Five Huge Benefits to Screening in a Deck or Porch

screening in a deckMany homeowners in the North Carolina Triad love their backyard deck. That said, screening in a deck might be the best choice for your family if you want a more functional outdoor living space. Here are the biggest benefits to adding a screened-in porch to your home.

Enjoy Your Backyard, Even When the Weather Doesn’t Cooperate

Decks give you a beautiful place to relax… on a sunny day! During the summer, though, thunderstorms and showers can pop up even if the forecast doesn’t predict rain. With an enclosed porch or deck, you don’t have to worry about dark clouds.

You also get a bit of protection from the sun with a porch that you don’t get with a deck. Although screened-in porches are typically not air conditioned, we can install a fan to help beat the heat as well. Did you know that you can reverse the direction of your fan seasonally to push hot air up or down? During the summer, you want the blades spinning counter-clockwise to draw hot air up, and when the weather is chilly you can extend the use of your enclosed deck by having the blades spin clockwise to push warmer air down.

Create a Bug-Free Experience for Your Barbecue

Most people like to grill on their deck. However, eating outside can sometime be more trouble than it’s worth. As soon as you set food on your picnic table, bugs start gravitating toward it. You have to eat quickly and keep things covered, especially if you are trying to enjoy a potluck buffet at a summer party.

Even if you don’t have food, enjoying your deck in the evenings here in North Carolina often means layers of bug spray and citronella candles. Otherwise, you become the buffet!

By screening in a deck, you can avoid these problems. You don’t need to devote your entire backyard to a screened porch. Our clients often love a combination smaller enclosed porch with an attached deck. This allows you to continue to grill outside, but to take the food to the screened area when it’s ready. And of course, you won’t have to deal with mosquitos in the evening.

Give Your Children and Pets a Safe Space to Play

Having a fenced-in yard can give you peace of mind if you have pets or young children. A screened-in porch or deck gives you an extra level of security, on top of the fence.

This is especially important if you have a pool or hot tub. Even young kids can learn to open gates and some pets will surprise you with how high they can jump! Our deck builders can ensure your screened-in porch or deck has a door with a secure lock.

Add Value to Your Home by Screening in a Deck

Outdoor living spaces are highly sought after by buyers. Having a deck or screened porch can help your home sell for more money and sell faster. However, even if you don’t intend to sell anytime soon, this increase in home value can be beneficial.

Increasing your property value increases your equity. Home equity is your home’s fair market value minus anything you still owe on it. So, if your home is worth $300,000 and you would owe $200,000 if you paid off your mortgage today, you currently have $100,000 in equity. If you add a deck that raises your home’s fair market value to $315,000 instead, you now have $115,000 in equity.

Equity is important if you decide to apply for a home equity loan or line of credit. These funding sources can help you pay for large home improvements, send your kids to college, consolidate high-interest debts, and more. It’s also nice to have these loan options in case of an emergency.

Customize Your New Indoor-Outdoor Room for Added Living Space

Last but certainly not least, you may want to consider screening in a deck in order to create more living space. Many homeowners have growing families, so what once felt like a large house can start to feel smaller and smaller as your kids grow. Toddlers need places to play and older children want a bit of privacy when hanging out with friends.

Even if you don’t have kids, your house can start to feel too small when you are enjoying hobbies or having friends over. With the right porch or deck design, however, you’ll have a new space to enjoy. Here are just a few of the ways our clients love using their new space:

  • Add a hot tub to create a spa room
  • Turn your enclosed porch into a game room complete with poker tables, dart boards, and a wet bar
  • Create an indoor gardening space with planters
  • Add an outdoor dining table to create a secondary place to enjoy a meal
  • Install televisions or a projector for a fun outdoor theater
  • Build shelving and storage to accommodate any hobby
  • Sleep outside with the addition of some cots or daybeds

The sky is the limit! We have experience translating your deck design ideas into a real, functional space that your whole family will love.

FAQs about Enclosed Decks and Porches

We’d love to answer any questions you have about screening in a deck or building a screened porch from scratch. Here are a few to get you started:

Can any deck be screened in?

In many cases, we can use your existing deck to create an enclosed porch. However, it depends on the condition of your current deck and how it was originally built. It has to be able to support the weight of walls and roof. In some situations, it makes more sense to start from scratch. We’ll give you our recommendation during our initial consultation.

How much will this project cost?

The price tag of your new deck or porch depends on the options you choose for materials, the size, and the complexity. We talk about budget upfront so we can make sure the deck design we create fits into your desired price range.

What makes Structurally Speaking the best deck builders for the job?

We’ve been doing this for a long time and have worked with hundreds of homeowners. Our deck builders are in-house, meaning we don’t subcontract to an unknown company, and we custom design every space to perfectly fit your home. Click here to set up a no-obligation consultation to see if Structurally Speaking is the right deck design company for you.