Porch and Entrance Addition Questions Checklist

Note what happens at the door in heavy rain, including where water blows in, where it stands and how wet you get while finding keys.

This is the observation that most often justifies a porch, and it points to the depth and orientation the new space would need.

Record which rooms feel the draught when the front door opens, and whether the door opens straight into a room you sit in.

A door opening directly into a living space is a different problem from a cold hall, and the two lead to different answers.

Write down where wet coats, muddy boots, umbrellas and bags actually end up now, rather than where they are supposed to go.

The real answer to this is usually the floor, and it tells a designer what the new space genuinely has to absorb.

Observe what happens to deliveries when nobody is home, and where parcels are currently left and by whom.

Parcel behaviour has changed how front doors are used, and it is now a real part of the brief rather than an afterthought.

Note how dark the doorway is at night, whether the existing light works, and whether you can see who is at the door before opening it.

Lighting and visibility at the door are commonly raised only after the porch is built and the old light no longer fits.

Record which way the front door faces and whether the doorway takes strong sun, driving rain or neither.

Orientation determines whether a glazed porch would become uncomfortably warm or would simply be a cold lobby.

Note whether there is a step up to the door, how many there are and whether the surface becomes slippery in wet or icy weather.

Steps at the entrance affect who can use the door comfortably and how a porch floor would have to relate to them.

Record how the ground outside the door sits relative to the floor inside, and whether water can run towards the doorway.

The relationship between inside and outside levels governs both the threshold and how water behaves at the door.

Note the condition of the existing door and frame, whether it fits well, and whether it is the thing you actually want to change.

Some entrance problems are solved by the door itself, and testing that first avoids building a porch around a poor door.

Ask a qualified professional what a level threshold at this entrance would involve, and record what they tell you.

Level access is far easier to plan at the outset than to add later, but how it is achieved is a technical matter.

Threshold arrangements, weathering and level access are technical matters for qualified professionals to advise on for your property.

Record whether any canopy, hood or overhang already shelters the door, and how much of the doorway it actually covers.

An existing shelter that almost works sometimes points to a smaller intervention than a full porch.

Note which way the existing door swings, whether it opens inwards or outwards, and what it hits or blocks when fully open.

The existing swing constrains the porch depth and is the detail most often overlooked in a first sketch.

List everything the porch is expected to hold, from coats and boots to a pushchair, a bicycle, dog leads or sports equipment.

The list is nearly always longer than expected, and it is the fastest way to test whether the intended footprint is realistic.

Note how many people typically arrive or leave together, since a porch that works for one person can jam completely for a family.

Simultaneous use is the condition a porch fails at, and it is easy to picture before anything is drawn.

Consider whether anyone needs to sit down to put on or remove footwear, and record that as a requirement rather than a nicety.

Somewhere to sit is the requirement most often dropped when a plan gets tight, and the one most missed afterwards.

Note whether a pushchair, walking frame, wheelchair or similar equipment needs to be brought in, stored or manoeuvred at the door.

Equipment that has to turn at the entrance changes the shape of the space entirely and needs stating at the outset.

Record whether you want parcels to be left inside a porch, and whether that means it must be accessible when you are out.

A porch that receives deliveries when the house is empty is a different arrangement from one that is locked with the house.

Write down what the floor has to cope with, including mud, grit, wet dogs and salt, and how you would clean it.

The entrance floor takes more punishment than any other in the house and is often specified as though it were a hall.

Consider what happens when both the outer and inner doors are open at once, and whether anyone could stand between them.

This single question exposes whether a shallow porch will work in practice, and it can be tested with tape on the ground.

Mark the proposed porch footprint on the ground with tape and walk through it carrying shopping to test the arrangement.

Walking the taped outline reveals problems that no drawing does, and it takes only a short while to set up.

Consider whether the outer door would open outwards, and note what it would swing over, such as a step, a path or a planted area.

An outward opening door needs clear space beyond it, which is easy to forget when the porch is drawn to the edge of the path.

Ask a qualified professional what changing the existing front door or its swing would involve, rather than assuming it can simply be reversed.

Altering the existing door involves the frame, the threshold and the weathering, all of which are more than they appear.

Alterations to an existing door, frame or opening are matters for qualified professionals, including anything affecting glazing or escape.

