Ugly Canadian Porch

I live in Ontario, Canada. The humidity levels are pretty high all year round....up to 80% in Summer, and the temp. is often minus 30 celcius in Winter. I have a solid concrete porch (10' x 8 ' x 20" thick) with hollow block steps that the former owner installed himself which is an eyesore. He brought the concrete up to within 1" of the threshold of the entry door, which means we get snow piled up against the door in Winter. I have considered removing the porch entirely, but don't really want to break up this much concrete. An alternative would be to remove the hollow block steps, frame the porch on the three sides away from the house with wood and attach wooden steps. My question is this : which fasteners are best for attaching wood to concrete ? Would I need a vapour barrier to separate the wood from the concrete, and can anyone suggest a "cap" to prevent rain and snow from penetrating the gap between the wood and concrete ?

Thanks for reading and any help with this.

 

There are different types of galvanized concrete fasteners. If you need to cap the concrete and the wood make sure you use a polymer type of trim, possibly L shaped that goes above the wood. Hard to tell without a drawing or pic.

 

I would seriously consider removing the concrete stoop altogether, and rebuilding using srw blocks (segmental retaining wall) like pisa or celtik block. No matter what you do with this concrete slab it will always look like an add on. If you decide to keep that slab then all you would need to do is use tapcons to adhere the wood to the concrete. Home depot has a good selection of galvanized brackets that will work fine. One end is tapconed to the concrete and the other is screwed in to the wood.

 

Framing in the porch is a great idea it would create a mud room which is very important. GRK fasteners is the best that i have found. I also use strike anchors wich are a great product. Consult a sheetmetal company to build a cap or you could try to fabricate one yourself. Another idea is to visit a pro store where live for types of caps. Check the links out. Hope this helps. Strike Anchors - Concrete Fasteners.com

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