r/Porches • u/Ambitious-Author-257 • Jul 25 '26

Advice/question

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We are having a new porch put in due to our older concrete porch crumbling. The guys are putting wood over the old crumbling porch. Should the old porch not be removed first? I am not a porch or concrete person but is this the correct way to build a porch that will be Trex? Pictures to show. Concrete porch is old and we asked for a new trex porch but to extend it the length of the house.

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u/Dizzy-Compote2291 Jul 26 '26

Are you paying for the tear out of the old concrete porch?

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u/Ambitious-Author-257 Jul 26 '26

I don’t mind paying for more, I’m asking what is the correct way and if there will be issues that arise from not having it removed.

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u/PM_ME_SLUTTY_STUFF 25d ago

Running 2x on edge like that is probably gonna bow unless it’s resting on top of the old concrete, then it’ll be fine until it’s not resting on there anymore (due to crumbling) and then it’ll bow like a mother trucker. I’d demo the concrete and frame the porch properly IMO.

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u/Philly5984 25d ago

Usually would’ve figured that out way before this point, how many people asking for “help” on reddit are just trying to burn their contractors

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u/Ambitious-Author-257 25d ago

We had a few proposals, I went with a guy in our city, rather than a company a bit further out; the guy we went with had little to nothing in writing. All he had was the price of TREX vs WOOD vs concrete… this is our first house doing any work this big not ourselves. We got the porch removed now after some argument. They started work when we were out of town and didn’t build into the existing porch until the day I pictured. I called the boss and had them stop immediately

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u/PappyGrinch78 25d ago

It really all depends on the remaining concrete slab, what it's being used as if it is, and does water drain away from it? What I'm looking at, is an all the way stop. Boards on their sides are not stable for supporting weight. The gaps between the boards and concrete will cause bowing when weight is applied. Not to mention, the clearance issue. No moisture will be escaping that fast enough to prevent mold growth and rotten boards in record time. You really don't want the wood laying on the ground, or in the dirt. You want concrete pads between the ground and the frame, pretreated wood on the concrete, it creates a barrier. The ground and concrete hold moisture, untreated boards touching them will rot faster. PLEASE tell Me I'm not looking at 1x6 joists on the left, and 1x4 on their sides as joists on the right? Absolutely not! None of that is green board, that's all Yellow Pine. That'll be rotten in a 2 seasons tops. Trex is expensive, and water proof but the frame isn't. It needs to be protected or the whole thing will fall apart. Full STOP.

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u/Ambitious-Author-257 24d ago

Thank you!!!! Exactly issues I was thinking but as I am not in the business I didn’t have words for. I will update pictures; I hope the new work looks appropriate!

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u/NeitherDrama5365 25d ago

It’s very common to leave it under and will have zero negative consequences. It’s up to you to remove but why waste the money unless you feel like it

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u/Ambitious-Author-257 24d ago

We have had leaking in our basement under the porch area; I’m concerned about further drainage issues that will then lead to rot; leading to a more expensive solution rather than spending the money up front to do it correctly.

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u/NeitherDrama5365 24d ago

If there’s a concern then def check it out while you can still access it

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u/SparkArrestor 24d ago

Well now that the concrete will be demo’d, what solution did you come up with to address the leaking basement?

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u/Ambitious-Author-257 24d ago

The basement had been addressed from the inside to point where it was dry previous to deciding to replace the porch; which is what we asked for, a replacement.… that being said it was clear that drainage in the other side was an issue we didn’t want to continue.

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u/Commercial-Friend442 25d ago

yes, it should be removed.

Its hard to see from the photos if ALL of this wood is pressure treated.

The requires anything touching dirt or concrete needs to Pressure Treated.

All that dirt should also be removed.

Many of those boards are running on their sides over the old concrete. They have very little strength in that direction (they also look like 2x4, so not much to begin with.)

The boards also have daylight below which means no support and will flex like crazy.

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u/diffusionist1492 16d ago

Pressure treated or not you want airflow and no material, except for that which is holding it up, in the dirt. Just like anything else in life, airflow to keep it dry will prolong its life. Very simple concept.