Do you have a sunroom or screened porch?

[countthestars]

H and I are considering adding a screened porch or sunroom to our house. We're still trying to figure out if we will use it enough to be worth our investment, but are doing the research on what we like now in case we do decide to move forward.

Do you have a screened porch? A sunroom? What do you like or dislike about it? What kind of flooring/walls do you have (or is it really just floor to ceiling screens)? PIPs and thoughts are very welcome!

We live in MA and obviously won't be able to use year round. We were thinking that it would be a good place to eat dinner / play with DD, especially during spring/summer/early fall when H is outside grilling.

[BeagleMama]

We have a porch with windows, some open/screened and some are original and painted shut. The floors are painted room and the walls and ceilings are stained beadboard with a ceiling fan. I'd definitely consider it "outside" but it's nice to have it covered and partially enclosed area to sit (we have two rocking chairs and a small table) and avoid bugs/heat/cold. It stays warmer too so it's nice for plants.

My friend has a room with cement floors and sliding glass doors all around, she has curtains up and a round table for seating. It feel much more "inside" than our porch if that's what you were going for.

[simpsongal]

No, but we're planning on building a large screened porch once we get the funds saved up. We back to a park with lots of water sources, so the bugs get really bad here. We figured we would use it April through October, and maybe even more (you can also buy an outdoor heater).

My in laws have a screened porch and they use it quite a bit with the grandkids. It's a nice way for them to get fresh air w/o getting chewed up by bugs or terribly dirty. DH and I like the look of an open porch (sans screens) but the bugs foreclose that design.

Sunrooms are nice too, though I think vastly more expensive and probably require much more stringent permits.

Have you looked into costs yet? We need to add a door to the side of the house for a porch, so we're thinking the cost will be about $25K for a screened porch.

[Deleted]

We have one of each, 4 season sunroom in the back and a 3 season porch with screens and louvered glass in the front. Two of my favorite rooms in our house.

They both currently have cheap carpet, but we're planning to install slate tile in both at the same time as our kitchen renovation.

Here's the back sunroom, we just had casement windows put in, so I have a photo of it here. Since it has a rad, we do use it year round. 

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[my4girls]

we have a screened porch, it's never something I ever thought I wanted but I love it. I would probably get more use out of a sunroom though. Ours is basically a deck with screens. It's through French doors off our kitchen, it's pretty large and we have it separated into two sections- a large round table and then a big sectional

[justjen]

We have an enclosed porch. It... uh, needs work.

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[ECB]

We have a screened in porch.  HOpefully my picture worked.  It's in the snow, of course.  

But it's wall to floor screens.  We use it a fair amount.  Actually used it this weekend- DH put a TV out there and we sat out and watched football while DS ran around and played.  We have a couple skylights and a ceiling fan.  The fan helps if it's warm and you need a little cooling off!

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[heliocentric]

We have a screened porch and it's one of the best parts of our house. It's in the front of our house, but we don't have neighbors across the street so it still feels reasonably private. It's so nice to eat or hang out there and not have to deal with bugs.

Our floor is cement, but we have FLOR carpet tiles on top to make it more cozy. We don't have any walls--just the screens. The ceiling is beadboard and we have a ceiling fan.

For furnishings we have a conversation set on one side and a bistro table on the other. The porch can't be used all year, but we use is heavily Spring through Fall.

Another benefit is that I can keep the house front door open because the porch prevents bugs from getting in and is almost like a foyer. If we didn't have the porch I doubt I'd feel weird having the front door open as much as we do.

The pets also love it.

[ddi741]

We have a sunroom. It originally was supposed to be the room the dog would hang out in while we were out but she wanted run of the house so ....

I love this room. We recently painted it a bright yellow (Beacon Yellow - Home Depot). I sit in there and ready or just hang out.

It's great for extra seating for parties etc.


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[dexteroni]

We don't have one, but I would love one. My BFF's parents added one when they put in a pool, and it's become kind of a focal point of their house. I think I would want the floor-to-ceiling screen type, but I haven't compared the different types to know for sure. Have fun researching/planning!

[nomad100]

I dream of the day we can get a screened in porch in the back. The mosquitos in MI can be brutal so having a space to hang out in the evenings without being drained of blood sounds divine.

[FishChicks]

We just moved in this June, but we have both. We have a porch with solid flooring and walls, but with windows circling the entire room. We spent most of the summer out there and loved it. It was peaceful, bug free, and a comfortable temperature with the windows open. I love eating meals "outside" but with the bugs around here, this was the ideal compromise. It still feels more outside than inside, but the mosquitoes can't get in!

We also have a sunroom that's much more enclosed, but has multiple skylights, windows, and sliding doors into the house. Apparently it was a greenhouse at some point. It now houses a wood stove, so we're looking forward to using it this winter.

[devonpow]

We are also in MA and have a sunroom, but it's all weather so can be used year round. We actually use it and an office/homework station currently. 

[devonpow]

Here's a pic (we moved in over the summer, hence the currently crappy chairs and lack of extra furnishings , lol)

[boiler717]

We have a sunroom, it's my favorite room in the house. hopefully when we put in a patio we will turn our deck into a screened in porch.

