What You Want To Consider When Building Your Screened Porch

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by: KanonBuilders55
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Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2011 Time: 2:01 PM
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If you are considering building a screened porch, take some time to think about some of the important factors that will affect your use and enjoyment. The best screened porch designs incorporate these three design essentials into the general structure. Many times people don't comprehend how essential each aspect impacts the total satisfaction and gratification of their screened porch. From the very beginning, take care to consider how each of these factors will touch your inclusive layout. Will increase your overall satisfaction with the project.

Footprint - This is perhaps the most important and incorporates the physical layout and location. There are two points to consider on this item:

* Size - Avoid the regret of not getting all space you want. Chances are that you will love your screened porch but many feel sorry for not making it bigger. A few extra square feet can make a huge difference. Adding extra space is realtively cheap when you do your project but gets very expensive if not impossible to do later. You will use your screened porch very often and will rapidly realize a few extra feet would allow bookshelves, more room for entertaining, or a nook for intimate dining. Added room can make room for an outdoor fireplace or a place to put the band for your outdoor parties.

Your objective should be to build the largest porch you can afford based upon your needs. If you have kids consider how it will be when they grow. How will you use the space when they move out? If you don't have children or they are older, a small room could be suitable for you.

* Location - Allow for where the screened porch will be relative to the sun at specific parts of the day when you will be outside. In Central Florida, we get plenty of sun so if you have the occasion to locate it under the shade of trees, this will help keep your patio cooler. For the most part, Southern and Western exposures get the most sun. If that is not an option, you can employ window treatments such as shades, shutters, and blinds to help cutback the heat from the sun. Also, allow for the view that you will have when you complete the screened porch. You will assumably want to arrange your screened porch for greater privacy so consider which areas will do that best.

Another essential aspect in location is traffic flow. If you are planning to use your screened porch for entertaining then you might want to position it off of the kitchen. You might desire to augment the play area for the kids so something with admission off of the living room might be better. Access from the bedroom might be important if you are considering leaving your doors and windows open on a nice night. It is complex to add access subsequent and crucial to think of all the present-day and potential uses for your patio.

* Amenities - There are so many options currently available that you can add to your screened porch. Outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, wet bars, fans, special lighting and built in shelving are just some possibilities. Deciding what you want early and including these features during construction will be much cheaper and quicker than adding later. If you are interested in using your patio area as 'spill over space' intending that people will use both spaces during a get together then you might choose to consider adding some of these conveniences. You may also want to take into account adding electrial outlets either in the floor or nearby if you want to use the area for a workout space and need to plug in a TV or treadmill.

* Maintenance - A well made screened porch on the whole does not need much maintenance but you should make sure that you are using high quality material for construction. Double check that you are getting quality screen and aluminum that will bear the elements. In Central Florida you will want to make sure that your cage will endure the winds and storms we repeatedly get. Touch base with the contractor you are working with or your product supplier to nail down you are getting something that will last. Be sure to build correctly to circumvent water damage - a screen porch's plague. Building in things like venting the trim, pitching the floor slightly, flashing ledgers, and protecting posts are all extremely critical and will help make your screened porch area last a long time.

The extra effort you take to suitably compose your screened porch investment will pay large rewards later in years of gratification and greater value to your home. We have delightful weather in Orlando and screened porches can be an excellent addition to make the most of it. Carefully think over all aspects of screened porch designs before you build or talk to a contractor. Contractors specializing in enclosed porches can also help you determine the best value for your dollar. Take the time to explore all of your options - then build knowing you will have the best of screened porch designs.

About the Author

Kanon Builders
(407) 516-9067
Central Florida Screen Rooms and Sunrooms