Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. Easily share your publications and get. Given that we are building a French style house, we are using casement windows. Casement windows are hinged on the side and swing open (as seen above), either inward. These are views from my next new 6ac home site, overlooking Drayton Harbor, Blaine WA. Home will be single level above full walkout basement, above grade, on a 122. ![]() How Much Do They Cost to Build? Pssst: I post almost daily to Instagram. Follow Between Naps on the Porch on Instagram here: Between Naps On The Porch. One of the most frequently asked questions I get is how much did it cost to build your screened porch? With spring just a couple of months away, I thought I’d share all the details, facts and figures, in hopes it will help answer some of the questions I know many folks have about adding a porch. Having a screened- in porch had always been a dream of mine. We had a small screened porch at our very first house when we were stationed at Ft. Mc. Clellan in Alabama many, many years ago. We loved it and our cats loved it, too. The old deck on my current home was not even usable. It was on the south side of the house and starting around noon, the sun beat down on it every day until late evening. It was so blazing hot during the summer, you couldn’t walk on it barefoot. Plus, boards were popping up in various places. It was a mess. I knew something would have to be done before much longer since the old deck really wasn’t safe to walk on. Rather than add back another deck that would also be scorching hot, I decided to spend a little more and add on a porch. When I started getting estimates for a porch, I was surprised by the dramatic range in the estimates I was receiving. Some of the estimates were triple what others were! I ultimately went with a wonderful contractor I had met on a job site 1. He was honest, forthright and came highly recommended by those for whom he had worked. He drew up all the plans but unfortunately due to serious health issues he was having, he wasn’t able to oversee the building of the porch. His partner handled most of the work but he is no longer building now since the building industry took a nose dive here in the Metro Atlanta area. As I share today what I paid to have my porch built in 2. If you are considering adding on a porch, I encourage you to get at least three estimates, four- five is even better. Yes, that takes a lot of time, meeting with all those contractors, but each time you get an estimate, the person giving you the estimate will most likely suggest or point out something new, something you hadn’t thought about doing or something important you need to know about the process. You really learn a lot during the “estimate” process. I also spent a lot of time reading “porch” books before adding on my porch. I highly recommend that, too. Before adding on the porch, my old deck had to be demolished. So my costs included tearing off and hauling away the old deck. If you don’t have an old deck to remove, you’ll save that expense. Whenever you start a renovation/addition, there will always be “surprises.” One of the surprises we had pop up was needing to replace all the siding on the portion of the house below the deck. Apparently, back in the day when my home was built, builders didn’t always use flashing between the deck and the house. This can cause damage to the siding, and it did. This was the perfect time to correct that so I replaced all the siding on the lower portion of the house underneath the deck. How Much? Subtracting the cost of replacing the damaged siding and subtracting the cost to demolish and haul off the old deck, the cost to add on a 1. NOTE: If you don’t have an old deck to remove, don’t include some of the features I included (more on that in a sec) and you aren’t adding on two decks, you could probably keep your cost down around $1. Every situation is different and a lot will depend on the size porch you’re adding. I also added a small front porch (can be seen here: Front Porch Addition) and finished 2/3rds of my basement at this time, so that helped reduce the cost a small amount since it was being done along with two other fairly major projects. Let’s take a look at some of the features I included that increased the cost of building the porch. Gable Roof Instead of a Shed Roof: $3. A gable roof instead of a shed roof added $3. Google “shed roof” and you can see what those look like. Nothing wrong with that style, I just preferred the gable roof design. Arched Windows: $7. Arched windows was another added expense, increasing the cost by $7. The screened windows aren’t really arched, instead panels were cut and installed on either side to give the appearance they are arched. The screens are actually square and are designed for easy removal if one becomes damaged and needs to be replaced. Not really sure why that increased the cost so much, but that’s what the contractor charged. Tongue and groove, pressure- treated pine flooring: $6. Another feature I requested that added an additional expense was tongue and groove, pressure- treated, pine flooring instead of regular decking like you see on a lot of screened- in porches. I didn’t want to worry about mosquitoes or bugs coming up