At Home Living: Porch enclosures create another living area

In a city where Craftsman bungalows are common, a value-enhancing move is to enclose the original porch or add a deck cover to extend seasonal use while increasing overall square footage of a house. This can be a simple weekend project, putting up a lattice deck roof or adding screened windows and enclosed walls for a sleeping porch.

At the other extreme, and with a contractors help, enclosing an open air porch can be much more elaborateand costly. To make sure the remodeling of a porch or deck is a cost-effective investment in an older home, its a good idea to consult building experts and discuss your space needs and budget.

Walls or Roof = Privacy

Homeowners on a budget may be motivated by a simple desire for added privacy, creating a social space around an open air porch or patio. Or, the house may have been designed without a sunroom or solarium, making the porch a simple pass-through to other living space. Curtained walls and a light-penetrating roof, of either modular plexi-glass or a lattice treatment, will answer these privacy needs economically. Nationwide experts estimate the cost of enclosing a porch, depending on amenities and intended use, at between $2,000 and $72,000, according to an informal survey of online remodeling sites.

Enclosing a porch and converting it to a full-use room can mean adding basics like an HVAC system, electrical outlets, internet access and plumbing. It also can be an opportunity to include more luxurious amenities that improve the value of the home and add to the occupants quality of life: A fireplace, hot tub, solarium, sun roof or solar panels.

Ryan Passow, of Passow Remodeling, meets with homeowners twice before beginning any substantial remodeling job, first to discuss their hopes and dreams for the house and, afterwards, to talk about specifics and establish a budget. We talk about the budget to see if its realistic in light of the improvements a homeowner wants, he said. In nine years of business, porch enclosures and deck roofing have comprised about 10 percent of his companys remodeling work, ranging from $1,000 for the simplest screened porch to more than $40,000to convert a porch into an additional finished room.

Outdoors Advantage

When the choice is between retaining an open-air porch for one or two seasons of use, or enclosing it with screening or finished walls, Georgia contractor John Paulin, offers this advice:

The real difference is in how that structure feels, says Paulin, in Remodeling. With an open porch, you have an unimpeded view. You can cook there, since screens dont hold the smoke in. The floor areaminus wallsfeels bigger. If its connected to an adjoining decka project we often buildone space flows seamlessly into the next. [www.remodeling.com]

If entomology is not your hobby and a goal in remodeling is to screen out pesky warm-season insects, leaving a porch open to the air still is an optionparticularly if a budget prevents enclosing the entire porch. Instead of finished walls and screened windows, open air porches can be kept comparatively bugless with citronella candles or an electric bug zapper. Privacy screens or awnings--even canvas duck Roman Shadesalso are economic alternatives to building walls and adding screens or windows.

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At Home Living: Porch enclosures create another living area