Stone Porches

How do you like the look of stone porches? While most porches are made of wood, one made of stone will add a timeless quality to your home that wood just can't achieve. You do need to have some heavy equipment in order to work with the stone because it is quite heavy. Once you purchase the stone, you will need a large trailer to bring it home for you unless you want to make several trips in your own truck.

When you are ready to start building, instead of a hammer and saw, your tools will be mortar and a trowel. First, though, you have to prepare a foundation for the porch, which needs to be concrete. Wood just doesn't cut it when you are using stone because the finished structure will be too heavy for the base. Clean this base thoroughly and mix the mortar you need for the stones. The mixing should be dome right where you are going to start with the first stones so that you have the mortar ready as soon as you need it.

Spread the mortar evenly over the base and insert the first stone. Work it down into the mortar to make sure that it is level and secure. The first piece you install should also be slightly slanted away from the sill of the house to keep the moisture from getting into the home. Once you have the first stone in place, then you can continue adding more stones, always working them into the mortar.

Keep positioning the stones in whatever pattern you wish, mixing plain and colored stones to create a really unique porch. You do need to leave a small space between the stones where you will put more mortar for grout when you have the porch completed. This grout helps to fill in the spaces and helps to lock the stones in place. When the mortar is completely dry, you will have a porch that will last forever.