Are you in the market for an oak porch installation? We looked last month at how to choose the perfect oak porch design for your home, now it’s time to get it up and installed! Here’s some top tips from the Oak Porches UK team to help you make the very best of your oak porch installation.
After all, committing to a home renovation of any kind, even as small as a porch, is a big investment. It’s well worth making sure you’re looking at the right season, deciding if it’s worth doing DIY or if you’d rather spend a little extra on a fast installation, and that your site is ready to work. That way, an end result you can be proud of is guaranteed!
Building regulations and planning permission
As you know from our earlier blogs, most oak porches are exempt from both of these facets. The only time you would need to worry about obtaining permits is if the floor area will be over 3 meters squared, the porch taller than 3m, or if you are in special zones, such as conservation areas, listed buildings, or facing the highway. Do be aware, however, that that’s the porch itself. If you’re keen to add extras to the installation- particularly glazing and electricity- these will need to be installed as according to the guidelines of your local council. Again, this doesn’t always mean permitting, but it can. It’s best to check these things out before planning your build, as waiting for them at the midpoint can delay your project.
Choosing a method- DIY or installed
Now it’s time to decide on how exactly you are installing your oak porch. Each has its pros and cons, so be sure to think it through.
Obviously, the very quickest way to get your oak porch installed is to opt for a professional team. While it costs a little more, you get to leverage their expertise to get the job done to the highest possible standards and with minimal fuss or delays. You may be responsible for preparing the ground the oak porch is installed on, so be sure to check.
DIY oak porch kits can work out cheaper. Make sure you know what ships with the kit and what doesn’t, however, so you can buy in the extras. Also, make sure you are up for the job. It’s a common flaw to think DIY is ‘easy’, and then find yourself in over your head. You don’t want the job dragging on for weeks when it only needs a few days, nor do you want to find you need to hire an expert after all to help fix your mistakes. Plus, even when a job is easy, we don’t always have the time for doing it. Sometimes it’s just easier to let the pros do it, even if we could.
Ask about the lead time
Another key consideration for your oak porch installation is the lead time. All porch designs and DIY oak porch kits will have a lead time to get to you from the factory. This isn’t the sort of thing you can use an Amazon overnight model on. If you have gone off-spec at all, or have opted for a beautiful bespoke oak porch design, they may need a few weeks to create it perfectly. Factor this into your planning time.
The best season to install an oak porch
Bearing all of the above in mind, what’s the best time to install an oak porch? Obviously, if you are doing DIY, you may want to look at added factors such as when you can easily take time off work (or have a holiday you can use) to get the job done, or whether you’re sure you can do it in a weekend.
In general, the ideal weather for installing an oak porch is when it is cool and dry, and has been dry for several weeks beforehand. This can be a tall order at times in the U.K! The best season is likely late spring into early summer. This gives the ground time to unfreeze, and the winter snow time to clear up. However, you should be in before any summer rainfall starts, and you also miss the very hot days of summer.
Why miss hot days? First of all, hot weather tends to lead to wet weather, especially in the UK! However, extreme heat is not really much better than extreme cold for building work. It can let things like concrete and varnishes/stains dry unevenly and inaccurately, also giving you little time to fix drips or problems. It can also parch the landscape, meaning you install the oak porch at a time where unrealistic general conditions are in play- then along comes the moisture and cooler weather to upset your oak applecart!
Once it gets closer to your installation time, it’s worth taking a peek at the weather report. One of the benefits of doing DIY oak porch installations is that you can usually wiggle around according to the weather schedule. On the other hand, most professional installers will do their utmost to meet your deadline, so you should only encounter an installation delay if something really can’t be worked through, like driving rains.
And there you have it! This article from the Oak Porches UK team should help you plan the timeline for the installation of your oak porch seamlessly. We hope you enjoy the addition to your home! Be sure to share pictures with the team when you’re done decorating.