Porch Roof Post Spacing

Minimum roof pitch for a covered porch.

Porch roof post spacing.

A roof protects a house and porch from snow and rain as well as the heat of the sun. To calculate it for a particular post imagine a plan view of the deck see illustration left. Draw a line through the mid span of the joists. Size your deck beams and headers with our easy to use span table which allows you to cross reference the post spacing and joist length to determine the right deck beam size.

The main structural members of patio and deck overheads are posts or columns and beams which run from post to post or from post to ledger. This post may contain affiliate links. Attach posts to brackets. For more information see our disclosures here.

However if the spacing is too wide the patio cover s beams will bow under the weight of the joists and roof covering materials. For typical decks where only a few family members or the occasional extra guest and backyard patio furniture are expected the average 5 foot to 8 foot measurements for post spacing can be used but if you expect heavy loads of any kind you will need to contact an engineer as well as your local building inspector to determine. The determining factor of post spacing is the allowable span of your beams. Porch posts in the hope that this may help to equalize the space between posts from one side of the porch to the other.

Measure down from the door leading to the deck the width of the beams joists boards plus at least 3 inches or to whatever your local code requires. An expert guide on the best posts and beams for your patio roof projects this article covers post column and beam types as well as the best materials for patio posts. An essential part of planning a patio roof or gazebo project is determining the number size and spacing of rafters beams and posts according to the loads they will carry. In other words the maximum distance it can cover without support from posts.

The tributary area is the portion of a deck that s supported by a single post. And after all of these consideration if you are still unable to achieve exactly equal spacing between your porch posts take heart. The weight load of your deck also affects the spacing of the posts. Adding a covered porch adds exterior space to a house and providing a.

For a normal porch roof and porch normal post spacing for your case would probably be to make them same spacing all around more visually aesthetic around 3 1 3 or 5 feet on centers probably much more commoonly the 3 1 3 foot spacing in your area with two of those size on the long side and two around 4 feet wide. Then find the mid span of the beam that the post supports and extend lines from there back to the line at the joist mid span.