Porch Demolition & Side Porch Rebuild
Two structures, two calls: tear down a failing decorative porch and patch the house clean — the smarter financial move — while rebuilding the side porch that actually mattered for access. Tenants in place throughout.
The Challenge
This older Somerville multifamily had two porch structures doing two very different jobs. A stacked, three-story porch on the rear was decorative — for enjoyment, not access — and we flagged it ourselves: the support posts had rotted and warped at the joints. A separate side porch handled actual access to the units. A reflexive "rebuild everything" answer would have cost the landlord far more than it was worth.
What We Did
For the decorative stack, we ran the numbers with the owner. A full rebuild was on the table, but the better path was to remove it entirely and patch the house back to clean, weather-tight siding. For the side porch, we pulled permits, demolished the old structure, and rebuilt it in pressure-treated framing with code-compliant stairs — relocating a window and reframing a door opening along the way, re-sheathed and flashed with ZIP System. Tenants stayed in place the entire time.
The Outcome
In about a month from permit to close, the landlord came out ahead on both fronts: the decorative porch gone and the house restored to clean siding with no ongoing maintenance liability, and a solid, code-compliant side porch rebuilt in low-maintenance composite with black aluminum railings. We didn't just rebuild what was there — we helped the owner spend where it mattered and save where it didn't.
A load path quietly failing.
On the rear three-story stack — a decorative porch, not an access route — we found rot and warping where the posts met the framing. On older multifamily housing it's the kind of thing that's invisible from the unit and easy to walk past, until it isn't. Catching it early turned an eventual emergency into a planned decision.
The smarter financial call.
A full rebuild of the decorative stack was an option — but it meant sinking real money into a structure the property didn't need and would keep paying to maintain. As investors and landlords ourselves, we ran it the way we'd run our own building: remove it, and patch the house back to clean, weather-tight siding. Lower cost, zero ongoing liability, and not a dollar spent on something that was never essential.
Two transformations.
How it came together.
Decorative stack down, side porch rebuilt in pressure-treated framing — through two scope changes, with tenants in place throughout.
Worried about your porch?
If something looks off — sagging, soft posts, pulling away from the house — we'll take a look and tell you straight, including when removal beats rebuilding. Fast, itemized estimates, no pressure.
Book a Free Estimate Or call (617) 410-6623