Before you start Googling, “Where to buy oak porches?’, it’s a good idea to give some thought to the types of porches that will suit your home. In many ways, selecting a design that will flow well with the exterior of your home is as important as the practical aspects of the installation. A design mismatch can create something ugly out of the frontage of your home, which is the last thing anyone wants. That’s why the Oak Porches UK team are here to help guide you through making this critical decision. Let’s take a look at some beloved oak porch designs.
Post Designs
A 2 post design has simplicity on its side, so it could be a good choice for you if you can’t find a look you like or want to keep it as simple and flowing as possible. You can choose to foot your posts into concrete columns or brick, on a saddle stone, or simply drive them straight into the ground, although this can look unfinished unless you are planning gardens around the porch.
You can play with this as creatively as you will- it’s your oak porch design, after all- but we’d suggest taking the opportunity to match it both to the planned undersurface as well as the overall look of your building.
Likewise, you will want to match the roof design (more on that in a moment) to the overall shape of the existing house’s roof in order to make it best blend in.
Of this design, our ‘lean-to porch’ is by far the simplest, which means it also fits perfectly into tight spaces. Our ‘wall mounted’ porch is also a great one to consider in larger spaces. Our ‘floor and wall mounted’ oak porch design gives you the most solid and dignified look possible with 2-posts.
Post designs
A 4 post oak porch design includes 2 columns of oak at the wall as well as at the front of the porch. This means it’s a bulkier design overall. This can play in your favour, if you need to add visual solidity to the look of the porch. You’ll typically do that when you have a house that already has a formidable or ‘heavy’ frontage, to create balance.
It’s also the ideal design when you want to add a half-wall underneath, use balustrades, or fully enclose the porch with glass. The 4-post system makes it far easier to install extras. It’s not a design for tight spaces, however. Again, we suggest matching your footings to the overall look of your home, but also consider the half walls or enclosure material if you are using them and strike a good visual balance.
Talking about brick
If you picture a brick look to your porch when you imagine your new porch, there’s plenty of types of porch for you to choose from. Our ‘low brick plinth porch’ design is a 4-post design with a negligible brick wall underneath. This makes it a great choice for areas where you want the look and feel of a half wall, but where a proper half wall may be overwhelming to the property. You can add a balustrade with the ‘plus balustrade’ option. It’s also great to leave open where you’d like to introduce topiary or have a rambunctious garden.
Alternatively, you can jump straight to the ‘high brick plinth’ designs. One is a classic, with only the brick plinth and then balustrades. The ‘high brick plinth with mullion’, however, offers a more farmhouse-style design that evokes country casual beautifully.
Other options
Because 4-post oak porch designs are so popular, we stock a lot of them. If brick plinths aren’t your thing, our standard ‘full height’ design might appeal more. The posts are set on saddle stones, giving an old country look and feel that meshes with many house designs and doesn’t draw too much attention. You can add a balustrade to suit with the ‘ plus balustrade’ option.
Let’s talk about Oak Porch Roofs
For almost all types of porches, the gable style of roof is most common. This is the classic ‘inverted V’ roof shape, also sometimes called a ‘front pitch’. It works well in the UK, as it encourages rain, sleet, and snow to roll straight off the edge of the porch. You don’t get the risk of drips directly over the front of the porch with this design, as the lowest edge is at the side.
That said, however, the angular roof showcased on our ‘lean-to’ oak porch design, also called a front pitch roof, has its uses. In tight spaces or where you don’t want to visually overwhelm the front of your property, they offer a more soothing line of sight. They’re also great where an upper storey window might interfere with a gable roof. There can be a problem with runoff falling over the front of the porch, rather than at the sides, however. It’s not a problem for the structure of the porch, but could be irritating for the user! They do blend beautifully on some properties, however, so don’t be afraid to consider this roofline.
As you can see, there are many different types of porches, so finding one that blends seamlessly with your home and garden needn’t be a chore. Oak porch design is, after all, our specialty, so don’t be afraid to reach out to the Oak Porches UK team for advice about the specifics of your property, either. We are always happy to help our customers find the perfect oak porch design for them.
