I've been quite surprised at the number of folks finding my blog the last couple of weeks searching for information about building a farmers porch. So, in an effort to share some of the knowledge I have about these great porches I've attached some of the details from my own farmers porch.
As you can see in the detail my porch was built using pre-fabricated mono trusses and pre-cast concrete piers. Our farmers porch is quite large, 60 ft in one direction and another 20 feet in the ot
her direction. Being that large it made sense to have the trusses made ahead of time. You could just as easily frame it with conventional rafters if you want.
The basic layout has my posts and piers at roughly 6'-6" apart. That number can vary depending on how big of a upper header beam you want to build. Each of the concrete piers are lined up underneath the porch posts. The deck is attached to the house with a ledger and the front of the deck is supported by the piers. The upper header beam runs the full length of the porch just above the posts. As you can see the trusses are then set on top of the beam and the house side is supported using hangers.
If anyone has more specific questions feel free to email me and I can help you out.
Books I Used For Reference
Building Porches and Decks (For Pros by Pros)
Porch & Sunroom Planner
Dream Porches and Sunrooms: Designing the Perfect Retreat
Click here to read article at HomeConstructionImprovement.Com