yucky porch carpet, tar under - help!

[porchsitter]

Need advice on replacing upper porch (uncovered) flooring. Currently outdoor carpeting - not very nice. When I pull up carpeting, I can see some sort of tar looking goopy stuff (obviously don't want to walk on that). This porch is also the "roof" of a cement porch underneath. The supports (or "poles" holding up upperporch) are made of brick, attached to house on other side. The porch is slightly slanted and has a drainage hole near the front and gutters around the outside.

What kind of covering can I put over this tar stuff? Can I paint it - with what? use tiles? use thin pavers with sand? I really, really don't like carpeting at all. Something to make it more patio like would make me happiest. and affordability is also important.

Keep in mind I live in Wisconsin - hot summers, COLD winters - thaw and freeze quite frequent.

Help please!

The unhappy porch sitter!

[lefty]

Under the indoor/outdoor carpet is the "tar looking goopy stuff" -- the mastic to hold the carpet in place. What's under THAT??

[porchsitter]

Thanks, Lefty, for the tip.

I pulled up the mastic (new vocabulary for me!), which came up quite easily in one sheet. Under the mastic there is pieces of metal nailed down, covering the roof/porch floor. It is rusty and flaky in parts, but seems to cover the whole floor. I don't know what it is nailed down to. Should I attempt to pull it up and find out? I don't want to disturb it if I don't have to as I imagine it's there to waterproof the floor and prevent leaks to the downstairs porch and entranceway below. Can I lay tiles/thin pavers, paint or what have you right on top of metal??? What is best for cold climates? Do I need to find out if wood or cement under metal before proceeding? Thanks again for your tips! Porchsitter

[lefty]

Yes, you need to know how it is constructed and what condition the structure is in before you proceed. The sheet metal was put there as a water barrier. Being rusty and flaky in spots, I would say that it needs to come out anyway. If the structure is wood, there is probably plywood beneath the sheet metal, and there would be wood 2X joists beneath that. But it could just as easily be concrete.

The bricks in the columns are probably to cover up posts -- probably steel. Looking from below, do these columns support a beam, or is the 1st floor ceiling flush? How is it finished?

Thinking about what to put down for a covering when you get ready to put it back together, I would rule out tile because of the weather conditions. Freezing and thawing is tough on tile. I might also rule out tile based on how the structure is built. Tile is a lot of weight -- the structure has to be built to support that.

Let me know how it's built -- what's under the sheet metal -- and I can give you some ideas.

[porchsitter]

Will not be able to get to pulling up the sheet metal until next week. However, I did investigate the bottom of the structure more carefully. The two brick columns supporting the upper mid-size porch (which is about 6 feet by 7 feet) are about 2 feet square. They are brick and mortar and connect down to the walls which form the railing around the downstairs porch and stairs, which are poured of cement. The brick continues from these columns and porch railings/walls right into the foundation of the house (a duplex), going around the house where the basement/basement windows lay. These brick columns (and whatever is inside, if anything) hold up the intersections of thick wooden beams that surround the ceiling of the downstairs porch. The back part of the upper porch is supported by one of the house walls itself (in other words, the exterior wall of the first floor extends further than the exterior wall of the second floor, so therefore the back of the upper porch rests directly on this jutting out wall - I hope that makes sense). The ceiling of the lower porch is higher than the beams that surround it, and it is finished with thinner decorative wood and a built in light fixture (this is a 1920's structure). Hopefully this gives you some idea of the support. My next plan is to call my landlord and see if she can tell me more about what lays under the sheet metal. Otherwise I will pull part of it up myself and see. My landlord is willing to provide funds for materials for the porch to be redone, if I do the work myself or with the help of a friend. Sad to hear that tile won't work in this weather. What kind of stuff do you think will? If it's wood under? If it's concrete under?
Thanks again!

[porchsitter]

Further investigation into the porch, the metal is only rusty and flaky in one corner - the rest is in good shape. On closer look there appear to be no nails, but more like the squares of metal have been stuck or welded together. A call to the landlord, who prefers that I don't take up the metal (which is there to waterproof the structure since it is the roof of the downstairs porch), landlord assured me that porch is a sound wooden structure which was redone about 7 years ago, he is certain that plywood was laid under the metal waterproofing material. Currently I have pulled the carpeting up (which was NOT at all stuck to the mastic). The mastic is one flat sheet, and appears easy to pry up from the corner, though I have not done this yet. How do I proceed from here? What are my alternatives to carpeting on a second story wooden structure? I need something that would drain to the sloped roof and gutters around the outside railing of the porch (there is a large drainhole in the solid railing for this purpose), and would not leak to the porch below. Please let me know what kinds of materials I should be looking at and what they will require as a base. Thanks, Porchsitter

[porchsitter]

Hello all! After not getting any further advice on this forum, I had a professional come out and have a look. They gave me advice and I have now completed the porch with porcelain tile on top of Hardibacker (which is on top of plywood). It looks great and was not that hard to do, even as a beginner. The structure is strong enough to support the extra weight : ) and I am now a happy porchsitter.

P.S. I noticed that a lot of people were viewing this, so I thought you might like to check and see if porcelain is suitable for your purpose and structure. Strength of structure is VERY important so don't guess. Happy porching!