Joe didn't want that to happen with this porch. He used treated landscape timbers seated in concrete to support the deck. It took him a lot of talking to convince me to put two full supports in the center to keep the crossbeam from sagging. I was so against it that he didn't use full sized 4x4s when he built the front part of the steps. He had to come back later and scab in pieces to extend to the crossbeam. Come spring and nicer weather, he will sheath this support with some 1x somethings to make it look pretty.We will add the porch railing in the spring as well.
Hm... Does this mean folks can start using the front door?
