Screen Porches: Making the Most of Your Outdoor Space

On a beautiful evening, there’s nothing like relaxing on the back porch with a glass of wine, watching the children or grandchildren run around in the backyard. Nothing, that is, except a lovely screened porch that allows everyone to enjoy the outdoors while avoiding pesky bugs. Screen porches not only add enjoyment to an important part of the home, but they add value as well. Whether you are building a new porch or screening in an existing structure, there are some important things to keep in mind.

Building New Screen Porches

If no porch or deck currently exists on the home, this is a great project to add comfort to outdoor living as well as equity to the home. Remember that, as with any addition, the porch should look original. Match the architecture of the home as much as possible: roof type and pitch, type of siding or brick, paint color, etc. When deciding on the type of foundational structure, not only do you want it to flow with the house, but you want it to be built so that insects can’t come up the floor. This means that if you aren’t pouring a concrete base, you’ll need to compensate with extra screening.

Also if this is a new structure, you can add many great features to the area to make it a room the family wants to be in. Don’t forget to check with the city for local electrical codes, as you’ll want electrical outlets, lighting, and a ceiling fan for air circulation. If it fits with the architecture of the existing home, a raised or vaulted ceiling can make a small room seem much, much bigger.

Creating Screen Porches from Existing Space

If the home already has a covered porch or deck, screening the porch in is a relatively easy do-it-yourself project. The traditional method is to staple the screening material to posts on the porch and then cover the staples with trim. However, this method usually results in sagging screens. It is also a pain to replace. Newer screening systems are now available that make this job much easier. These systems have rails that are screwed into place, both vertically and horizontally. These rails have slits that hold the screens in place. Thus when a screen needs to be replaced, there are no staples to pull out. It has never been easier for homeowners to create screen porches themselves.

These systems also come with easily removable cap trim. This trim is tapped into the same strips which hold the screen material, so they are easily removed for any repairs needed to the screens. The trim is available in different colors so matching the home is easy. The same companies will sell matching screen doors to complete the look.

Screen Porches are wonderful features of any home in any climate. Whether you want to enjoy cooler evenings in a hot summer, or add usable square footage to a home, these great rooms are always family favorites.