Forming concrete entry/porch...

MLO

How to do...

House is a 1 and 1/2 story craftsman style with a typical protruding entry and support columns. Home is to have a wainscoting of brick from the foundations brick ledge (same elevation as mud sill) up to the window sills. The floor framing on the mud sill is 2x8's with 3/4" plywood sheating.

I would like to have a full concrete porch, right up to the entry door threshold and the homes front walls/rim-joist/sheating. It seems there is a couple ways to do this. Either build the brick wainscoting up from the brick ledge and concrete to the face of the bricks, or do not install bricks on the wall plane where the concrete porch would be poured against. In the later, it seems the concrete porch itself would become the new brick ledge.

My existing grade is 4 inches below the foundation top. Add the thickness of the floor joist and sub-flooring (8") and that would give the proposed concrete porch a thickness of 12 inches.

My thoughts were to have one step integrated in to the concrete porch (7-3/4") and bring the existing grade around it up a couple inches. The house would have a perimeter drain installed with pea gravel 18" wide around the perimeter.

Can anyone elaborate on the "correct" method of installing the concrete to the homes front? (pre-brick vs. post brick)

Is a 12" thick concrete porch approx. 16' x 9' to much concrete in one slab?

Anything I'm not addressing here I should be?

TIA

Ron6519

You would need plans, signed off by someone recognized by the building dept., for the proper requirements for your locale.
Ron

MLO

Thanks Ron,

I am building from set of permited plans. The original home was a knock-down with the existing foundation being used. The plans do not go into detail with the concrete/wall interface or elevations concerning the finished porch height vs. grade.

MLO

I haved demoed several concrete stoops in the past that were poured right up against the clap-board sheated walls. In one case, a full height aluminum flashing was used behind the concrete and the other was two layers of roofing felt.

I'm enclined to flash the wall with a product like Grace's ice shield, pour concrete and then commence with bricking from the top of the concrete porch. This porch will have a generous overhang, but it seem to me the "wainscoting" of brick should be built with weep holes. Starting the brick on top of the porch will allow a normal "through wall" flashing with the ability to drain out onto the porch (if ever needed).

While I have never seen it, is it prudent to "pin" the concrete pour into the homes foundation?