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Several types of porches are available to meet your needs and style preferences. Some common porch types include:

• Porticos are essentially a roof over a walkway leading to the home's front entrance. 

• Sunrooms are closed-in porches that are an extension of the house with glass or plastic panels that allow optimal sunlight. 

• Wraparound porches extend around the entire home, or at least the front and one side, and offer multiple entrances to the house.

• Back porches are an extension of the home’s floor into the outdoors. These offer more protection and privacy than a deck.

While building your deck, you might come across something called the four-inch sphere rule. Essentially, this railing requirement for a deck states that a four-inch ball should not be able to fit through any gap in the deck railings. The gap between spindles and between the decking and the bottom of the railing must be less than four inches to prevent small children or pets from squeezing through the gap.

If you used regular jointing sand, you can typically walk on the repaired area right away. If you used polymeric sand, wait at least 24 hours before walking on it and 48 to 72 hours before driving over it, depending on the weather. Polymeric sand needs time to fully cure and lock the pavers in place.

Wood rot is not normally covered by insurance except in rare cases when it results from a covered event like a burst pipe. Wood rot is categorized as gradual, preventable damage, so most insurance policies won’t pay for claims to repair wood rot damage. Check your policy to find out if wood rot is covered before making a claim.