sue36- I posted a few pics of our 90% completed porch on a recent thread titled "screen porch using doors". We had one in our previous home and really missed it, it's like being outdoors without the bugs, we eat all meals out there and I don't think we've sat in the LR since the interior was finished. One thing I would like to add, our porch is 3 sided on the north, south and east, specifically to shield us from the afternoon sun, it can get pretty brutal even here in the land of ice and snow. We also put up a couple of fans to ensure the air moves and have 2 sets of french doors opening into the house, so we have plenty of cross ventilation (no A/C). I think a porch would look great on the back of your house, perhaps extra long overhangs would shield you from the sun a little better? Good luck- sandyponder

haus, I will give you a few of my experiences as a consumer who built a deck and screened in porch area for our home. 1. not sure how well the skylight will work, however we had the same concern and we ended up building our screened in area away from the house for the very same concern you stated. We did not want to lose any natural light in one of our rear rooms. i do know someone that did a full roof out of plexi glass for the light reason. it works well, but keeping it clean is a pain. 2. agree, minimum roof height should be 8ft. I did a 9' ceiling that is valuted up to 12' 3. screens. all kinds of options here. I ended up ordering aluminum screens made up to fit the openings I framed out. they are aluminum frames with "super screen" material. I ordered them on line from a vendor out in colorado. it worked pretty well, and they were about 35% less than anything i could find locally. they are screwed in with screws that have been color matched to the frames and they have held up well in some very strong storms thus far. if one gets damaged, i figured i can take out that individual screen and have it repaired locally. 4. no help on a floor that you can paint. i used IPE tg floor in the screened in area. 5. wide open here, you can buy one or make one out of the same materials used on the project. i ended up putting in a sliding door, but mine is not an opening to the home. 6. not sure... built it myself. Not sure if that helps, but we walked through a lot of the decisions that you are considering. Take your time and get what you want. I posted a picture for a visual.

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