won’t be a walkway.

The back flag is at 22-feet wide. The other two flags mark 8-feet and 12-feet from the wall.

A 4-foot deep porch doesn’t give you enough room to even walk past chairs. The porch would get a lot of rain and not much shade. The only advantage is not getting as wet while you knock on the door. Meh.

A six foot deep porch, a “rocking chair porch” is wide enough to have chairs on one side and navigate to them as long as they aren’t blocking the walkway.

8-feet deep is deep enough to really use. 12-feet deep is even better.

This is our back porch. It is 12-feet deep.

This is our outdoor table and chairs. The table came with my husband when I married him. It is only 48″ across, but the base keeps chairs from pushing in. From back of chair to back of chair, this takes up 90″.

We used to use folding outdoor chairs. I bought these chairs when someone crashed through the wood ones we had. He didn’t get hurt, but we realized that the folding wood chairs said right on the bottom of the seat that they only support less weight than a lot of people weigh. Nobody looks at that before they sit down.

This side of the porch has steps, doors and a dog door. But 12-feet gives enough room to clear the table no matter which way you are walking.

(We can’t move anything now because our old dog is blind and he knows where things are.)

This is an 8-foot deep porch. If it’s not a walkway, this fits. Smaller furniture might fit better.

I measured the rocking chairs on our back porch to get an idea of size, but porch furniture comes in a lot of sizes.

This might fit better on an 8-foot deep porch.  The dining area could fit better if the table is more practical than mine.

By going to 10-feet deep, there is plenty of space. It’s a lot easier to get in and out of the chairs at the table.

12-feet deep gives a lot more space to work with. This is only 12-wide and everything fits much better.

If you have a couch that is 69″ long x 30” deep it will take up about 6-feet of your wall space.

There is a total of 31’4″ from edge of cabin to meter box. Out of that, there is plenty of space for a porch.

The layout above shows the measurements with what is behind each window.

This is about 22-feet wide and 12-feet deep. I think the steps should be in a different location.

This is the plan for our 12 x 28 “covered deck” back porch, as an example.

Don’t pay any attention to any of the numbers, I didn’t change them as I moved things around.

Did you know that you can buy pre-made covered decks from the companies that make sheds and gazebos? Like the sheds, they are actually 11-feet, 11-inches to stay within the size that doesn’t need a permit.

Do I need a permit for a storage shed?

Storage sheds that are over 12 feet in any direction require permits. If the shed is less than 12 feet you will need to check with both the Environmental Health Department (if you have a septic tank) and the zoning jurisdiction where the property is located to ask if a permit is required from their office.

Henderson County Permits and Inspections

A permit is required to add a deck or porch to a house. A permit is required to enclose a deck. But if the deck is on its own feet and not attached to or supported by your house, it is not added to the house. You can confirm with the Permits and Inspections department where you live, but that’s what I was told here. The man I talked to recommends tie down anchors, like larger sheds or house trailers use. But if it is under 12 feet in both directions and not attached to the house, I was told that I don’t need a permit.

I have this in my notes, but I can’t find where I copied it from…

An accessory structure is a structure which is on the same parcel of property as a principal structure and the use of which is incidental to the use of the principal structure such as a detached garage or storage shed for garden tools.  Other examples of accessory structures include gazebos, picnic pavilions, boathouses, small pole barns, storage sheds, and similar buildings.

So, that makes a gazebo and a picnic pavilion accessory structures.