On Fri, 11 Dec 2015 05:24:12 -0000 (UTC), HerHusband
wrote:

Why move the porch at all? It seems like it would be easier to just
climb under the porch and add your metal siding underneath the porch.

I was looking at this today and I'm starting to think that this is the
solution. It would be tough working under there, but a lot less
trouble than moving the porch. All digging would have to be done with
a hand spade, rather than a shovel, but I can live with that. But
there is a problem. The porch sits about 6" lower than the house
floor. I would not be able to nail my framework under the floor
joists, nor screw on the metal siding.

I haven't seen the situation, so I'm just guessing what the conditions are.
But didn't you say the deck was free standing and not attached to the
house? Is there a gap between the house and deck?

Climb under and take some measurements of the opening. Then preassemble a
frame (or smaller frames) out of pressure treated lumber. Slide the frame
(s) under the house and screw it to the bottom side of the house joists.
You could either attach your siding to the frame before you slide it under
the house, or attach the siding after you have the framework in place.

If you really need to attach the siding behind the deck, just drill a few
holes in the deck rim joist (or end joist depending on the joist
orientation). Then you can access the house through the holes to drive in
your screws. If it's too difficult to do from underneath, maybe you could
remove a deck board or two to gain access.

Anthony Watson
www.mountainsoftware.com
www.watsondiy.com

You have some good ideas there. I have pretty much decided to do it from
under the porch, rather than try to move it. But preassembling it, makes
a lot of sense. Maybe I can make panels with lumber and the metal
siding, and attach them from under the house. There are access doors to
get under the house.

Yes, the porch is free standing and there is a gap about 3/4" between
the house and the porch, because the porch just sits on the ground, so
it moves with freeze and thaw cycles (which is why I would not attach it
to the house). I actually did jack it up on the rear side of it, a few
years ago, because the rear was about an inch and a half lower than the
front. I stacked cement blocks under it and lifted the rear about 2".
Then I put a treated 2x8 across the cement blocks it sits on, and
lowered the jack. Now that it's settled, it seems to stay pretty level.
Yet it may get a little higher during the winter, but goes back to
normal when the soil thaws in spring. That's not a problem, since the
porch is about 6" lower than the house door. (My steps are about 6" or
7", so this is just another step).

Just a side note: Many years ago, I rented a house, where there was a
porch which was the same height as the front door. During the winter,
the porch lifted from frozen ground, and I could not get out that door,
because the porch got about an inch higher than the door. (Of course
there was another door in the rear). I complined to the landlord, and he
said he would fix it in Spring. But when he tried, the thing was so
rotted it fell apart. So, he build a new one which was several inches
below the door (like it should be), and it was much nicer too.