chisue - How big is BIG?? lol We have a small family so I don't see a 25-person gathering situation. The screen porch will be off the great room which will likely have french doors flanked by floor-to-ceiling windows. Our current deck is 12x16 which seems roomy. I haven't spent much time thinking about arranging a screen porch but I am thinking I would not have an eating table on it. It may be just a space for relaxing. I can picture my husband and me sitting on lounge chairs enjoying the pond view on nice afternoons. lsst - Yes, the idea of a 'conditioned' sun room has fallen by the wayside. Our breakfast area/sitting area off the kitchen will have floor-to-ceiling windows so I'll consider that my "sun room". Between the building costs of a true sun room and the on-going costs to heat and cool, that idea is officially abandoned. Thanks for your reply which re-enforces my thoughts.

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.

"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.

Thanks so much! I will have to see about the joists. There is currently a ceiling there (plain, flat, Idk what material), and I don't know what is above it. It must be very thin because I have had a hard time putting clips up for our string lights. Ftr, we were going to to strip and paint what is currently there b/c the paint is peeling, but the contractor who did our kitchen suggested just covering it with beadboard instead of bothering with peeling and painting. I think it will look nicer with beadboard anyway.