adding a screen room - thoughts?

2 months ago

I want to add a screen room on my deck at the back of my house this season, because mosquitoes love me and (in spite of my new bat house), it can get pretty buggy here. My backyard is very narrow, with just about 4' - 4.5' of lawn from the edge of the deck to the retaining wall at the base of the hill behind my house. The current deck is 10' wide x almost 20' along the width of the back of the house, with a sliding glass door into the house. My idea is to add a screen room of at least 10' x 12', with 2 doors - one to the house and one to the rest of the deck (where I have a smoker and BBQ).

I'm questioning the placement......I could extend the deck out to the left no more than 2' because of the curve of the retaining wall, but if I add that to about half the deck, that would give me a 12' x 10' screen room, and still a 10' x 10' uncovered deck. The screen room is far more important to me, and I'd really like it maybe 14' x 10', but that decreases the size of the uncovered deck.....I'm wondering if it will look weird if more than half the deck is a screen room? Do you think it will be unappealing to future buyers if I change the allotment of the deck that way?

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Comments (8)

maddielee
2 months ago
Wood deck? Is there already a roof over the part of the deck you want to screen in? Or are you thinking about a ’cage’ screened area?

I see many patios that are half screen and half open here in Florida. Its nice when you can open the doors to the house without worrying about bugs entering.

Keep in mind, critters will come up from under the deck boards too. Your flooring for the screened section will have to be solid. Some people think they can screen under the deck to stop the bugs. That’s fine for awhile until you start having to spend hours vaccuming debris from those cracks.
dedtired
2 months ago
I would do it for sure. I see lots of half and half decks. Put an outdoor rug on it if you’re worried about something coming up through it. I have a screened porch and absolutely ove it.
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Good points all around, I am going to spend more time standing at the bottom of the street looking into the house to try to imagine what the views will be (somewhat difficult at the framing stage when there's just a big cutout for the front door. But perhaps I can get an idea of what could be seen. The main "activity" in the great room is sitting at the couch watching tv or having conversation. Much more activity in the kitchen which will be private from the front door views. I like the idea that the porch light will equalize some of that effect. I think I need to see the door glass in person. It's also comforting that I *could* add sheers, as long as that is possible with sidelights....i know the ones I have in my current home would not support tensions rods as the sidelight trim is angled inside and just not enough depth for it to be stable. Sounds like a visit to the door showroom is in order. Light certainly is a consideration as well, having the door on the north, but then again with the tall south facing great room windows right across from that entry door I expect light to filter in all the way across during months when the sun is lower in the sky. Thanks for the thoughtful inputs :)
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I alwyas want to know why people think other people are spending time looking at what you are doing and what are you doing that someone else can't see. I trully believe that privacy is non item I live in a house with huge windows and patio doors everywhere and I never even close my drapes who cares if someone passes by and glimpses you sitting on the sofa . If you want the air then you need to put up with the preceived issue of your privacy . IMO a painted screen is pretty much useless in my hea since the paint will block most of the air. Maybe leave the door propped oped 1/2 way and get a fan.
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Toronto Veterinarian
Original Author
2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago
My sister has screening under her deck to keep them out of her screen room, but it's only been a few years that she's had it. I was thinking more about an all-season rug, but I'll talk to my contractor about the floor.

Edited to add - yes, it's a wood deck.
eld6161
2 months ago
Absolutely.
seagrass_gw Cape Cod
2 months ago
We put a screened porch on half of a wood deck in one of our homes. We put an open pergola-type structure over the open part of the deck that allowed us to hang plants and grow vines over that area. The screened porch end of the deck was outside of a set of large sliding doors from our eat-in kitchen area. An unexpected result of the porch was loss of quite a bit of light into that part of the kitchen.. In hindsight, I would have included a few skylights in the porch roof, and a ceiling fan.

We did have mosquitos (and mice) come up under the deck floor. Screening under it would have been a problem because I grew a lot of flowering plants and ferns that shed debris for 3 seasons. This was a long time ago and I don't remember outdoor area rugs being a thing then so we just lived with it, swept it with a broom and tried to keep the screen on the slider closed to keep critters out of the house.
wildchild2x2
2 months ago
I would go with the 14 by 12. The other end of the deck is a cooking spot. You could put a small open BBQ pergola over the space. Sort of make it into an outdoor serving center.
cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago
We needed to replace our deck and then ended up tearing it down (would have been required no matter what) and building a screened porch. If I were you, I would go for the larger size. You won't regret it. I spend so much time on our porch. We have a dining area and a sitting area. I am out there reading every day or just enjoying doing nothing except looking out at the trees and yard and we usually have our meals out there, too.

If you have a dog, make sure the lower half of the door is wood. Ours had a hole in the screen from our rotten and wonderful dog (it now has several)! Ordering a new one before spring!

I hope you enjoy yours as much as I do mine!

ETA: Oh and we had screening put under our porch which is essentially a second level one since our main floor is upstairs (house built on a slope).
chisue
2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago
Do you want a roof for shelter from rain and the sun? Our screened porch is in a SE corner created by the DR and breakfast room. It has two skylights in the eastern slant of the peaked roof. There's also a big shade tree to the south. Will a dog or cat rip the screening if you go all the way down to the deck? If you grill, leave a small open space on the deck where smoke can rise. Will you want space to sunbathe?

There was an aggregate patio on the SW side of our prior home. We built a screen cage over it, but it was too hot out there by noon. Also, bugs killed every plant in the cage because birds were screened out. We had to remove the top of the cage in winter (snow).

adding a screen room - thoughts?

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maddielee

dedtired

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adding a screen room - thoughts?

Comments (8)

maddielee

dedtired

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