Adding a porch to your home is a big investment, and homeowners these days have more choices than ever when it comes to who does the building. If you go to Google and look for a porch contractor or “porch builders near me,” you’ll find loads of options. Among those options, you’ll have outdoor living specialists, general contractors, remodelers, and smaller independent builders.
It’s great to have that kind of variety to choose from. But it also means you’ll need to pay special attention to screening for the relevant experience.
Porches have to do more than stand on their own. They need to connect properly to the house and complement the architecture. And most of all, they need to give you just the excuse you need to spend more time outside.
Look for a Porch Contractor With Relevant Experience
How many years a porch contractor has been in business matters, but the type of work done in those years arguably matters more.
Start by asking (or looking online) for information on how many covered, screened, and open porches the company has built. Look for experience integrating new rooflines with existing homes, since this is one of the areas that can go wrong in lower-quality builds. And look for different builds customized to different property layouts and grades.
A contractor with broad construction experience might very well be capable of building a porch. A specialist in outdoor living brings an even more concentrated history of porch-specific design and construction problems to each project. It’s useful to know what you could potentially expect from a given Central Iowa porch contractor.
Make Sure Design Is Part of the Conversation
Porches will change how you move between the house and the yard. That makes the design about more than square footage. This is why, on our projects, we spend a great deal of time thinking about how people will enter and exit the space. We mentally map out where furniture will go and how the sun will move across this space. We think about the views from the porch. And we consider all this alongside the activities you want to do outside like dining and entertaining.
Also important with design is making sure the new porch feels like part of the home. That means matching the roofline, columns, trim, flooring, and general proportions. When the project is complete, your custom porch should feel like a natural extension of the house.
Review Completed Porch Projects
Seeing a porch contractor’s portfolio can tell you a lot. Look for covered and screened porches. See how they work with different architectural styles. Consider both large and small projects and how they handle them. And if you can find porches that connect to other spaces like decks and patios, pay attention to the transitions between those structures. That can tell you a lot about their design chops.
Our Central Iowa photo gallery is a useful place to see examples of the kinds of outdoor spaces we design and build.
Ask How the Design-Build Process Works
Before you settle on a porch contractor, you will want to know who handles each part of the project. The process involves a lot of steps ranging from consultation and site evaluation through design, proposal, permitting, and construction. You’ll want to know who is managing the project and handling permits. Ask who will tell you if there is a change in requirements or timeline. What you’ll ideally want to see is a single company that manages design and construction together.
Consider Central Iowa Weather and Materials
Porches in Central Iowa need to live through hot summers, winter snow and ice, rain, moisture, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles. That’s a lot to ask of a structure and all the decisions around framing, flooring, roofing, screening, drainage, trim, and finishes need to take this into account. So be sure to ask why specific materials are being recommended and how much maintenance they require. Ask about manufacturer warranties too, since those can help protect you if something goes sideways (literally or figuratively) a couple years down the road.
Compare Scope, Warranty, and Price Together
Two porch estimates can look similar on the first page while covering very different work, so don’t just pay attention to the top line. Make sure the proposal includes everything from design to materials to construction. Ask about workmanship coverage and warranty protections too.
Let's Build Something Beautiful, Together
It would be our distinct pleasure to meet with you for a no-obligation complimentary design consultation. Call Harold Cross and his team at 515-203-8734, or contact us using our online form.
