u/ProcedurePretend1396

I'm getting ready to submit plans to my city for a wraparound porch and have a few framing questions before I finalize the design.

The porch will be approximately 75 feet long by 10 feet wide. My plan is to use 6x6 posts supported by concrete sonotube footings. I'm located in Minnesota, so I'm also trying to determine the proper footing size and depth.

While looking at building plans and watching YouTube videos, I've noticed that many builders simply lag-bolt the beam directly to the side of the posts without notching the posts or providing a bearing surface for the beam. Is this an acceptable method, or should the beam be notched into the posts so it bears on the wood instead of relying only on the fasteners?

I'd also like the same 6x6 posts to support both the deck and the porch roof.

Here are my questions:

• What diameter sonotubes and footing depth are typically required in Minnesota?
• Is it acceptable to lag-bolt the beam directly to the posts, or should the posts be notched to support the beam?
• Can I frame the roof using only 2x6 top chords?
• What size floor joists would be appropriate for a 10-foot-wide porch with pressure-treated decking?

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm a millennial in my 40s, and for most of my adult life I've been focused on my immediate family my wife, kids, dad, and sister.

Before COVID, our extended family was huge. We had cousins, uncles, aunts, and all of the cousins' kids. It felt like everyone was connected.

I've recently started therapy, and one of the goals I've been working on is reconnecting with family and old friends who used to mean a lot to me.

I started by sending emails to cousins, uncles, and aunts. I didn't get a single response.

Then I tried calling people. One conversation went like, "Hey, it's your cousin..." and within minutes he was asking if I could send him $100 for gas.

I reached another cousin, and he immediately started talking about how he was still upset that my dad didn't help my uncle back in 2018. Then the conversation turned into everything Trump is doing wrong.

I reconnected with an old friend, and things were going well until AI came up. He got genuinely angry that I even brought it up.

I've been reading a lot of self-help books because I want to become a better person—not just for the people in my immediate circle, but for others too. Instead, it feels like every attempt to reconnect leads to another dead end.

Has anyone else gone through something like this? Did you eventually have a breakthrough? If so, what changed?

Im putting up ledger board on my 1937 home for a wrap around porch. I have noticed the parge layer on the foundation is detaching. The foundation looks to me a pour lime foundation. I was thinking about setting forms 4-6 inch back from the foundation, pouring concrete so the ledger board now sits on top of the lip of the newly poured section. Does this sound like it could work? Thanks!

I have been looking at wanting to construct a quick and easy pergola or pavilon. These premade kits look attractive with cedar posts, brackets, and steel roofing if I went with a pavilion. My question is for $2000 will these kits last 15-20 years? Im really wanting to get something up fast without multiple runs to HD to get lumber, screws, brackets that a built by scratch gets me. Thanks