Why do screened porches cost so much? (& can they be cheaper if done with an addition?)

[Anonymous]

It’s that they don’t want the small jobs. The cost to get all their stuff on site and order materials is the same for your porch and a full house. But the revenue to them is far greater for the full house. So they charge a premium for the small addition to make it worth their time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s that they don’t want the small jobs. The cost to get all their stuff on site and order materials is the same for your porch and a full house. But the revenue to them is far greater for the full house. So they charge a premium for the small addition to make it worth their time.

Does that mean it would be cheaper if done along with a larger addition/renovation?

[Anonymous]

A lot of it is labor. We were charged $950 to install two self-supplied ceiling fans in our porch. And it cost $250/ per outlet (plus $150 to run the wiring). We had a pretty big deck installed, but just to give you an idea how quickly costs added up: our bare bones 400sq ft unscreened upper deck was $13k. Lower deck was $11,700. Steps were $3200. Stair lights were $725. The bare bones portico (screens, roofs, beams, etc) was $12k. We upgraded the deck to Fiberon ($10k)(which I hate btw), the posts runners and rails ($10k) and the portico ($6k). Added skylights ($1k a pop). And then we needed a bunch of little things that added up (support beams etc). In the end, we were quoted $70k, but actually ended up paying closer to $80k. And that was in 2019, so you can double it if you want to figure out the current cost.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of it is labor. We were charged $950 to install two self-supplied ceiling fans in our porch. And it cost $250/ per outlet (plus $150 to run the wiring). We had a pretty big deck installed, but just to give you an idea how quickly costs added up: our bare bones 400sq ft unscreened upper deck was $13k. Lower deck was $11,700. Steps were $3200. Stair lights were $725. The bare bones portico (screens, roofs, beams, etc) was $12k. We upgraded the deck to Fiberon ($10k)(which I hate btw), the posts runners and rails ($10k) and the portico ($6k). Added skylights ($1k a pop). And then we needed a bunch of little things that added up (support beams etc). In the end, we were quoted $70k, but actually ended up paying closer to $80k. And that was in 2019, so you can double it if you want to figure out the current cost.

This is incredibly helpful, thanks so much.

If there's any more detail about the $12K portico cost you can share, that would be amazing... i.e. how big? Type of roofing? Do you know how the cost broke down between framing, roof, and screens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Everything everyone else said, it's a foundation that has to support walls and a roof, the roof has to make sure water doesn't go I between the porch and the house, etc.

There are things you can do to make it LESS expensive (painted beadboard ceiling v stained wood can save $2k, shed roof v gabled roof can save $6k, plain screened walls v electric screen that opens can save even more).

Adding a fireplace, built in kitchen, electric (fans and recessed lights), not to mention heaters ($1800 each and you might need to heavy up your electric panel for $8k) can help the expenses skyrocket.

This is really helpful, thanks, and it sounds like you really know your stuff. What's your guess of the bare-minimum costs? (Picking the cheapest option every time, and doing it as part of a larger addition so there aren't so many disproportionate fixed costs.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can folks help me understand the cost breakdown for screened porches and why they're so expensive? Ie. Is the biggest factor the cost of the slab/foundation, the roof, the screens? How much of it is extras (flooring, fancy screens/windows, fireplaces, electrical wiring) vs what the bare bones price would be for just a concrete floor with a roof and basic screens on it?

And does anyone have any guesses what the price would be for a bare-bones screened porch as an add-on to a larger addition, where we're basically just saying "Please extend the slab an extra 100-150 feet, the roof an extra 100-150 feet, and put some screens on it?" Would that save us much/anything, or are we still looking at $30K+?

Much more than 30k

[Anonymous]

It's scam that upper middle class people pay for

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of it is labor. We were charged $950 to install two self-supplied ceiling fans in our porch. And it cost $250/ per outlet (plus $150 to run the wiring). We had a pretty big deck installed, but just to give you an idea how quickly costs added up: our bare bones 400sq ft unscreened upper deck was $13k. Lower deck was $11,700. Steps were $3200. Stair lights were $725. The bare bones portico (screens, roofs, beams, etc) was $12k. We upgraded the deck to Fiberon ($10k)(which I hate btw), the posts runners and rails ($10k) and the portico ($6k). Added skylights ($1k a pop). And then we needed a bunch of little things that added up (support beams etc). In the end, we were quoted $70k, but actually ended up paying closer to $80k. And that was in 2019, so you can double it if you want to figure out the current cost.

This is incredibly helpful, thanks so much.

If there's any more detail about the $12K portico cost you can share, that would be amazing... i.e. how big? Type of roofing? Do you know how the cost broke down between framing, roof, and screens?

NP here. I think the level of detail you’re looking for isn’t typically provided by the types of contractors who would do screened porches. You may want to consider one of those companies that add on three season rooms as their sole business. They might get you the level of detail in a quote that you seek.

[Anonymous]

Agree on the crwzy costs of this type of project. We have had 2 estimates to expand our deck and screen in a portion of that and one was 100k and the other was 90k. We aren’t doing it.

[Anonymous]

DIY with footers instead of a foundation. You tube has tons of instructional videos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s that they don’t want the small jobs. The cost to get all their stuff on site and order materials is the same for your porch and a full house. But the revenue to them is far greater for the full house. So they charge a premium for the small addition to make it worth their time.

Does that mean it would be cheaper if done along with a larger addition/renovation?

Probably. There’s a savings for already having equipment on site, pouring foundations at the same time, roofing installed at the same time. Extra building materials can be used.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s that they don’t want the small jobs. The cost to get all their stuff on site and order materials is the same for your porch and a full house. But the revenue to them is far greater for the full house. So they charge a premium for the small addition to make it worth their time.

Does that mean it would be cheaper if done along with a larger addition/renovation?

Yes, when we built our new home a few years a go it only cost 14k to add a 35 x 12 screen porch. The most expensive part was the 8k retractable screens

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DIY with footers instead of a foundation. You tube has tons of instructional videos.

In most jurisdictions around DC you'll still need an engineer's stamp on your drawings, a permit, and inspections.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Agree on the crwzy costs of this type of project. We have had 2 estimates to expand our deck and screen in a portion of that and one was 100k and the other was 90k. We aren’t doing it.

That's at least 60-80% profit

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s that they don’t want the small jobs. The cost to get all their stuff on site and order materials is the same for your porch and a full house. But the revenue to them is far greater for the full house. So they charge a premium for the small addition to make it worth their time.

Does that mean it would be cheaper if done along with a larger addition/renovation?

Doubtful. We did ours as part of an addition and our contractors (who were already hired for the addition) initially tried to fleece us since we obviously had no incentive to get multiple quotes. Our architect quietly called them on it and they 'revised' the cost downward by $10k. Final cost was $62k in 2021 for a 12x24 porch, with shed roof, three skylights, two ceiling fans, and Trex decking. No fireplace or heating or vinyl windows. I thought it was outrageous but found similar stories here at the time. We're really happy we did it, even though it was a lot of $$.