I have a vaulted wood ceiling; no need to clean it.
Depending on how often you will leave the porch to go outside will determine how many flying insects you will get inside your porch. I have to let my dog out and often get wasps. I have a slider that leads to my porch; sometimes I leave the screen open, sometimes not. I don't have a problem with spiders; just wasps, but I push them out the door with a broom. Keep in mind that in the spring your porch and furniture will get covered in pollen, so get something that's easily wiped down.

We have a screened in porch in our home, in a family house in the mountains (woods and lake) and I grew up in a house with a screened porch. None of those porches have recessed lighting and I have never wanted it. We do have a chandy over the eating table in one of the porches. In our porch here, I have a standup light made for the outdoors; it is weighted and shade and lamp are waterproof. Love it!

None of the doors in any of the porches that lead from the house into the porch have had screens on them. And haven't had any increased problems with bugs, beyond what you would get with your regular doors as they open and close. And we do keep the house to porch doors open alot.

The camp house has a vaulted wood ceiling, and the porch on our home has a stained wooden ceiling that is flat, which I particularly love. I just dust them in the spring when opening up the porches for the season.

I don't know what Azek is so can't give an opinion. The camp porch has a painted wood floor that I mop in the spring to get the pollen and dirt off, and then just sweep the rest of the season.The porch here has a brick floor. Love it! At the start of the season, DH hoses it off. The rest of the season I just sweep it.

All of the porches have a step down from the house. I like it as I think it limits the porch floor dirt from tracking into the house.

Enjoy your porch. In season, it is my favorite place to be!

This post was edited by barb5 on Wed, Nov 28, 12 at 11:39

I have a screened in porch at my lake house and it has a vaulted ceiling which I find very easy to maintain. The floor is wood and I had it finished in Spar varnish like a boat floor. Rain water sometimes comes through the screens from heavy winds and there's never any damage to the floor. As for bugs, I don't see any real issue at mine but, where you have your exit door, if you keep lights on near it you'll get bugs. We have a flush door from the house which I like as it's easy to navigate. We do have only 3 can lights hidden in the wood vaulted ceiling. We seldom use them but I wanted some light if needed. We use ambient light on tables and standing lamps. It's my favorite room in the house. Yours sounds like it's going to be wonderful.

My porch is the same level as the house..wouldn't have it any other way. To keep out excess dirt keep a rug on the porch side of the door.

Add some recessed lights, at least as backup if you intend to install hanging lights, lamps, etc. We also have flood lights on the exterior, at each end of the porch, for those times when we need to see the yard at night (mostly for the dog!).

There are sliders with screens if that's what you want. Go to a store that specializes in doors (not big box) and they should have a selection. My Pella sliding door has a screen which is on the interior side of the slider.

The wood ceiling will be less maintenance only if it has a smooth surface. My ceiling is slightly rough so it makes removing those few spider eggs a little more difficult.

Lots of good advice given already,but I'll
add one more thing. I have a ceiling fan on my screened in porch--really nice on the hot summer days. You would need a centered electrical outlet. I have a flat ceiling, but vaulted is always nice.In spring, pollen is an issue, I keep my furniture covered til the worst of it is over.

I don't know what Azek is...but if it's a plank floor, with some space like decking, be sure to screen under that, too.

I don't like overheads on a screened porch - you lose the sense of being outside with those. I like exterior wall lanterns on either side of the door to the house much more. Those, plus a light outside the door to the porch, and candles in hurricanes, set the mood I like.

Thank you everyone! I appreciate the feedback.

Just fyi, I do plan to have a ceiling fan rough-in for the porch - a must! Forgot to add that to my original post.

Interestingly, the contractor contacted me today and would like to start this project soon (since I am sure his workload has subsided for the winter). I had hoped to start in the early spring. We gave him the option of starting as soon as we settled - end of last July, but he was busy. If we start now, and this might sound trivial, i am looking at cleaning the porch before we even move back in. I would like to start in early spring! Winter time we are not at the beach house and I would like to be around some of the time to supervise some of the project.

Also, any issue/problem with pouring the cement footers in the winter (temps can fall to the 20's in this town in the winter) and I would hate to compromise any work done in the winter.

Thank you!

My screened porch is level with my house and has recessed lites (I can turn on from inside door) and a ceiling fan. It also has floods on the outside corners for dog and kids. I have a wood ceiling (not vaulted but those are pretty) and a few sweeps a year are all they need. 3 kids in and out around here and not many bugs at all. My favorite thing on the porch is the EZ Breeze panels we have in the windows. No more issues with pollen and strong storms wetting everything and we can use the porch a lot longer. Good luck with your porch!

Most screened porches I have seen have a step down into them. It has never bothered me and seems like a good idea. Will this be "all screens, all the time" or is it a porch with a TON of windows that you can open and close?

