Congratulations on your new home. Most likely there are building codes that set requirements for safety railings. Here it is 24". Like you, we didn't want an accidental fall so installed tempered glass so as not to block a view while providing protection. We installed "landing-style" steps for easier egress by senior citizens and secure transport when carrying things between the house and patio. As to building a patio, I suggest waiting a couple years for the backfill to fully settle. I've linked photos of ours Hope this helps. Good luck. Here is a link that might be useful: Patio and Back Lawn

My husband has decided on only getting the Green Egg and using it as a grill. According to him it's suppose to be the greatest invention ever! Yeah, we still have another grill hanging around, but the Egg is the only one we ever use any more. I think we're going to gift the charcoal grill to our daughter and new son-in-law. They're pretty much starting from nothing, so they'll appreciate it. Annette, I like your set-up. We're planning on something fairly similar. We intend to add a second, smaller Big Green Egg later. This'll allow us to use the smaller one when we want to cook just for us two, and when we have guests we can use the smaller one for an appetizer and the larger one for an entree. We also want a smaller one so we can take it camping. "If you want to cook on a covered porch, you must use a strong vent hood." ... i agree. Been there, done that. Won't do it again. Wondering how we're having such different experiences ... here's what I suspect: My covered porch, which works FINE with a no-hood grill is set up like the one on the left -- covered porch is attached to the house /is open to the air on three sides and gets a pretty good breeze. My porch is about 6' above ground level /steps on both ends -- could that make a difference? I wonder if people who are having a different experience have a porch more like the one to the right -- an "indented" porch? Or at least a porch that in some way gets less breeze.

You can't go wrong with either. This is really a function of which one you like the look of better. I could see a rationale for the fiberglass/wood if you live in a coastal environment with salt spray and water, but if that isn't the case....either will work great.

No plans to screen in. There are bugs, but when they are most present we don’t like hanging outside anyway. In my area I do t see many screened in porches. With good mosquito repellant it would take care of most so I would today first. I do like it more than I thought because now my kids play on the concrete patio and we still have outdoor covered area. Plus, I like 3-4 open sides vs 2 from attached to house because there is more air flow increasing comfort.