Solid Hardwood, Engineered and Laminate Flooring - Turning Porch into Office
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08-04-00, 09:18 PM
Hello all,
We are considering turning our screened porch into an office. What seems to be the trickiest issue is what to do about the floor. It is a slab house, with the cement of the porch being about 6 inches lower than the house, and only a few inches higher than ground level.
I want the floor of this new space to be even with the rest of the house, primarily out of concern for flooding. What's the best way to accomplish this?
I am thinking that installing 2x6 joists (not sure if that's the right term) underneath the new floor would be the most logical method. But then there's the slope of the porch cement to worry about.
Help!
We are considering turning our screened porch into an office. What seems to be the trickiest issue is what to do about the floor. It is a slab house, with the cement of the porch being about 6 inches lower than the house, and only a few inches higher than ground level.
I want the floor of this new space to be even with the rest of the house, primarily out of concern for flooding. What's the best way to accomplish this?
I am thinking that installing 2x6 joists (not sure if that's the right term) underneath the new floor would be the most logical method. But then there's the slope of the porch cement to worry about.
Help!
08-08-00, 04:04 PM
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mike Caswell:
Hello all,
We are considering turning our screened porch into an office. What seems to be the trickiest issue is what to do about the floor. It is a slab house, with the cement of the porch being about 6 inches lower than the house, and only a few inches higher than ground level.
I want the floor of this new space to be even with the rest of the house, primarily out of concern for flooding. What's the best way to accomplish this?
I am thinking that installing 2x6 joists (not sure if that's the right term) underneath the new floor would be the most logical method. But then there's the slope of the porch cement to worry about.
Help!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I have done the same project. 2X6 joist will work fine. You will have to shim them to make the entire floor level.
You did not ask a specific question, but here are some things to consider:
- When figuring final floor height, don't forget thickness of floor base or subfloors (3/4" plywood, hardwood, or other)
- Consider where you might locate desks/computers, etc. and route electrical and phone lines while in the framing stages. I ended up with phone and electrical run through the floor (with floor jacks and receptacles) because of floor to ceiling glass in front of the location for the computer desk.
If you have specific questions, post them to this thread.
Hello all,
We are considering turning our screened porch into an office. What seems to be the trickiest issue is what to do about the floor. It is a slab house, with the cement of the porch being about 6 inches lower than the house, and only a few inches higher than ground level.
I want the floor of this new space to be even with the rest of the house, primarily out of concern for flooding. What's the best way to accomplish this?
I am thinking that installing 2x6 joists (not sure if that's the right term) underneath the new floor would be the most logical method. But then there's the slope of the porch cement to worry about.
Help!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I have done the same project. 2X6 joist will work fine. You will have to shim them to make the entire floor level.
You did not ask a specific question, but here are some things to consider:
- When figuring final floor height, don't forget thickness of floor base or subfloors (3/4" plywood, hardwood, or other)
- Consider where you might locate desks/computers, etc. and route electrical and phone lines while in the framing stages. I ended up with phone and electrical run through the floor (with floor jacks and receptacles) because of floor to ceiling glass in front of the location for the computer desk.
If you have specific questions, post them to this thread.
08-20-00, 01:15 PM
Thanks for the reply. I asked a neighbor about my plan, and he suggested that I not do it this way, for fear that water may become semi-permanently trapped underneath the floor in a heavy rain... maybe once every one or two years, we get a heavy enough rain to flood the porch, which he is assuming would also result in some water ending up in this same spot if the floor was raised using this method. I'm sure that eventually the water would evaporate and/or seep out... but have you had any problems like this?
He suggests that I instead use concrete to increase the height of the slab. I'm a little unsure about this, becuase it's in the back of the house, and is inaccessible to a concrete truck, so we'd have to do somewhat of a "bucket brigade" to get the concrete back there.
If I were to use concrete, I think I'd have 2 options... first, I could simply "fill" the porch with 5 inches or so of concrete, which would result in the bottom horizontal 2x4s that rest on the current foundation, as well as the bottom 3 or 4 inches of vertical framing 2x4's being "encased" in concrete (at least on 3 sides).
The other option would be to build temorary support posts to hold the roof up, chop out the bottom 6 inches of the porch walls, pour the concrete (held in by a temporary form), then rest the framing back down onto the new higher foundation.
That would seem to result in the most "finished" looking exterior, since from the outside, the foundation would appear to be the same height as the rest of the house, but may be more trouble than what it's worth.
Then again, perhaps concrete is going overboard, and I should stick to my original plan. Decisions, decisions!
Thanks again!
He suggests that I instead use concrete to increase the height of the slab. I'm a little unsure about this, becuase it's in the back of the house, and is inaccessible to a concrete truck, so we'd have to do somewhat of a "bucket brigade" to get the concrete back there.
If I were to use concrete, I think I'd have 2 options... first, I could simply "fill" the porch with 5 inches or so of concrete, which would result in the bottom horizontal 2x4s that rest on the current foundation, as well as the bottom 3 or 4 inches of vertical framing 2x4's being "encased" in concrete (at least on 3 sides).
The other option would be to build temorary support posts to hold the roof up, chop out the bottom 6 inches of the porch walls, pour the concrete (held in by a temporary form), then rest the framing back down onto the new higher foundation.
That would seem to result in the most "finished" looking exterior, since from the outside, the foundation would appear to be the same height as the rest of the house, but may be more trouble than what it's worth.
Then again, perhaps concrete is going overboard, and I should stick to my original plan. Decisions, decisions!
Thanks again!
08-20-00, 10:40 PM
Well....
I would not use wood. It is too close to the ground. Use concrete. Frame around the outside with your wood member to make a form. If you are consirned about flooding then this is the best. If water does get arounnd you new floor it will not hurt it. you can put in elcetric, heat tubes, heat matts, and a like in the concrete. This will be the warmest room in the house. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mike Caswell:
Hello all,
We are considering turning our screened porch into an office. What seems to be the trickiest issue is what to do about the floor. It is a slab house, with the cement of the porch being about 6 inches lower than the house, and only a few inches higher than ground level.
I want the floor of this new space to be even with the rest of the house, primarily out of concern for flooding. What's the best way to accomplish this?
I am thinking that installing 2x6 joists (not sure if that's the right term) underneath the new floor would be the most logical method. But then there's the slope of the porch cement to worry about.
Help!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I would not use wood. It is too close to the ground. Use concrete. Frame around the outside with your wood member to make a form. If you are consirned about flooding then this is the best. If water does get arounnd you new floor it will not hurt it. you can put in elcetric, heat tubes, heat matts, and a like in the concrete. This will be the warmest room in the house. <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Mike Caswell:
Hello all,
We are considering turning our screened porch into an office. What seems to be the trickiest issue is what to do about the floor. It is a slab house, with the cement of the porch being about 6 inches lower than the house, and only a few inches higher than ground level.
I want the floor of this new space to be even with the rest of the house, primarily out of concern for flooding. What's the best way to accomplish this?
I am thinking that installing 2x6 joists (not sure if that's the right term) underneath the new floor would be the most logical method. But then there's the slope of the porch cement to worry about.
Help!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>