Tell me about your screened porch!

[Anonymous]

Good advice here. Key: Trex floor at least so you can hang out barefoot with no splinters. Vaulted ceiling (sky blue) with fan(s). Seating areas for eating and for socializing (napping!). Ours doesn't get very dirty and we have lots of trees. Just move all the furniture and power wash. Not that hard.

Install netting under the flooring as well to keep out bugs.

[Anonymous]

Make sure the design allows for you to hose it off and have the water drain outside. Then it's not difficult keeping it clean.

Ceiling fan and lighting are key.

[Anonymous]

Interesting. A hose-able floor under a roof. Would not have thought of that. Glad I read this thread.

[Anonymous]

Would you recommend windows in addition to the screen? I wonder if the windows will extend the use into winter...

[Anonymous]

We have one - it was a major selling feature for us when we bought our house. We use it pretty frequently, though probably could use it more. Ours has a vaulted ceiling with a fan and overhead lights (also lights on the side of the house that help illuminate as well) - those are key. If I were building from scratch, I'd think about ways to winterize it from the get-go - maybe pop-in "windows" (plexiglas maybe?) and a way to heat it (we have a tiny house though, so I'd love it if we could have the space year round). We use an infrared heater on ours when we use it in the winter.

Oh, and have a plug installed out there for when you need to vacuum the rug or want to plug in a radio or speaker. And get the screens so that you can pop them out for cleaning, etc.

[Anonymous]

Love ours! Favorite room in the house. Built it a few years ago because mosquitos kept us inside. Ours is huge with a table that seats 6-10 and a couch set up. We even bought one of those restaurant style heaters and use it all year. It's great to be out there in the relative silence listening to natures sounds.

[Anonymous]

My parents live in theirs!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've heard price range from $20,000 for a "rustic" porch built by cheap contractor to "$40,000" for standard-outfitted room built by mid/high range contractor

That's quite a range. Eek.

[Anonymous]

Any idea how much something like this would cost?


We have a space just like that but it's just a flat patio at this point.

I don't have a lot of experience posting images so apologies in advance that it's a little big.

[Anonymous]

What is the square footage? How many outlets do you want? Fan? Skylights? Foundation or floating pillars? Wood for ceiling and floor - type makes a huge difference in price?

In MoCo, you pretty much need an architect because of permitting issues. The architect can talk you thru these options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is the square footage? How many outlets do you want? Fan? Skylights? Foundation or floating pillars? Wood for ceiling and floor - type makes a huge difference in price?

In MoCo, you pretty much need an architect because of permitting issues. The architect can talk you thru these options.

Is this in response to the picture posted above? I am that PP.

There are already outlets and lights on the patio. The floor is already in place, we are trying to screen in an existing patio. We would probably like a ceiling fan but the rest of what you've asked won't be relevant.

Not sure about the size, maybe 14x14? It's basically identical to that picture, not a huge space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is the square footage? How many outlets do you want? Fan? Skylights? Foundation or floating pillars? Wood for ceiling and floor - type makes a huge difference in price?

In MoCo, you pretty much need an architect because of permitting issues. The architect can talk you thru these options.

Is this in response to the picture posted above? I am that PP.

There are already outlets and lights on the patio. The floor is already in place, we are trying to screen in an existing patio. We would probably like a ceiling fan but the rest of what you've asked won't be relevant.

Not sure about the size, maybe 14x14? It's basically identical to that picture, not a huge space.

^^ PP again - on the patio now we have a patio table and 6 chairs, and a grill. But it's tight.