On a two story brick house how do you attach a new porch to the brick?

Answer 1

Before you attach the front porch to the house, ensure that the brick is structural and not just a veneer. If it is a veneer the brick may not be strong enough to hold up to the forces that will be transferred through the deck to the brick and failure will eventually occur. Second story deck failure can be sudden, catastrophic, and possibly harmful to anyone on or below the deck at the time of failure, and that says nothing about the cost involved with brick repairs verses that cost of correct installation. If the brick is structural than you may be able to attach a ledger board directly to the brick and a porch or deck can then be attached to the ledger board, being careful not to overload the load carrying capacity of the brick. Some research will be required to determine the load bearing values need and available through the brick. Remember that there are horizontal and vertical loads applied. Uplift caused by winds and support of people, snow and materials straight down are vertical loads that must be determined. Horizontal loads may be parallel or perpendicular, push/pull/shear and twist are some of the forces that can and will be applied. I highly recommend that you have an engineer help you design the attachment and calculate the load requirements. Also check with your local building official to see if any permits may be required. Best of Luck Terry