What is a Porch?
A porch is a structure attached to the front or back entrance of a building. It can be an external room built on the outer walls of the main building or an internal room built by the front door of the building. In North America a porch is a platform structure like a verandah, whereas in Britain the porch is typically a small vestibule where coats can be hung or wet and muddy clothing can be stored before entering into the main house.
The porch, especially in the southern United States and Southern Ontario, Canada, is often as broad as it is deep, and may provide sufficient space for residents to entertain guests or gather on special occasions. However, many American homes built since the 1940s with a porch only have a token one, too small for comfortable social use and adding only to the visual impression of the building; however the recent New Urbanism movement in architecture recommends a large porch facing the street, to help build community ties. Ontario sub-divisions never stopped the addition of porches, and they are assumed to be on a house.
Uses for a Porch
When covered, it not only provides protection from sun or rain but may also form, in effect, an extra exterior room that may accommodate chairs, tables and other furniture, to be used as living space. Screens are often used in some areas to exclude flying insects.There are various styles of porches, all of which depend on the architectural tradition of its location. Verandahs, for example, are usually quite large and may encompass the entire facade as well as the sides of a structure.
Porches typically are architecturally unified with the rest of the house, using similar design elements as the rest of the structure, and may be integrated into the roofline or upper stories. Decks are similar in function to porches, but typically are open to the sky, are of bare wood construction, and do not integrate in design with the rest of the structure.