Regarding pouring footers in cold temps, I know it will take a little while before the ground temp really drops below the top couple inches of soil. But you should ask your contractor about how he plans to be sure the concrete sets well in freezing weather. There might be additives he can put in the mix.

If your ceiling fan will have a light on it, I would skip the recessed lights.

Good luck, sounds like fun!

It sounds like it's coming together beautifully! The only suggestion I have is if you have the option, I would keep the porch level flush with the interior floor. I'm not sure if this is your forever house, but if so, as few steps as possible as we age (I'm in my 30's and think about this stuff!), is the way to go. On the other end, with small kids, it's nice to reduce steps for less fall potential there too. When it's all one level, it feels more like another area to entertain guests in, without feeling like they are 2 separate spaces. Just my thoughts. Good luck-can't wait to see the finished pics next spring!

Dorry2-

We have a screened porch that spans the entire east (main entry) side of our home. One side is a dedicated dining table and the opposite is our summer living room. We have glass panels that slip in for the winter that helps the envelope (we are in NNY, lots of cold and snow) and keeps the weather out. We have 2 ceiling fans on the LR side, a chandelier on the DR side and two carriage light outdoor fixtures on the exterior wall of the house. Those are very rarely used, but we run the fans all the time.

The flooring is is 4" lyptus, a sustainably farmed wood and the ceiling is also lyptus, but beadboard. They are both oiled with Bush Oil,we don't care for poly. Our ceiling is about 11', but not vaulted, no recessed lights, we don't care for the look, and honestly, until later in August we rarely have the chandelier or the reading lights on, it stays light so late in the day.

We love the porch and literally live out there in the summer, the east facing is nice because it shields us from the not western sun in the afternoon and provides a nice place to escape from that intense heat. We don't have A/C so having the porch is a real bonus.

Finally, we have 2 sets of French doors without screens that open onto the porch, one is our main entry and one is into the office/craft room, it keeps the air flowing thru the house and bugs are not a problem. I have some pics on the computer that I'll post later, I'm on the iPad now and have no pics on this.

Good luck with your project.

sandyponder

I'd have the porch flush with the rest of the house, not a step down. If you will be eating out on the porch a lot and carrying food or trays of food out there, the step becomes a tripping hazard when what you are carrying blocks your view.

All good advice regarding flush vs step down. Having said that and having had both, I'm ok with the step down as long as it's only one or two steps. This depends on the site conditions but there may be advantages to having your house entry raised if the area has any moisture or flood potential.

Without budgetary constraints, I prefer wood although you will have to re-varish, re-oil or re-paint as part of on-going maintenance. I prefer recessed on dimmers, combined with ceiling fans and lamps for ambient lighting. The recessed sets a more peaceful mood IMO similar to soffit lighting indoors.

If your doors don't come with screens then you can retrofit disappearing screens. I'd actually prefer those as I don't like to look through screens all the time. Depending on what part of the country you're in, bugs can be a problem even with screened/glass panels as most porches are not super sealed so the additional disappearing screening to the house seems to make sense or simply select another slider or French door option.

Azek is a good composite product but I'd prefer brick, stone or textured porcelain flooring. I'm all for recycling plastics but would not want to walk barefoot on plastic for health reasons. Aluminum rails tends to look modern so if your style is not then perhaps you'd be happier with marine varnished wood.

Although your contractor would much prefer to work while his/her business is slow, be careful about the concrete temp concerns mentioned above. Follow your instincts as even the best contractors require monitoring and need you around for answers as these projects always involve an unexpected concern or two.

Whether you go with a peaked or flat roof, I'd be tempted to add skylights to see the stars at night and to bring to natural light at all times. I'd be reluctant to use a flat roof in most parts of the country as pitched roofs have many advantages. I think the ceiling is just a matter of your aesthetics however. We installed a glass roofed sun-room on one of our favorite homes and I can't tell you how much we enjoyed looking at the sky day or night. If I were designing another porch addition, I probably repeat that project which had 3 distinct sections: a step-down glass slider room with screens for the area off the kitchen, the glass temperature controlled sunroom extending and flush with the family room and an open area off the library so each section had a different feel and use. Enjoy your project.

I have a patio which i'm planning to screen in next summer also. The patio ceiling has a ceiling fan with light, and that's the way it will stay. Larger patios here(TX)have two fans, so if you have a larger-than-average patio, you may want to consider that.

In NC all screened-in patios have ceiling fans~just an fyi.

