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Building a Home Porches & Decks Flooring

Flooring for concrete slab screened in porch?

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

We are building and will have a 17 x 15 screened porch with a concrete slab floor. What choices are there available for flooring? We are in Georgia so weather all over the place, lots of pollen, the room will be used year round. My house style is cottage, indoor floors will be walnut wood. Thank you!

Comments (13)

PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
2 years ago
Concrete is one.
Dana
Original Author
2 years ago
Well, that's what we'll have. I'm just wondering about tile or LVP or something aside from concrete.
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Vinyl isn't suited to the large temperature swings. It will expand and contract too much, as well as become pretty brittle at that low temperature. Porcelain tile will be your most durable bet. You can get the ones that look like wood if you want a more "indoor" type look. Polished and stained concrete is a good choice too, but it's one of those "either/or" situations in that if you do the concrete, it's a lot harder to go back and put tile down if you don't like the maintenance of the concrete. And if you do tile, you will find it difficult to remove and smooth the slab out enough for a finished surface later. One or the other. And if you change your mind, you have to rent a concrete grinder to change the surface. I'd also suggest putting in some underfloor heating cables under the tile to extend the season. It won't make it inhabitable during the coldest months, but it will make your feet warm during the cooler months when you can cuddle with a blanket.
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Once the porch is built it won't matter will it, cause water won't be able to get there anymore. Not much you can do about it now other than re-pouring new concrete, either tearing out the freshly poured concrete & re-doing the whole deal or pour over it which requires at least 3 1/2" of concrete. You may not have room for an overpour. Costly endeavers either way. Al
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This is our third house with a screened in porch. Maine-Bugs. Could not live without one. We left wood planks on one floor.(our cabin in the mts.)The second had wood planks and we used indoor/outdoor carpet. The home we live in now is a cement slab. Because it is Maine we had to use a certain type tile. We looked at some that looked like slate. Then we saw real slate at HD for soooo cheep. It is absolutely beautiful. We used 16x16" tiles and my DH laid them at an angle. It has multi faded colors like greenish, grayish,rustish,maroonish. Typical slate just not a solid color.
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Comments (1)
OK....to get anything other than carpet over the paint, you will want to remove the paint (yep...all of it). And then you can use an exterior grade tile over top of that. Mortared into place with exterior grade products. Do not lay wood over concrete as an exterior product. You would need to build a wooden deck ABOVE the concrete (imagine raising this up by 3 feet or so). Wood cannot touch the concrete slab. They would have to be held up by metal. Wood rots when it is in contact with concrete. You can see how much fun this is going to be with wood? Personally, I would look at having something like DuraDeck put down. To do that, the paint has to come off. Of course a deck-building company (decks, gazebos, landscaping, etc) would be able to give you your options and a quote.
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David Cary
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
What does your house have? We had a nice screened in porch that was decorated and finished to near indoor standards. We had hardwood inside and IPE out which was really close in color so it helped make the porch seem like part of the indoors. (Last house)

Current house has a travertine over slab - matches pool coping.

So clearly I think context matters and it depends on that. Is there also a deck and what is it made of?

I think stone and tile are reasonable options but I don't really think LVP is designed for that.

Is pollen an issue where you live? Is a pressure washing in April pretty common? It is for me.
dan1888
2 years ago
10mil vapor barrier under the pour will expand your flooring options. https://www.wagnermeters.com/concrete-moisture-test/concrete-info/getting-the-vapors/
millworkman
2 years ago
LVP or any vinyl floor does not like a lot of direct sunlite.
PRO
G & S Floor Service
2 years ago
Brick tiles laid in a herringbone pattern is a popular trend in my area.
PRO
Charles Ross Homes
2 years ago
You may wish to consider either dyed concrete (my preference) or stamped concrete as the finished walking surface. Either is suitable for outdoor use.
ShadyWillowFarm
2 years ago
What does the house look like? What is the climate? What is your style? Do you want to cover the concrete with flooring, or are you open to tinting, polishing, or otherwise finishing the concrete? Will you have a rug out there?
PRO
Diana Bier Interiors, LLC
2 years ago
I'm a big fan of brick flooring. I have had it in two screened porches.

Screened Porch · More Info

Screened Porch · More Info
beesneeds
2 years ago
I'll tell ya what not to use- indoor/outdoor carpet. It's in my porch, the house came that way. It is even green. Handy enough covering at the time I suppose, but dang does it trap every last granule of dirt. And I use my porch for a lot of plant at the south side, and there is a built in with dirt surround pond at the north side. They had a hot tub for out there too- very posh. When it was new a couple decades ago.

Is this a screened porch in a warm climate that will be open all year? Or do you see winter where snow will get in? Or perhaps if winter climate are you planning on winter panels to put up over the screens? Those will be factors in what kind of flooring is practical in a screened porch.
rwiegand
2 years ago
Just installed ceramic tile in ours. Looks much nice than the concrete. You need to pick a tile (usually porcelain) rated to withstand freeze-thaw cycles if that's relevant where you live.
clt3
2 years ago
We chose a wood look porcelain tile.
Jean
2 years ago
We did pennsylvania bluestone over concrete. Also put a drain in the middle of the porch so everything can be easily washed.

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