Let's talk about Screened Porches!

[Hisgirl]

We are building a house with a screened porch, about 15 x 17 ft. I'm picturing having coffee on the porch in the morning, curled up on a sunbrella sofa, watching the morning news on my porch tv, while staying warm with my electric fireplace (both of which aren't suppose to be used outside)

Tell me what floors you have used on a screened porch? What would you advise choosing? I'm going to design choosing day in one week and can choose plugs, lights, fans, whatever.

Tell me what you do, have, see on your outside porch. Help me create a wonderful outside spot!

Life has been hard lately, and thinking about this porch is a definite bright spot!!

 

[cgattis]

(Sorry I can’t get this to rotate for some reason…)

Mine aren’t screened, but I spend a lot of time on my porches (this one and above it). You definitely want a fan—I have a huge one upstairs (that ceiling is vaulted) and oscillating ones in the corners down here. The sliders open up to a big TV on a swivel mount down here, so no outside TV, but yeah, you want that too! I like having these small lightweight footstools that can double as extra seats or side tables. I also like outlets nearby my seating so I can plug in my laptop and work there! Also you’re thinking of flooring, think of what kind of plants and how many you’ll have and how much water that means—you might just want to go with a nice stained concrete and some rugs. (I’m still searching for the “right” rugs; these were free from my SIL for now!) Also, I have lights but really just liked the feel of the bistro lights down here too. And you can’t see it but this one has a small outdoor kitchen, hence the dining table. Also, I went very neutral with my cushions so I could swap up fun pillows through the seasons. Have fun designing your space!! You’ll LOVE it!

 

[Dead2009]

Wish my porch was screened in, id never go inside!

 

[MrsPete]

We have a covered-not-screened porch. It's 12x30 with steps at each end. We have space for grilling at one end, a table in the middle, and a seating area on the far end. If someone walks by the table, no one has to scootch his chair to allow that person to pass by.

Our porch was designed with posts so that we could add screens, but we've never wanted them. Without screens the dog can let herself "out" to the yard, and grilling is easier. Bugs are not a problem because we have three ceiling fans.

Details that matter:
- Be sure your porch is built to the right height for its door connection. Stepping through to the porch makes the outdoor room feel like a part of the house. Stepping "down" is a pretty strong negative.
- If you really want screens, consider Phantom Screens that can be rolled up. This means you just use them when you need them /saves wear and tear. You can roll them up, say, when a storm's coming.
- Those ceiling fans matter -- like I said, they keep the bugs from settling.
- Do consider that a covered porch will make the other rooms in your house darker.

 

[martikus]

We covered and screened existing deck so ours is trex flooring and love it. Easy to clean. We have ez breeze windows so we can close them to keep our pollen and use it except in real extreme. Ceiling fan (or two) is a must. I live out there.

 

[chickapin parterre]

it is all about the bugs!!! Here on the border they have what are called Arizona rooms, screened for bugs.....Our porch is not screened and we do not have bugs here and we live on our porch from Nov 1st to May 1st we eat, drink coffee, watch TV, nap , snuggle with the dog. I work on the porch and sleep outside on the porch when wind is not blowing dust. Ours is exceptionally wide for the community so it is a room with all the ammmenties of a front room plus has a fridge, live flowers and fresh air. We use border design blankets to keep us warm in the high 50s at night, wife then goes to bedroom and I sleep outside and depending on morning temps. will wear thick PJS and socks. we have a cottage at the end of porch with a bathroom. We can also see 100 palm trees from our recliners. Mating doves and clown birds. Lizards. Snakes, no idea, they are all nocturnal

 

[LuvOrlando]

Lovely ideas for our next place, bistro lights, stained concrete, ceiling fans & phantom screens all noted, avoiding a step-down seems like a great idea for aging in place

 

[PollyannaMom]

Eagerly following along, as I'd like out next place to have a screened back porch (as much for the two cats as for me ).

 

[_19disnA]

They do make all weather TV's if you want to have it in an outdoor area. We added a screened porch when building our new home a couple of years ago. Keeps out the bugs and you also get fewer spider webs in the corners. Makes keeping things clean much easier. Ours is a concrete slab. We have had wood decks at our former homes over the years and the need for annual power washing/staining gets expensive and the wood starts to show its age. Concrete is far easier to clean. Not sure how it would work to have a wood deck with a screened porch. There are spaces between the wood slats to allow water to drain and the wood isn't placed directly on the ground, but usually built on some sort of raised frame. Seems that would also be a way for bugs to get into the screened in area.

Haven't used any of the those newer synthetic wood products, so can't comment if those might be an option or how they look over time. Whether the concrete slab is at ground level or there is step down probably relates more to the actual contour of your yard. Sometime a step down is necessary due to changes in elevation. You wouldn't want the concrete deck to be the lowest point in your yard or water/mildew could become an issue.

