Adding a screen porch-- what are must-haves vs smart ways to save $$?

[Anonymous]

We're planning on adding a screned porch-- what factors affect the price the most, and which are pretty minor? (Size? Type of flooring? Roof style? Roof materials? Ceiling fans? Heaters? Railings? Other stuff? We really don't know!)

What are the things about your screened porch that are totally worth the money and that you advise people not to cheap out on for cost reasons? And on the other hand, what are some ways to keep costs down that actually make sense?

Thanks so much for any insight!

[Anonymous]

Definitely need fan(s). Probably at least one electrical outlet as well. You can get plexiglass storm windows that could also be of use during more extreme weather.

[Anonymous]

Get sunspace or ezbreeze windows and a heater. Will make it usable most of the year! Worth the splurge there.
We have one heater and it’s plenty and we have a large room (18x20)
Yes to a fan.
We are close enough to the ground so we didn’t need railings around the edge (I think it looks better too), but that’s dependent on how high up it is.
We have pine floors (I think), our contractor said using trek wasn’t needed since it’s covered. We have trek floors on our deck.

Go as big as you can, we love our porch.

[Anonymous]

Also, our flooring is tongue and groove which I think keeps it warmer in the winter.

[Anonymous]

Ways to value engineer your screened in porch:

Shed roof instead of gable roof
White beadboard ceiling instead of stained wood
Skip the electric screen that opens with the click of a button
No electricity (fans/heaters - the built in heaters are pricey, the fans not so much)
No fireplace, grill, etc - just 4 walls and a screen door to outside yard

And, we didn't take much of the advice above. I love the heaters, the fans, the gabled roof, etc. But we thought about it

[Anonymous]

I've had screened porches in both of the houses I've owned and I love them.

Must-haves for enjoying it:
Ceiling fan
Size - the bigger the better
Electrical outlets - definitely one and ideally two, one on either side of the door

Nice to have - heaters in ceiling, shades depending on your direction / sun exposure

[Anonymous]

We built ours 2 years ago. Tried to 'value engineer' after getting the first quote. It wasn't easy to find ways to significantly reduce the price, which was higher than I'd anticipated but in line with all the many discussions on this topic here. We didn't do Sunspace windows or a fireplace/heaters. We did add skylights and ceiling fans.

[Anonymous]

I just have a pretty basic screened porch, no special windows or heaters. I do have a ceiling fan. The only place I splurged was a cathedral (I think that’s what it’s called) ceiling rather than the shed roof. It makes the porch look much larger.

I did buy one of those gel fuel fire places on FB marketplace for less than $100 and it provides some warmth.

[Anonymous]

Automatic screens. We used Phantom Screens.

Smart ceiling fans that start up based on temp and people being in the room -- set and forget. We used Haiku fans.

[Anonymous]

Does using aluminum rather than wood save money, and is it worth it?

[Anonymous]

Sunspace is worth the splurge in my opinion, as are fan(s). Splurging to make the space bigger also worth it.

Just my opinion but I don’t think skylights are worth it. We also haven’t upgraded our heating and just have space heaters. The infrared heaters are stupid expensive.

My husband would tell you a TV is worth the splurge. I don’t really want a TV but sometimes we will do movie night on the porch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've had screened porches in both of the houses I've owned and I love them.

Must-haves for enjoying it:
Ceiling fan
Size - the bigger the better
Electrical outlets - definitely one and ideally two, one on either side of the door

Nice to have - heaters in ceiling, shades depending on your direction / sun exposure

This.

Ceiling fan is a must, also electrical outlets. Make sure that you also don’t have pets that have sharp claws that will rip the screen (been there, done that). But also, build it on a side where you have great sunlight during the dusk, but shade during the peak daylight times.

[Anonymous]

We are on a wooded lot so we put 4 skylights. Definitely fan and we put lights in the porch on a dimmer. We finished the walls of the porch up to the railing for privacy and for better wear of furniture. We have toungein groove flooring, less bugs and more warmth.

[Anonymous]

Things that may influence cost:
We did a Trex (or Trek like) floor. I believe this was the item that had the most influence on price.
We have 2 skylights - this was important to get sunlight into the house.
How is the porch integrated into the house? We have both a door that goes from kitchen and french doors that go from dining room. French doors were expensive - but a design decision we made given how we use the space.
We have 2 heaters in the room. One is over the eating space and one over the lounging space. I am not sure of cost as it has now been 5 years. We use the screened porch a lot. On a day like today - we will have breakfast out there.
You need a fan in the DC area.
We put up a curtain rod and have indoor / outdoor curtains to help with the sun.
It all depends on how you are going to use it - do not be penny wise - pound foolish.
This weekend - one of the kids might have friends over and watch a movie.
We have power outlets and purchased a projector during COVID. We put up a bedsheet over the curtains and project - the kids enjoy their space.

[Anonymous]

I think one of the things we get the most compliments on is that we removed the house vinyl siding and put up 12 inch T1-11 wood and painted it a gray. it makes it feel more like a room of our house and not like a porch add on.

we also have a porch swing (from Ballard).