Porch Contractor in Vermont
A porch carries a roof, which means it carries snow. That changes the footings, the posts and the way it ties into the house, and it is where most porch projects go wrong before anyone picks a railing.
Get a Free Porch Building Estimate
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Tell Me What You Want to Keep Out
Rain, sun or blackflies. That answer decides whether you want covered, screened or three-season. Call or fill out the form.
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I Check What Is Already There
Whether an existing deck can carry a roof gets answered before the estimate rather than halfway through the build.
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You Get Structure and Finish Priced Apart
Footings, framing, roof and tie-in broken out from the screens and trim, so the structural cost is visible.
Porch Building Reviews from Vermont Homeowners
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The Porch Styles I Build
A porch is a deck with a structural roof on it, so the load goes down through the posts into footings below frost, which here means four feet. Every style below sits on that same structure. What changes is how much weather you keep out.
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Covered Porches
A roof, posts and open sides, which is what most people mean by an open-air porch. The simplest build, and the one that changes how much you use a front or back entry.
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Screened Porches
Framed screen panels in the openings. Blackfly and mosquito season around here runs long enough that this is the most requested build I do.
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Three-Season Porches
Glazed panels that swap or slide, so the space works from April through October rather than only in high summer.
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Farmers Porches
Full-width front porches on the traditional Vermont pattern, with the roof pitch and post spacing matched to the house rather than to a kit.
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Porch Rebuilds
Older porches with rotted posts and sunken footings taken back to structure and rebuilt, keeping the trim details where they are worth keeping.
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Roofs Over Existing Decks
Adding a roof to a deck that was never framed for one. This needs the footings and posts checked first, and often upgraded.
Why a Porch Is Not Just a Deck With a Roof
Any competent porch builder can frame a floor. Whether what is under it carries a roof through a Vermont winter is the real question, and it is the one I get asked most: can the existing deck take one? Sometimes it can. More often the footings were poured for a deck load, the posts are undersized for a roof, and adding one would be building on something not designed to hold it.
I check that before quoting rather than after, because finding out mid-build is expensive for both of us. If the deck can carry it, that is the cheapest porch you will ever get. If it cannot, you should know before the permit goes in, and the answer is usually a deck repair underneath first.
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Footings Below Frost
Porch footings go four feet down because the roof adds load a deck was never designed to carry. It is not somewhere to save money in Vermont.
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The Tie-In Treated as Roofing
Where the porch roof meets the house gets flashed and valley-detailed as roofing work, because that joint is what leaks.
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Checked Before Quoting
Whether an existing deck can carry a roof gets answered before the estimate, not discovered halfway through the build.
Find Out What a Porch Would Cost
I work out the roof tie-in and the footings on site, then price it properly rather than guessing off a photo.
Common Porch Building Questions
What makes building a porch different from building a deck?
A roof carries snow, and in Vermont that is real weight going down through the posts into the ground. Porch footings go below frost depth at four feet. A deck footing poured for deck load will not hold a roof through many winters.
Can you put a roof over my existing deck?
The most common question I get is whether a roof can go over the deck that is already there. Sometimes yes, and that is the cheapest porch anyone will ever get. More often the footings and posts were sized for a deck, and I would rather establish that before the permit than during the build.
How does the porch roof tie into the house?
Where the new porch roof meets the existing roof and wall is the joint that leaks. It needs proper flashing and a valley that sheds rather than collects. Treating that as carpentry is how you end up with stained siding two years later.
Do screen panels survive a Vermont winter?
Screens get torn, usually by a dog or a branch. Building them as removable frames means a repair is a panel swap you can do yourself rather than a call-out and a day of labour.
I Build Porches Across Northern Vermont
A roofed structure needs a builder who will come out and work out the tie-in on site, not price it off a photo. I cover Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille and Washington Counties.
Chittenden County 18 towns
- Bolton, VT 05676
- Burlington, VT 05401
- Charlotte, VT 05445
- Colchester, VT 05446
- Essex, VT 05451
- Essex Junction, VT 05452
- Hinesburg, VT 05461
- Huntington, VT 05462
- Jericho, VT 05465
- Milton, VT 05468
- Richmond, VT 05477
- Shelburne, VT 05482
- South Burlington, VT 05403
- St. George, VT 05495
- Underhill, VT 05489
- Westford, VT 05494
- Williston, VT 05495
- Winooski, VT 05404
Franklin County 15 towns
- Bakersfield, VT 05441
- Berkshire, VT 05447
- Enosburg, VT 05450
- Fairfax, VT 05454
- Fairfield, VT 05455
- Fletcher, VT 05444
- Franklin, VT 05457
- Georgia, VT 05454
- Highgate, VT 05459
- Montgomery, VT 05471
- Richford, VT 05476
- Sheldon, VT 05483
- St. Albans City, VT 05478
- St. Albans Town, VT 05478
- Swanton, VT 05488
Grand Isle County 3 towns
- Grand Isle, VT 05458
- North Hero, VT 05474
- South Hero, VT 05486
Lamoille County 10 towns
- Belvidere, VT 05442
- Cambridge, VT 05464
- Eden, VT 05653
- Elmore, VT 05657
- Hyde Park, VT 05655
- Johnson, VT 05656
- Morrisville, VT 05661
- Stowe, VT 05672
- Waterville, VT 05492
- Wolcott, VT 05680
Washington County 5 towns
- Duxbury, VT 05676
- Middlesex, VT 05602
- Moretown, VT 05660
- Waterbury, VT 05676
- Waterbury Center, VT 05677
Get a Porch Framed for Vermont Snow
A roof puts real load through the posts into the ground. Getting the footings right is the difference between a porch that lasts and one that moves.