Ours has a ceiling fan as do several of our neighbors, but isn't really something we use. In the summer when it is hot, being in the shade seems to matter more then having a fan blowing hot air around.

 

[Nox]

We're in a rental, so very little control over the actual structure. The ground is just concrete, but it is easy to clean like a driveway.

Eagerly following along, as I'd like out next place to have a screened back porch (as much for the two cats as for me ).

My kitties LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the porch. I am now doomed, I will have to have a porch no matter where I live now. They are inside-only kitties, so the porch is their "taste" of outside.

We are slowly decorating our porch. Currently, it has a fire table and a porch swing. I plan to get more chairs (we just have little folding chairs for guests right now) and then I'd like to put up some string lights. Our porch faces out to the backyard, which has a big tree and a pond. Love going out there with the fire table and making s'mores and having drinks.

 

[easyas123]

It's not screened, but our porch (just normal porch decking) wraps around our entire house and we lovelovelove it. We get a good breeze, haven't felt the need to screen in so far, but would screen in the back if we needed to. Our dogs have a few favorite spots around it they chase the sun to, so they really like it as well!

 

[holden]

Our house came with a screened in porch. It has a cement floor and a nice roof. We love sitting out there in the spring/summer/fall. Not so much fun out there right now.

My cats have become spoiled! They got to roll in snow for the first time recently (some blew in). They loved it!

 

[Deb]

I wanted to add one so bad when I bought this house. I put it off because the quotes were insane. As it turned out, my neighbor's very noisy dogs would probably limit my enjoyment.

 

[cvjw]

Our house came with a screened in porch. We never used it and it just always seemed dirty and dark. After about a year, we unscreened our porch, and extended the deck to make it about 4X larger. It is now a lanai of sorts. We have porcelain tile in the covered porch and trex decking on the large deck. We have room for a seating area, dining area, grilling area and sun lounger area.

At our next house, we will do the same with the exception of adding an outdoor kitchen, a fire pit and a TV.

 

[Boopuff]

We live in our 3 season room! We have a large ceiling fan, heated floors, all the windows slide open. It's perfect.

 

[DisneyHardin]

My Mom has a screened porch that she basically lives in during nice weather. Hers is basically an enclosed deck, so her flooring is just regular treated lumber deckboards.

 

[Mango7100]

Eagerly following along, as I'd like out next place to have a screened back porch (as much for the two cats as for me ).

We 100% screened in our covered porch for our cats. When we were looking at houses one criteria was screened in porch or a covered porch easy to screen and to,d our realtor it was for our cats They love it and we love it too now. Have a modular couch thing out there with a mounted TV, string ceiling lights and a ceiling fan…all the humans and non humans live out there from spring to fall

 

[Mango7100]

As far as TVs, we have one mounted on the wall. we didn’t get an outdoor one, just bought a cheap one that if it stops working we could buy another one for a fraction of the cost of specific outdoor ones…it’s been about 7 years and still going strong. It’s on the wall and under cover so really doesn’t get wet unless we had some crazy storm

 

[Pea-n-Me]

In the early years of owning our house, out on our back deck we had a large Patio Mate which worked out pretty well for a long time, but it got to be a pain every winter taking it down and putting the furniture away. Eventually we decided to build a permanent screened porch, but because of our community’s zoning laws, we had to make it hurricane-proof, so it morphed from a screened porch into a beautiful year-round sunroom which is a big part of our home. (And is the safest place in the neighborhood if a hurricane blows through!)

Meanwhile we had added a large front porch. DH wound up screening in the part of it that has a roof (which was relatively simple*), so we have both an open area and a screened area to use. Mosquitos here are brutal so it’s necessary at certain times of the year to have a screened area. It’s adorable. The floor is Trex, as is the whole front porch. I have comfortable chairs out there to rock or recline. There is an electrical outlet so I strung some small lights around the top, but otherwise I just have electric candles for soft lighting out there. (There is a porch light, too, that I never use as it is too bright.) I like to go out there at night and have a glass of wine, it’s like a little getaway for me. It’s also nice and shady during the day so sometimes I have lunch out there. I did have a cute rug but DH stole it for his workshop (as we put it away for winter). It’s not needed, but I think it helps keep it cozy (and I am all about cozy) so I might either search for a new one this year or steal mine back. I don’t keep plants out there as it’s a relatively small space, but I do keep them nearby on the front porch. We don‘t need a ceiling fan as it is breezy where we are. Everyone who comes in it says they wish they had one like it.

* DH just bought some 1” pine along with a large screen roll and made large ’frames’ of screen (two horizontal on each side) for the three sides under the roof (fourth side being the house). Amazing how simple (and inexpensive) it was, yet a big return of usable bug-free, private space.

 

[emer95]

A screened in porch is something I am dreaming of someday!