[kermit]

My last house had a screened in porch and it was nice but weather was still an issue. SO's parents converted their covered patio to a 4 season sunroom and it's awesome. They use it all the time. I'd love to build one on my current house somehow. I have no idea how much it cost but his dad did a lot of the work himself so that saved money.

[sporky]

We have a screened-in porch that we use mostly in the spring and fall when the weather is nice. We do use it occasionally in the summer, but it just gets so hot here. The downside is that we have mostly floor to ceiling screens and that means that a ton of bugs (spiders) get in all the time. It's nice for entertaining though.

[Marmee]

we have a sunroom.  It gets cool in winters, despite having a heating vent so we use a space heater when used.  Its cold due to lack of any insulation & its not above a basement like the rest of the house.  We used to use it for a playroom when the kids were younger.  Now it's their music room...it has the kiddie istruments, a keyboard, drums & guitar in there.  the desk we mainly use as a charging station and thecouch is from when it was a playroom/tv room for the kids.

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[Marmee]

oh yeah, i really like it except for the lack of insulation. its a nice little bonus. The walls are mainly brick & windows, the ceiling beadboard, the floor we put in dark gray hardwood when we bought the house (it was carpeted).  The threshold is marble tile.

other side:
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[tiffany81]

I have a screened room that is literally all screen - even the ceiling is a screen. So it's like a pool "cage" enclosure. I love that it's there and huge - I have a section that will be my grill area/serving area, big table and chair area, and then lounge/sectional area. The floor is poured cement slab. It has French screen doors going to the backyard.

Personally, if I had added it to my house and had the choice, I'd do a screen room with a roof and fans. I cannot use my space in the rain. I wish I could sit out there in the rain and lounge on the sectional.

My mom has a screened room that is wall about half way up (brick that matches her home), then screens. Roof with beadboard and fans. And the floor is stained decking. It's lovely and cozy with the dark stained wood floor and partial walls.

[Deleted]

We had a sunroom (glass windows/doors on three sides) when we lived in NC. It was a warm climate so of course that helped, but we loved it! Our cats loved going out there year round, and we loved sitting in it most months out of the year. It connected to our patio, so we stored some outside stuff in it besides just using it for lounging/hanging out in.

I'd love to have one even here in MI. DH's grandparents are actually building one now, and it will have heat and AC so they plan on using it year round. It should add resale value to their house too.

[CrazyLucky]

Have you thought about a deck? When we lived in the Hudson Valley in NY, I loved having a deck. We ate outside a lot and it was great for entertaining. When we moved to NC, I was disappointed that we had a screen porch instead of a deck. But now I'm so glad we have a screen porch! With the porch, we're able to put up a ceiling fan, which makes it usable for much more of the year.

[jwright]

We have a sunroom in SC. It is basically our hangout/bar/mancave with the big screen tv and sectional sofa. We do have a separate AC for this room. It is really nice to open the windows when the weather cools down.

[imojoebunny]

I don't know how to post a picture, but we added a screen porch to our old house.  We used tongue and groove flooring, marine grade for durability.  We had a knee wall that was a foot lower than code required (we used a wire to pass inspection, then took it down) because otherwise you could not see out if you sat down, we used bead board on the ceilings and the walls.  We had a solid wall that was about 6' and put a plug and go gas fireplace (northern tool had them) to extended the time we could use the porch into winter.  We had a TV, and a sliding door, rather than one that opened out to save space.  The whole thing was stained on the interior, rather than painted.  It was 25x12, so had room for a sitting area and a 6 person table with plenty of open space for playing and entertaining.  

The knee wall was great because it kept out a lot of dirt and rain.  

I miss our porch.  Our new house just has a regular front porch, no screening, no fireplace, no TV.  

If your interested, ours cost $23k to build 5 years ago.  

[mlvmd]

We have a screened porch and we love it. It opens to our patio and is off our living room and is a great way to avoid the mosquitoes that plague our area. It's also a nice way for our inside cats to experience the great outdoors. They chirp at the squirrels and practice predatory moves. We don't use it a ton in the summer (because anything outside is hell on earth) but in spring and fall we have the door open to it all the time.

Ours is original to our house and 90% of the houses in our neighborhood have finished them to create more inside space but I'm really glad we still have it.

[mellymel]

No but I would love to have one

[ellipses84]

We had one in our last house and we loved it. It was just screened and the downside was that it would get pretty dirty from dust blowing in, so in the future I'd prefer one with windows that open with screens. Ours was in the back, so it was a nice transition space for entertaining/eating. It kept our house a lot cooler than our neighbors, shading the living room from the hot afternoon sun.

[Redpoppy]

What sort of roof is on your porches? I really want to have one at our house (buying FIL's house in spring) but not sure how to make it work. There is a two story deck on the back with a set of sliders at each end of the second floor and the sliders on one end on the first.

We have to replace the deck within a couple years but not sure what we could do unless we stopped access from one of the second floor sliders and added a roofed porch on the ground level.