We love to spend time on our screened porch, sipping on some sweet tea, and whatever you might want to add to that tea! A house that offers a screened porch moves up on people’s “must-have” list. The screened porch offers a sanctuary in an age of increasing concerns of mosquitos and other bugs and allow people a little feeling of “escape” where people can relax and read and just put their troubles behind them. It also has many benefits when it comes to weather. It protects from rain and too much sun.
If you’ve recently purchased a home, you might want to build your own screened porch. There are numerous options when deciding on the materials to build with. Most suggest designing the porch in three phases: flooring, exterior materials and interior trim. Everything from pressure-treated Yellow Southern Pine to vinyl or up-cycled composites can be considered.
It’s important to know what you want your ceiling to look like as well. Flat ceilings may give a screened porch that interior room feel, whereas a vaulted or cathedral ceiling is spacious, allowing for better ventilation. You may also want to paint the ceiling "Haint Blue" The tradition originated with the Gullah in Georgia and South Carolina. Originally, haint blue was thought by the Gullah to ward haints, or ghosts, away from the home. It was intended either to mimic the appearance of the sky, tricking the ghost into passing through, or to mimic the appearance of water, which ghosts traditionally could not cross. The pigment was sourced from crushed indigo plants. Indigo was a common source for haint blue prior to the American Revolution, when indigo was a common crop for plantations in the American South, but the tradition survived well after the decline in indigo cultivation.
Don’t forget doors. If you want one leading directly to the house, it may require some extra construction. But if you simply want it to wrap around the side for easier entry from the exterior of the house, aluminum doors are recommended because wood doors tend to warp over time.
Now, even though this might seem like a project you might want to take on yourself, utilizing a professional contractor is probably a safer bet. They will know the zoning laws, can deal with any issues that might pop up and can build it in less time.
Buy some comfortable porch furniture, add in some music and before you know it, you’ll be enjoying spending your free time in another great part of your home.