Note how many keys the arrangement would require, whether both doors would be locked, and how that suits everyone in the household.

Two locked doors are a daily irritation for some households and reassuring for others, and it is worth agreeing which you are.

Record whether you want to see out from inside the porch and whether you want to be seen from the street while standing in it.

Glazing decisions in a porch are about privacy and security as much as light, and preferences vary sharply between households.

Ask a qualified professional what would collect the water coming off a new porch roof, and where it would be taken once it has left the gutter.

Water shed onto the path at the entrance is the most avoidable of all porch complaints and is easily designed out early.

How rainwater from a new roof is collected and disposed of is a technical matter for qualified professionals to determine.

Note where the existing gutters, downpipes and gullies sit on the front of the house, and whether a porch would sit under or against them.

Existing rainwater goods are usually exactly where the new roof wants to be, and moving them raises further questions.

Consider whether the porch roof would sit beneath a first floor window, and how that changes the view and access from inside.

A flat roof under a bedroom window has consequences for security, maintenance and appearance that are rarely raised early.

Write down whether you would prefer a pitched or flat roof form, and note whether that preference comes from appearance or from function.

Naming the reason behind a preference helps a designer offer an alternative that satisfies the same underlying concern.

Note where a new roof would meet the existing wall, and ask what is behind that wall at the junction.

The junction between new and existing is where most water problems begin, and knowing what is behind it matters.

How a new roof is joined and weathered to an existing wall is work for qualified professionals and is not something to assume.

Consider what happens to water or ice shedding onto the step and path in cold weather, and whether the approach becomes slippery.

The safety of the approach in cold weather is a practical consequence of the roof design and is worth raising while it can be changed.

Photograph the whole front wall and list everything fixed to it, including meter boxes, vents, bells, lights, cables and alarm equipment.

This list is the one that changes a porch design most often, and every item on it belongs to someone with a view about it.

Anything involving a meter, a vent, an alarm or an electrical fitting must be dealt with by the relevant undertakers and qualified installers.

Note whether any meter would end up inside the porch, and how it would be reached by whoever needs to read or service it.

Meters enclosed by a new porch cause difficulty later, and the arrangement should be raised before the walls are drawn.

Record how post arrives now and where it would land once a porch exists, including whether an outer letter opening is wanted.

Post arriving in a locked outer space is a common annoyance that is trivial to solve on paper and awkward to fix afterwards.

Note any air brick, vent or flue terminal on the front wall, and raise each with a qualified professional before enclosing anything.

A small addition can enclose something that was designed to sit in open air, and that can happen without anyone intending it or noticing.

A vent or flue terminal should never be built around on assumption. Anything serving an appliance is for qualified professionals to assess before a shape is agreed.

Record the position of any external tap, cable or socket on the front wall, and note which would be inside the new enclosure.

Small fittings are easily forgotten in a first sketch and each one needs a decision about moving, keeping or removing it.

Note where the house number, bell and any entry equipment sit, and where they would go once the entrance changes.

Callers need to find the door, and these small items are almost always resolved at the last moment rather than in the design.

Photograph the front of the house from across the street and note how the entrance sits within the elevation as a whole.

The photograph shows proportion and symmetry in a way that standing at your own door never does.

Note how neighbouring houses have treated their entrances, including any porches, and what you like or dislike about each.

Looking along the street gives you a vocabulary for the conversation and shows what has been considered acceptable locally.

Record the materials on the front of your house and note anything unusual about the brickwork, render, sills or the door surround.

Matching or deliberately contrasting is a decision, and the discussion starts from an accurate description of what is there.

Consider how much of the front garden, path or parking a porch would take, and what that does to the approach.

The space in front of the door is doing work already, and a porch usually consumes more of it than expected.

Confirm locally what enquiries apply to an addition at the front of a house, and record who will make that contact.

Additions at the front are treated differently in different places and in different types of area, and only the authority can say.

Whether any consent applies to an addition at the front of your property can only be confirmed with your local authority.

Note whether your entrance shares a path, a step or a wall with a neighbouring house, and mark that clearly for anyone advising you.

Shared entrance arrangements are common in terraced and semi detached houses and raise their own set of questions.

Where an entrance shares a path, wall or step with a neighbour, the legal position should be confirmed with a qualified adviser.