Bringing new life to old porches

The porch ... a place to relax with a good book or take a nap in the sun. And they have often been called "our window on the world." ......the transition between the inside of the house and the outdoors.

And of course the porch is most often the first part of a home that visitors see. It is a reflection of the people who live there. It can be friendly and inviting, invoke a sense of fun or present a shut off or silent frontage to the street.

But all too often the front porch can't live up to these great ideals. Maybe its a old wood porch that's seen better days.... has boards which have become decayed with age. Maybe its a concrete porch that just looks drab and lifeless.. not the welcoming place you'd like it to be.

What could look better than a classic hardwood surface on your porch or entranceway. But the cost of building a custom deck can be so off putting.

But there is another way. Even if its a wooden surface with weather worn boards you can generally avoid ripping up the lot and starting again. If the boards are basically structurally sound, the simplest solution can be to lay SwiftDeck or LinkDeck tiles over the lot. And on the outside edge, reducer strips are available which simply clip on the edge of the tiles to give a truly professional finish.

And you can design your own unique tile pattern on your new porch. Both our SwiftDeck and LinkDeck ranges are available in several different designs, so you could run a border around the porch with one style of tile or maybe make a feature panel feature near the doorway.

And if its concrete porch you want to beautify, its even easier and the results are even more spectacular. Again it's a simple matter of just clicking the tiles into place. A typical porch can be covered in less than an hour... ready to use right away.

If any tiles have to be cut to fit around pipes or fit against a wall , they can be cut with just a normal handsaw. Maybe you'll need to make template of stiff card if it's a complex shape but this makes the task of cutting exactly the right size and shape very easy.

Porches of any size and shape can be given this very easy and quick makeover and the results will surely surprise you.