Entertaining, relaxing, and taking advantage of the weather is made more accessible with an outdoor living space. As well as enhancing the aesthetics of a house, porches and decks are useful by providing more room for you and your guests to relax.

In this article, we’ll explore the difference between a deck and a porch to help you make the best decision for your outdoor space. 

Porch

A porch’s primary purpose is to provide shelter from the elements as guests wait to enter a home. Whether it’s a simple or ornate design, a porch is always a part of the house’s overall framework, so it’s not just an addition to the outside. In many cases, the roof of the house extends over it.

As the size of the porch increases, so does the potential for an outside sitting area.

A porch does not have to be covered to be a porch. If you have a two-story house, the overhang of the second floor can serve as the porch’s roof or cover, depending on the design of the porch. The term “wrap around porch” refers to a porch that extends from the front to the side of the house.

You will find a second door leading to the main house if you enter the porch through the first entrance. These screened-in porches, which may or may not have glass panels, are often thought of as an informal extension of the home’s living space.

Porches aren’t just a place to shield yourself from the elements; they’re also an extension of your living space, complete with seats, a porch swing, a bench, and more. Chatting with friends and neighbors, or simply relaxing, is a popular pastime in many areas.

Decks

Decks’ building materials include treated lumber, plastic, wood-plastic composites, cedar planks, and vinyl planks. They can be linked to the home or left as an independent construction. With railings, they’re frequently elevated from the ground level. Decks with a height of 18 inches or more may be required to have a railing, depending on local building codes. Decks can be covered with a pergola or a canopy.

One of the most common and popular outdoor structures, decks are used for dining, entertaining, and relaxing in the garden or on the patio and for barbecuing and a chill zone.

Plants are frequently used to beautify platform decks, elevated from the ground on a single level with or without railings. Steps in a multi-level deck connect decks on different levels. They are more common in homes with more than one storey or as a separate outside structure.

A two-story deck can be used for both outdoor entertaining and access to the top levels of the house. Free-standing decks can be placed in the yard or near a swimming pool to provide a private retreat or a place to relax in the natural environment. Cane outdoor furniture can give the space a more rustic feel by decorating it with posts and beams.

Factors to consider

A lot can be said about the aesthetics and functionality of your home’s exterior when it comes to designing your outdoor living space. Both porches and decks have a few things in common:

  • They allow people to enjoy the outdoors.
  • They increase the value of your property.
  • They both have at least one thing in common: floor and railing.

Cost

At $7.50 to $9.00 per square foot, pine, the most prevalent decking material, is the most affordable option.

A square foot of exotic hardwoods 5 or modified woods costs anywhere from $18 to $35. If the material changes, so do the time it takes to complete the task. Installing composites, for example, is more expensive per square foot than hardwoods, with most labor costing between $13 and $36 per foot, resulting in a total per square foot cost of roughly $33 per foot. With an average cost of $10,560, a 16 x 20-foot deck might cost anywhere from $6,720 to $22,720.

Roofing materials and installation are more expensive for porches, but the supplies and labor costs are equivalent. In general, porches cost $67 per square foot, with labor costing between $20 and $40 per square foot, and materials costing roughly the same as a deck, with the addition of shingles 6, beadboard, and roof joists, which are typically more expensive than decking. The average cost of a porch 16 x 20 feet is $21,440, but it can range from $16,000 to $30,400.

Construction

Porches and decks are constructed in a very similar manner. Predominantly, porches are either completely enclosed or covered over with a roof.

First and foremost, if you’ve never built a porch before, think about the existing roof. To build a porch, you would only need to focus on the flooring and support components if your roof already covers enough space.

When adding a new porch, expect to pay extra for additional roofline, ceiling, and posts to support the overhang.

For their part, decks feature an open, roofless style. On the other hand, Decks require waterproofing even if they don’t have a roof or an overhang. Decks can deteriorate over time if they lack adequate waterproofing.

Location

A porch is a covered area at the entrance to a home where guests might wait to enter. A deck is usually located in the backyard or on the side of the house and is used for entertaining or relaxing. Decks are more likely to be unprotected, whereas porches are more likely to be covered. It is possible to combine a deck and a porch into a single structure, provided that the porch is large enough to wrap around the side of the house.

Maintenance

Maintenance is required for both porches and decks. The deck or porch’s materials have a significant impact on this. Wooden decks demand the most upkeep, requiring regular cleaning and staining. Composites require just the replacement of boards that have been damaged. Low-maintenance decks are also available in modified wood and fiber cement.

Because porches are enclosed, they often require less upkeep than decks. Cleaning and staining a wood porch every few years rather than yearly may be necessary. Materials consisting of synthetics or wood that have been changed may require less upkeep.

Contact Paragon Remodeling to learn more about porches and decks

Choosing materials, styles, and colors for new additions to your house is the next step after you’ve decided what you want to do. By contacting Paragon Remodeling, you may go over these aspects with a professional contractor.

Paragon Remodeling offers screened-in porches services. In addition to offering a free estimate for your job, we’ll also provide our specialized perspectives and ideas to help you make the best choice.