Our screened porch is 20 x 14 and we have a vaulted ceiling and 4 recessed lights on dimmers. We use our porch more at night than during the day, we read and play board games there, so those lights are a must for us. We're in a wooded area of the mid-Atlantic and have never had a bad problem with insects on the porch. The porch is raised one level from the ground. We have a french slider with a screen but the screen is almost never closed. I recommend that the porch be level with the house. We are always carrying out food from the kitchen and it's so nice to walk through to the porch without having to deal with steps. There are steps from the porch to the deck, and I now wish those areas were flush as well. We vaulted the porch ceiling so that the "A" would be open and bring in more light to the dark kitchen in the attached house, and we covered the ceiling in white vinyl grooved panels for the same reason. Believe it or not, the ceiling never looks dirty or gets cobwebs. Just the ceiling fans, and we can reach those.

Good luck! I love porches!

Maybe install a bugzapper light out in the yard to kill a lot of bugs before they come close to the porch. If you screens do not have any gaps and doors are tight fitting, bugs should not be a problem.

Might want to visit front porch ideas and more. (I do know Dave and Mary full disclosure)

Nothing but porch info on their site. Don't know if you'll find anything helpful but posting link FWIW.

Here is a link that might be useful: Front Porch Ideas dot com

Thank you, everyone! We will be meeting with the contractor this week and firm up our plans. Initially, we were going to use a white soffit, flat ceiling. Now we are leaning towards a vaulted ceiling. Definitely will install a ceiling fan with lights.

Trying to decide whether to use aluminum or vinyl rails around the porch. Opinions? Pros, cons? Which is easier to maintain/clean?

I like the idea of the decking being flush with the house, but a few contractors mentioned a potential water/moisture problem and water entering the house should there be flooding, heavy rain, etc. Several have suggested a step down from the house....maybe three to six inches. Because this is a screened porch and not just an outdoor deck, is this an issue?

As far screens, I was reading about Super Screens - famliar with this mfr.?

Have decided we will go with the Azek porch decking.

HOping we can go out 16' from the house - the width will be 14.6 and this will keep the porch flush with the back of the house. We are on a wooded lot and practically sit in the woods so we are exploring our options in removing some trees so our porch will not be inches away from trees. Waiting on HOA approval for this.

OK, I will keep you updated when we finalize everything.

Thanks again and feel free to give input!

Ok, we received approval from HOA for removing several large trees that would impede the depth of the porch. Planning to go with azek porch floor, which is narrower than decking, and recently learned, more expensive. Distributor says should go with decking since will save Money, though screening underneath a must. The porch floor is tongue and groove and fits tighter together, but will still have screening installed. So I ask, do you have deck or porch flooring on your screened porch? Is the only difference aesthetics?

What area of the country do you live in and do you have a lot of wind/rain that will actually blow water in the area? Also, how bad is the bug problem?

You said earlier: "a few contractors mentioned a potential water/moisture problem and water entering the house should there be flooding, heavy rain, etc. Several have suggested a step down from the house....maybe three to six inches". From your description, this is a covered deck, apparently raised off the ground, so how is there going to be a problem of water entering the house? If the water level rises enough to be on the surface of the deck, then it's going to get into the house no matter what's built there.

Decking vs T&G flooring on a covered area just comes down to what you want to look at, IMO. We have a covered deck (not screened) and get some high winds and rain in the winter, but the deck never gets very wet......the extended overhang is probably why. The advantage of decking: water drains off quickly and any little bids of dust/leaves fall thru the cracks.
If you choose decking, find out how tightly woven the screening is and whether it may build up with dirt/debris over time. With T&G you wouldn't have a problem with debris buildup, but water drainage may be a problem (if you have a lot of driving rain).
The type weather you have should play a role in your decision...........

Composite decking is more expensive because it requires more framing to support it.
Tip: just be sure every edge is well supported. I love my composite decking but there is one small area that's warping where they didn't put an extra joist on the perimeter.

Thank you, everyone, for your helpful comments and opinions!

We had several trees removed so we can now go out 16' for the porch. We are going with a beaded, vaulted ceiling, a ceiling fan, no recessed lighting, azec porch floor, slate gray, which, unfortunately, is significantly more expensive than a deck floor, but I like the look better than a deck door. The porch floor is tongue and groove, so it will fit tightly together, and will be on a slight decline to allow for drainage, which, I would think would not be an issue since it is screened with a roof. I also like the fact there will be no visible nails on the floor.

We have opted for a 6" step down from the interior since the French door slider has a threshold, so i figured that might be more of a trip hazard than an actual step down. We will have an exit door, probably made of aluminum.

This second home is in the mid-Atlantic area, with humid summers, we back to the woods, so gnats, bugs are an issue...another reason to use the porch floor as opposed to a deck floor. I Think that is it. I will post pictures when the project is started.

Just an FYI: We are in Indiana, and even though we have a large roof overhang and a 30" knee-wall, we still get rain blowing in (at times up to about 10'). It's amazing how much rain and snow can be blown in! We have decking w/screening underneath (easy to just hose all the pollen/dust off in the spring). We chose to have no step down, as our builder warned of safety issues.

We absolutely love our porch and spend most of our free time out there, weather permitting! Good luck with yours!