Letters From Dan

Front Porch Adds Value to Home?

We started to ask the question “can a front porch add value to our home” back in January. The “recession” was in full swing and it started to look like the hike back up the mountain was going to be long. On top of that, what would inflation do to our money? So, we ultimately decided we should make the upgrades we’ve wanted to our home.

While kitchens and bathrooms are typically the area of the home it’s wise to spend money on – would the same hold true for a front porch. Our front porch was 3 feet deep to the railing, which was enough to get a chair in but not really enough to sit down. In fact, if we did sit down it was on the front steps (which were cracked).  Since our kids play in the front yard most of the time, having a front porch to sit on was even more valuable.

But in the end, the decision came to down to money. Would the money we would spend on the porch come back to us? If we were going to spend $X.00 on a front porch to increase the value of our home, would our home be worth $X.00 more than before?

So we decided to take the plunge and built, what we thought, would be a beautiful front porch. It’s the same length of 42′ feet but now instead of 3′ deep, the porch in 9′ to the railing. Not only is it big enough to sit on  now, but it’s really deep enough to put a dining room table. In fact, the kids actually play soccer on it.

The question still remains. If the housing economy did not lose some ground over the past year, would the porch have added value? Before you answer – and please do tell us your thoughts – we virtually added 420 square feet of living space to the house.

The deck is no longer concrete, but wood decking stained black. (We also painted the shutters to match). It is open on both ends and we added a new paver walkway instead of the concrete sidewalk.  But will it be worth the amount of money it cost to build?

(If you need a closer look, check out this “Expose” the site Front Porch Ideas and More.com did on the project.)

Tell us what you think.  Was it a wise decision in this economy? Was it wise had the economy continued to grow? Will this porch add enough value to this home?

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