between the decking of the floors. You can screen underneath a porch floor to avoid that, but I really wanted the porch to feel like another room that just happened to be screened. The T & G (KDAT) flooring added an additional $6. That also included the special Advan. Tech subflooring my builder used underneath and hiring a professional flooring company to install it. If you decide to use KDAT wood for your porch floor, be sure to use a professional installer who installs it per the recommendations of the manufacturer. Pre- Wiring Porch (and Installation later) for Outdoor Speakers: $2. The cost to prewire the porch for outdoor speakers was $2. That included the media guys coming back out and installing the speakers once the porch was complete. You can just see the speakers over the doors on the left and right in this photo below. The doors lead out to the decks on either side of the porch. The cost for the outdoor speakers were $1. It’s important to use speakers meant for outdoor use because regular speakers will not hold up to rain and humidity. These still sound great after five years so they have worked out well. You can hear them while out on the decks, too so they were a good investment for the porch. Gas Line for Grill: $2. Speaking of the grill, I was badly in need of a new grill. I decided to go with a grill that could be connected to the gas line. I was tired of hauling tanks back to the hardware store for a refill and didn’t like worrying about running out in the middle of a cookout. The gas connection enters my home just a few feet away from where the grill sits on the deck, so I had a gas line run to the grill and purchased a 4 burner gas grill. The cost to have the line run to the grill was $2. You can see the grill out on the deck in this Spring Tablescape post.) I really enjoy it and definitely don’t miss those refill runs to the hardware store. Pergola: $2. 50. At the last minute I decided I wanted one of the decks to have a different look and feel so I added a pergola over the deck just outside the bay window off the kitchen. It was easy to add since one end could attach to the house. The pergola also provided a place for hanging a Smith & Hawken candle- lier (candelier?). To add a pergola probably cost more normally but since the men were already here working on the deck, I think that helped keep the cost down. Funny story: The men my builder hired to build the deck, just built decks for a living. They didn’t know what a pergola was when I told them I wanted one. I got out some of my gardening books and showed them a few pictures. They still seemed confused. I was worried. Then one day they arrived all excited to get going on the pergola. They had seen one somewhere on the way to my home and once they saw it, they knew just what to do. They had it built in no time. I’ve loved having it and it really adds so much to this small deck. Items Not Included in the Estimate Above : Even though I planned to use lots of lamps on the porch, code required I have a light by one of the doors leading out to the porch. Of course, the wiring for the light was included in the estimate I gave above, but I purchased all my lighting separately. I remember the day my builder told me I had to have a porch light by the door. I was envisioning some ugly old porch light like the one I had removed when they built the porch. I was really happy when I found this Hinkley lantern at Home Depot Expo (before they all closed) on sale for $1. It’s still available…just found one at Lighting Universe. You can see it there beside the door leading into the breakfast/kitchen area. New Home site in Blaine WAI'll talk to the DW again for sure. The kitchen layout in my intial design two years ago was based on a 2. Layout is being influenced by DW, Feng Shui East Kitchen area, my stubbornness, mountain and pond views to the east facing kitchen windows. Layout criteria: 1. East facing: Almost except 1. Mt Baker views to the east. That's crazy me. DW would be equally happy with a 3. Sink in front of a window (that's me)4. No dishwasher between sink and stove (compactor in- between): Makes sense. Two dishwashers strategically placed (next to sink and in direct path from dining area without interfering with the cook: DW, except she reluctantly agreed to my demand for two dishwashers since I load and unload and we love to entertain. In fact I'd love more with a drawer or two but that's getting too crazy. Sink and stove on same side and all cooking activities in one direction only (island or no island): DW7. Only one sink on stove side (no matter where): DW8. No sink in island: DW9. Spices right next to stove: DW. My solution is a 1. Fridge needs to be the furthest appliance: DW1. Tea/water hole needs to be far from cooking area and should not interfere with her cooking activities: DW (My solution is to provide a short width/long and deep prep sink; need approval for corner sink)As most who've followed this thread probably realize I'm eccentric and crazy. The home foundation, layout and other stuff does not follow norm, is a little crazy but I know, as usual, everyone will love the final result; I've been through this several times with all my building or other projects before.
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