Preservation Brief 45: Preserving Historic Wood Porches

Indiana Historical Society, Jay Small Postcard Collection, Standard Cottage, 1886, Bethany Park, Indiana, Collection No. P0391, image 2003.

Aleca Sullivan and John Leeke

Few architectural features evoke more romantic notions or do more to define a buildings historic character than the American porch. The size, style, detailing, and location of a porch can tell volumes about the age and use of a building. Each component, from handrail or baluster to column or post, enhances the architectural character of the porch. Alter or remove the porch and a historic building or streetscape can lose its visual integrity and historic authenticity (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Distinctive yet different, these front porches are important features along the street. The rhythm would be diminished if the front porch from one of the houses was dramatically altered or removed. Photo: Aleca Sullivan.

Functionally, a porch protects an entrance from the weather. Yet open porches are constantly exposed to sun, snow, rain, and foot traffic, and thus subject to deterioration, perhaps more than other parts of a building. Wood porches are particularly vulnerable.

Deferred maintenance and neglect account for the decay and loss of countless numbers of historic porches each year. Deterioration from moisture and resultant wood rot, and damage caused by wood-eating insects are common problems that, when left unaddressed too long, can lead to the loss of significant historic fabric. Inappropriate repairs or insensitive alterations, such as the enclosure of a front porch, can be equally destructive and negatively affect the porchs appearance. All these things can alter a buildings historic character. To preserve the character of the porch, as well as the historic building itself, it is essential to plan carefully before undertaking any work on a historic porch.

This Preservation Brief provides guidance for the everyday care of wood porches on older buildings. It focuses primarily on the maintenance and repair of wood porches, but acknowledges other, often challenging, work as well. This publication provides a brief history of the American porch and identifies its basic structural and decorative elements. It outlines how to assess the condition of a wood porch, how much work may be needed, and how to develop a specific scope of work. Detailed guidance on each level of work is provided, beginning with routine maintenance, followed by general repairs for various porch components, and concluding with replacement of parts that are beyond repair. Recommendations are provided for work that may require professional assistance. Although the Brief primarily addresses residential buildings, much of the information can be applied to wood porches on any structure.

In colonial America, buildings in the northern colonies tended to echo British precedents with small gable-roofed extensions to protect main entrances. Whether open or enclosed, these extensions were called porches (from Medieval English and the French word porche, which stems from the Latin, porticus). Also known as porticos when supported by columns, these covered entrances were sometimes designed to respect classical order and details, especially on more stylish buildings. Hooded doors or small covered entryways flanked by benches, often called stoops (from the Dutch stoep for step) that served as short covered transitions to and from the outdoors were common features, especially in New York and the mid-Atlantic colonies.

Figure 2. Porches not only help define the architectural character of a building but also serve as living areas. They can be designed to take advantage of surrounding views. Cedar Grove, the home of the nineteenth-century landscape painter Thomas Cole, has an L-shaped veranda on the front and a two-story porch on the rear, providing an enviable view of the Catskill Mountains. Photo: Marilyn Kaplan.

During the late 1700s and early 1800s as longer shed-roofed porches became more common, they were typically called piazzas, as they were then called in England. This term, still popular in some areas of North America, is adapted from the Italian word for open space or plaza. An alternate term for a long open porch, veranda, reflects British colonial design influence from the Indian sub-continent.

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Preservation Brief 45: Preserving Historic Wood Porches