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Patio roof supported by 4x4 posts

9048 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  Suresh.Chowta, 
S
Our home has a 12x12 patio/porch in the backyard. The porch is attached to the home on one side. There are two 4x4 posts on the side attached to the home/roof close to the walls and there are 3 4x4s on the other side. I have read somewhere that 4x4s might not be enough in some cases.

Can somebody please help me understand whether I need to get these replaced with a 4x6 or 6x6 posts. This has become a constant worry for me.
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Where are you? What is the typical snowfall in your area?
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stick\shift said:
Where are you? What is the typical snowfall in your area?
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Thank you for your reply.

We are in the bay area (Fremont).
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Mrbuilder
Hello Suresh.Chowta:
It will help us greatly when we give our OPINIONS, if you could take a few pics of your issue to help us better understand. Look just under the posts in Additional Options, click on manage attachments to upload pics. We can help better if we see it. Usually 4x4 columns will be sufficient if the spacing is correct, height is sufficient, and snow load is light, and it isn't
living space. Hope we can help.

And Welcome.:smile:
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Suresh.Chowta said:
Thank you for your reply.
We are in the bay area (Fremont).
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Suresh-I live a few cities away (Alamo) have seen many 4x4 used as post, all seems to be functioning fine. When I build my cover patio (20'x20') with heavy tile roof I used 6x6 through out. For your case going to Home Depot and get Simpson strong ties with structure screws would do the trick, assuming there are no rots.
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House Designer
For reference,
An 8' tall 4x4 column is rated for 6092 lb. design load.
A 9' tall 4x4 column is rated for 4,956 lb. design load.
I am assuming treated wood- Spruce/Pine/Fir Grade 1.
Two of these posts at the end of a 12' x 12' roof would easily support a Cleveland snow load. :)
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Nealtw
If you want or need it to be more code compliant, nail a 2x4 to one side and a 2x6 to another and you will have a 5 x 5 1/2"
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Oso954
Can somebody please help me understand whether I need to get these replaced with a 4x6 or 6x6 posts. This has become a constant worry for me.
Click to expand...
What is the source or reason for your worry ?

As the others have pointed out, 4x4 are the traditional and will support the structure on a normal day.

If your concern is seismic, I’d suggest getting an architect or engineer to design any upgrades.

For everyone’s info, the Hayward fault runs right thru the city of Fremont. It is listed as being capable of a 7.5 earthquake. Some people fear a major quake on it, more than the San Andreas Fault.
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House Designer said:
For reference,
An 8' tall 4x4 column is rated for 6092 lb. design load.
A 9' tall 4x4 column is rated for 4,956 lb. design load.
I am assuming treated wood- Spruce/Pine/Fir Grade 1.
Two of these posts at the end of a 12' x 12' roof would easily support a Cleveland snow load. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you House_Designer.
Sorry for the delay in reply. I was not well during the past two weeks.
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Mrbuilder said:
Hello Suresh.Chowta:
It will help us greatly when we give our OPINIONS, if you could take a few pics of your issue to help us better understand. Look just under the posts in Additional Options, click on manage attachments to upload pics. We can help better if we see it. Usually 4x4 columns will be sufficient if the spacing is correct, height is sufficient, and snow load is light, and it isn't
living space. Hope we can help.

And Welcome.:smile:
Click to expand...

Thank you MrBuilder.

Attached a couple of pictures.
Sorry for the delay as I was not well for a few days.

Attachments

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Oso954 said:
What is the source or reason for your worry ?

As the others have pointed out, 4x4 are the traditional and will support the structure on a normal day.

If your concern is seismic, I’d suggest getting an architect or engineer to design any upgrades.

For everyone’s info, the Hayward fault runs right thru the city of Fremont. It is listed as being capable of a 7.5 earthquake. Some people fear a major quake on it, more than the San Andreas Fault.
Click to expand...

Thank you Oso954.
I was worried a bit, because, I got the posts replaced by somebody who did not have a license and wanted to make sure the kids are safe playing in the patio.


Attached some pictures for clarification.
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