I saw on a cottage show on tv that a gazebo owner installed double screens (back to back) which prevented the rain from penetrating the gazebo. I researched this on line and could not find any reference to this. I am going to buy some screen and try it out on one of my gazebo walls. I hope it works and I hope you can still see clearly out. I thought of another idea if the double screen does not work. You can buy clear heavy weight plastic at your local Fabric stores. It is sold in rolls just like a bolt of material. I believe it is sold in different widths, up to 60 inches wide or so. I thought of stapling the sheet of plastic on a 1 inch by 2 inch piece of wood to create a header or top. At the bottom staple a 2 inch X 2 inch piece of wood (the thicker piece of wood would be heavier creating a bit of weight to hold the blind down). Drill a hole on each end of the top header. Fasten a nail or screw in the interior of the gazebo (matching the holes you drilled in the header. Hook the blinds on the nails or screws. When you do not want to use the plastic blinds, you can simply remove them and roll them up by hand and store them. It would take seconds to install these blinds and it should stop the rain from coming in. If you have strong winds in your area, you can fasten the bottom of the blinds using wing nuts. Just a thought..... Cheaper than installing window screens. Also once you install window screens on a screen porch or gazebo it does not feel the same anymore...

Once the porch is built it won't matter will it, cause water won't be able to get there anymore. Not much you can do about it now other than re-pouring new concrete, either tearing out the freshly poured concrete & re-doing the whole deal or pour over it which requires at least 3 1/2" of concrete. You may not have room for an overpour. Costly endeavers either way. Al

I have no experience with an decorative electric FP but do know that most may only carry 1500 watts on a 120 volt amperage. This is the same as the small plug in heaters such as Eden Pure. They may take the chill off but not be terribly comfortable depending on the outside temp. Are you enclosing the area that would make all the difference. I used one of the small Eden heaters,1500watt ,in an unheated 1880's summer kitchen 10 X 12, but fully insulated and enclosed for my rescue kitties and it kept the temp around 50 at night in a Pa winter. Not too warm but enough to keep the water thawed. My experience with outdoor heaters is that the propane heaters give off more heat. It is what we use in the greenhouses... If you are planning on watching TV then you may want to give consideration to the actual TV and whether it will function in cold temps. Some can be touchy.

I think you missed my initial questions at the top. I said I need help starting, which means that I don't have a plan yet; I'm trying to develop one. This is our first project for the house besides minor interior changes; I don't know where the right place to start even IS. If you're saying to start with my city building department then that's helpful, but I'm not sure what you mean. I don't know anyone that has hired an engineer for house building. Architects, yes, but why do I need an engineer? Sammy, I appreciate the schematic. I'd be interested in seeing if that would be a good alternative if it would be infeasible to use the slab directly. If it needs footers like Anglophilia did, but it wasn't installed with them, then it may be the best option. Maybe I need to rephrase for those that keep asking about my plans: Has anybody had a screen porch built over a slab (not deck), whether they did it themselves or hired a contractor? What is a good starting point? My plan is that I want a screen porch, and I have a slab. Do I start with the city building department before looking at anything else, or talk to contractors? What kinds of questions should I be ready to ask or answer?