Screen porch ceiling dilemma
We are in the process of getting a screen porch built. We have a great contractor and they are building it to be pretty heavy duty so that it could be enclosed as an addition in the future if that is something that we or the next owner of the house want to do. We also live in New England so we have to deal with snow load and our roof is not that steep.
Anyway, we though we would have an open angled vaulted type ceiling inside that we would finish in some way (paint or boards or something). As of right now it is just plywood.
But I didn't realize that had had to put in these extra collar ties for support (see photos below). They are the extra lower set of beams.
Also the roofing nails are showing through the plywood. there are ways to cover that up, but the collar ties would still be visible.
So which would you do:
1) just finish the upper angled ceiling and paint/stain it the same color as the collar ties so they blend better. This would keep the feeling of a higher ceiling but you would have those lower beams visible
2) just put in a flat ceiling of beadboard or planks under the lower beams. Would probably visually look neater HOWEVER the ceiling height in the porch would only be 7 1/2 feet. The inside of our 1850 Victorian house has 8ft ceilings. Since we are in old New England the majority of houses have very low ceilings. Our 8ft ceilings are pretty high for the area. But I'm not a big fan of low ceilings as I grew up in a part of the country with high ceilings as the norm. I suppose it would be less work than trying to finish the spaces of visible plywood in option 1.
3) something else?
Basicially cluttered & high or neat & low?
Comments (14)
millworkman
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Screened Porch off great room dilemma... opinions please!
Comments (22)Hey! We have a covered terrace off of our family room. It faces east. I was petrified of the room being dark, so our builder suggested skylights even though he thought it would be fine without them. We had them installed, and I do think they make the porch more "sunshiny." :) However, I think several other factors contribute to our kitchen, breakfast room, great room being light-filled much moreso than the skylights. First, even though our ceiling in the kitchen/great room is a standard 10' ceiling (no vault) the foyer which leads into the family is 2 story. It has a large window at the top, and our double front doors are 3/4 glass. Sunlight pours into the great room in the afternoon from them. Also, the study and formal dining room have cased openings that open into the back of the house. Finally, we have large windows in the breakfast room, kitchen, and my little office. These are south facing windows (and west, my office has windows on 2 walls.) plus, 3 glass doors to terrace. I think, looking at your plan, you'd be ok. Personally, I'd move that fireplace out of that corner and onto that left wall, then put in another set of doors or windows, but that is just a balance thing for me, probably not necessary for light. If you do get skylights, we haven't had any problem with them. The window cleaning company we use just charges them as another window. We could also easily access them ourselves from upstairs windows onto the porch roof. They really weren't that expensive, maybe $600 each? (or total, I can't remember, we have 2.) here are some pics: Back of house, showing terrace and roof Here is one skylight. Oh, and we painted the tongue and groove ceiling blue, which helps, too....See Moretiny screened in porch/ceiling?
Comments (1)In between. Satin is a really good choice for exterior. Ben Moore's MoorGard in low lustre is a good choice as well. Low lustre is not flat, but has the right amount of *slip* so you can hose it down, cleans up nicely. Instead of white or some other color, a classic light blue for the ceiling could be fun for your porch reno. Exterior blues, porch ceiling blues, are often referred to as Haint Blue, Southern Blue, Coastal Blue, or Victorian Blue -- can depend on geographic location....See MoreScreened Porch Flooring, Ceiling, etc.
Comments (0)We are getting estimates from contractors to build a screened porch near a beach area. I now have the task of deciding which decking/flooring to use. A few neighbors have used Azek, Trex and Epay. The screened porch will back to woods and the back part of the porch faces north, the side, east, so it will receive a fair amount of shade year-round, meaning mold and moss. So, looking for the best decking for this environment. SOmething that will withstand hot, humid summers, shade and moss, possibly, mold, Oh, and did I mention LOW maintenance! :) The ceiling will probably be a beaded soffett in vinyl, as well as vinyl railing Any and all information is greatly appreciated. Thank you....See MoreScreened in porch ceiling gray or natural?
Comments (1)Have you thought of using bead-board panels to finish the ceiling? If you do I would paint the ceiling a haint blue....See More
chiflipper
6 years ago
PROPPF.
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoYou could take them out and nothing would fall apart, so I don't think they are structural. They don't support anything, or hold anything together.
A shed roof does not have collar ties.
- PRO
PPF.
6 years ago - PRO
PPF.
6 years agoSo is there any structural reason that you could possible think of that this would be needed?
None
he said that they connect the outer beam to the house to create a triangleThey do, but it's not needed.
Could it be Because the rise over run is only 2:16? Or that the porch is long but narrow width wise? Or maybe that we only have two footings? Or any other reason at all?
Nope -- the only reason is to have a place to attach a ceiling surface to.
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Here are two of my projects. Shed roofs with only rafters. Both permitted and inspected. These also needed to meet snow load requirements.
User thanked PPF. 
PROGambrick
6 years agoUser
6 years ago"The contractor said it was structural..."
I believe that what he really meant is that the way the rafters were cut did not pass code, and this is what fooled the inspector.
Even with the loosest interpretation of the code, it does not look like it would pass.
Apparently, because of height concerns, they convinced themselves that because a standard engineered truss only needs a 3.5" heel, they could do the same with a rafter. While it is true that trusses are made up of triangles, putting boards together to make a triangle does not make a truss. I do not know of any engineers that would dare to put their stamp on this as is.
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Milly Rey
6 years agoKay Addis
6 years ago
Not familiar with structural issues, but our porch has very high triangular ceilng....
PPF.