We used to have a storm door that the screen always stayed in, but the plexiglass (or whatever it was -it wasnt heavy glass) was in a frame that we would mount on the door in winter and take off during the summer. It was easy to put on the door and had little hardware that turned to go over the frame and hold it. I am unaware of any ready made product on the market like that for porches, but I think it would be reasonably easy to make.

Thanks for the eze breeze tip, scrappy. I did some searching and they look like a promising option! Some people complained that the windows had no R value and thus didn't work great for keeping plants through the winter. (All we would do would be herbs, I think.) But it sounds like you and your company were able to stay very comfortable, regardless of the windows' lack of insulation. With the space heater, how long into the winter can you use the room? We've only lived here for a few months, littlebug and lavender_lass, so we're still figuring out traffic patterns. Right now this side door is our main avenue to the car / outside, but that might change to our back door once we redo our kitchen and mudroom. (Thanks again, lavender_lass, for your advice over on the kitchen forums!) I'd want to keep a pathway on this new porch, either way, so the most you could probably do would be a couple chairs OR a sofa and a table for herbs. There's not a ton of space, and I agree that that might mean it's not worth glassing in. I'm still stumped, I guess. Maybe the best option would be to frame the openings, staple on some cheap screens, and add a Habitat Restore screen door -- then we can see how we like it as a screened porch. But we could also frame the windows with the idea that we might add single-pane windows in the future. That way the conversion wouldn't create too much extra work. klem1, I appreciate your suggestions on how to make the glassing in work. I hadn't really thought about shades but you're right -- they could allay a lot of my worries about the summer heat.

Vertigo finally better today. I did try the Epley maneuver I don't think that I did it long enough this time because it usually works. Deborah, your Hot Cocoa sounds beautiful. I have a friend that absolutely loves that rose ,maybe time to branch out with my colors If anyone of you areare lawyers please don't take offence but good grief! I was just going to go pick up a packet of divorce papers, submit and done Well, the other couple decided to seek out a lawyer. Now we might need a civil lawyer because this could impact social security home loans . Seriously??? Sounds like they are trying to make this in to a huge deal. Come on people, let's get the packet and be done . This is sounding expensive Now back to our previous happy rose discuss . I think that I should call Regans and make sure that my delivery is in February so I can get as much planted as possible before my mid March surgery. I can't believe that I am so close to planting season again

What I wrote never said a heat pump won't work in a cold climate like Wisconsin. Houzz actually covered up my first post. Here's what I said...... (truth is stranger than fiction) Here's the rebuttal link to going with Fujitsu mini split option or any mini split for that matter. Don't forget to read the comments at the end of all of it... My opinion is it will be short lived if you go that route. There are furnace manufacturer's that provide life time replacement if the heat exchanger of the furnace ever fails. Typically minimum heat exchanger warranty is 20 years. Do what you want builders provide me with future work so take that for what it's worth. After a year or two... you won't get a builder to come back for servicing or repairs.