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Help with screened porch construction?

10 years ago

We are building a new home in NC. The Screened porch has brick pavers for the flooring. The ceiling is built as well and is stained bead board. Stain color is Miniwax English Chestnut.

The columns and ballusters and screening has not been constructed yet. (we plan on using 8 x 8 columns).

The GC is recommending painting the screened porch--white to match the trim of our house, and if not white, or a dark brown color that would be something in the color range of the stained ceiling. (English Chestnut Miniwax). We had anticipated staining the whole screened porch instead, using the Miniwax English Chestnut color.

We are worried that white paint will show dirt almost immediately and a dark paint color won't match anything else on the house.

Any suggestions for wood type and finish that might work? Is paint somehow better for maintenance? Does anyone have examples of a stained screened porch and if so what type of wood and finish was used?

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Comments (9)

millworkman
10 years ago
Be careful Minwax to the best of my knowledge is an INDOOR only stain. And I do not believe a screened porch would be considered an indoor condition.
flgargoyle
10 years ago
You would likely need to use pressure treated lumber for such an application. PT is full of moisture, so you would want to let it dry a while before putting any kind of finish on it. Then, it is kind of a greenish color, and is usually pretty crummy yellow pine, so it won't match the beadboard very well.

I agree- Minwax probably isn't the right product for a porch. You would want an exterior stain.
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User
10 years ago
MinWax makes oil and water based stains. It also makes one-step stain finishes and 2-step stain finishes.

I suspect you are talking about MinWax Wood Finish which is an oil-based wiping stain finish for indoor use on furniture. If it is used outdoors it should be coated with a UV resistant finish like MinWax's Spar Urethane Varnish.

IMO staining softwood is a job for a very experienced professional finisher not your average painter and you should see samples first. Perhaps you should be using an exterior solid-color or wood-toned semi-transparent siding stain from Cabot.

Why would white paint get dirty almost immediately?

Here is a link that might be useful: Cabot stains
suzyqtexas
10 years ago
Screen porches are nice especially in pictures. They get dusty. When you mow the lawn it kicks up dust and the screens don't stop it! Also, in the spring when the pollen is flowing, your porch will be covered in yellow pollen.
pps7
10 years ago
We used cedar for our exterior posts and garage doors. they were stained with the sikkens cetol 123 system. they have held up well.
DLM2000-GW
10 years ago
Renovator8 - white trim gets dirty from spider poo - honest.
bobhood
10 years ago
I have a really good article on screened porches, but it's pdf and not allowed in this post. See screen shot of Page 1. Email me at bobhood@hoodconsulting.com and I'll send the complete article.

Also, check out the screen/window system shown in the URL below. Saw this Eze-Breeze system in a Virginia Beach, VA house. Looks like a very good idea!

Here is a link that might be useful: Eze-breeze screen\window system
momto3kiddos
10 years ago
We have the eze-breeze system and LOVE it!!! We also have a solid floor and roof on our porch and using the eze-breeze panels made it a 4 season room. And, we don't have to worry about cleaning off pollen. I am near Raleigh, NC, so send me and email if you are interested in a reference for an installer. It really didn't cost too much more than a traditional screen porch. They have several colors to choose from with the frames, and if they install the columns, they can be smaller than the wood ones due to engineered metal supports. It makes for a better view.
momto3kiddos
10 years ago
Here's a pic of ours...

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