Looking for Input: Thinking about enclosing area under screen porch/deck

[Mark Gottesman]

I want to use my garage for a shop and the wife would like to get her car in there. So, I need another place to store the lawn equipment, extra propane tanks, garden supplies etc.

I thought about building a shed and have not entirely discarded that idea. However, there is a 2nd story screened porch off the back of the house with a poured concrete slab under it. The porch floor is 2x6(?), is supported on 12"x12" brick columns that may have a timber down the center and has 9' of headspace.

So, I was thinking [always a dangerous thing for me to do] that if I framed, by lagging to the columns and concrete, and sheathed the openings, I would end up with a dry space in the neighborhood of 14' x 16'. I think I could make the roof by coming up with some sort of tapered or stepped shims for the bottom of the deck that I could screw corrugated panels to, from underneath. A couple of doors and windows and I could transform a junk catching area to useful space.

Power would come in at a later date, IF needed.

Looked briefly at the "Underdeck" system but that is $1,700 for supplies alone. Nice looking kit, but looks like it is heavy on the install effort and is just a roofing system.

So, any thoughts, suggestions or 1st hand experience with a project like this?

 

[MarkE]

Had a similar space at our house in New Hampshire. There was no concrete floor, just dirt. The deck above was 14' x 24'.

I put in a ground level deck with pt lumber and some skid wood just to get a level, off the dirt floor and stored a lot of yard tools under there. We checked into several roofing systems, Dry-B-Lo, Under Deck Oasis, etc. At the time they were all too expensive for the budget. The cheapest way I could see to get some dry space under there was with the fiberglass(?) corrugated panels. We never did do a roof, just covered stuff with tarps, but it kept everything out of the weather, mostly. At least the deck kept most of the snow out.

 

[jerrye]

The cheapest way I could see to get some dry space under there was with the fiberglass(?) corrugated panels.

FIL did this with the space underneath his deck at least 17 years ago, and has never had a problem with it. Most inexpensive method he could find.

 

[Skymaster]

as u said, good idea; frame between the columns to 8', run 2x6 rafters pitched to front, cover with fiberglass panels, only need to shed water from under deck should be fine.
2 hrs bout all it should take

:rotflm::rotflm:

 

[bobby g]

Mark,

Sloped fiberglass panels emptying into a rain gutter should work fine. Get the slope by attaching strips of PT lumber at right angles to the joists. Vary the thickness of the strips from back to front to get the slope needed to drain properly. You can run your coated screws right through them into the joists.

bobby g

 

[Mark Gottesman]

Mark,

Sloped fiberglass panels emptying into a rain gutter should work fine. Get the slope by attaching strips of PT lumber at right angles to the joists. Vary the thickness of the strips from back to front to get the slope needed to drain properly. You can run your coated screws right through them into the joists.

bobby g

That is pretty much how I planned to do it. I'm trying to figure out how handle the end of the corrugated that would end up against the brick columns. Need to think about that a bit.

Also need to check about building permit.