Summers here in the South can be brutal. July is considered the hottest month of the year for the Macon area, with a daily average of 91.8 degrees. We also exceed the national average of 39’ of rainfall as our region receives about 46’ of rain annually. Taking into consideration the heat, and the precipitation means humid conditions that often drive our outdoor living enjoyment indoors on the hottest days. But, this doesn’t have to be the case.
If you have an uncovered outdoor living space such as a deck or patio, do you find it less enjoyable this time of year? Perhaps your deck or patio sees plenty of use during more temperate seasons but sits empty and forlorn during our hot and humid Georgia summers?
Archadeck of Central Georgia, the area’s premier porch builder, does have a solution for you — several solutions, in fact. Our covered porch, screened porch, 3 & 4 season rooms and sunrooms offer something more comfortable than sitting under the nearest tree to cool off.
Covered Porches
A covered porch provides a more comfortable way for you and your family to enjoy the outdoors during the summer months. The roof of a porch shields you from the sun’s harsh rays and keeps you in the dry, but doesn’t interfere with any breeze that might drift by. You’re still in the open air, just not feeling the full scale of the summer heat. You may even enjoy kicking back with a glass of sweet tea and a good book while a ceiling fan helps lengthen the breeze.
Archadeck of Central Georgia can add a roof over your existing deck or patio to convert your outdoor living space into a covered porch. Or, we can design a porch to include a new patio or deck if you don’t already have one. The best of both worlds would be to extend an existing deck and add a porch roof over part of it, leaving a portion uncovered for those times of year when you do want to sit in the sun.
Screened Porches
We couldn’t talk about porches without mentioning screened porches. With a screened porch, you get protection from the hot Georgia sun, and you also gain protection from the nuisance of insects such as mosquitoes. Returning to “the best of both worlds,” you may be most pleased with a combination of two kinds of porches. You could have a screen porch with a roof that extends beyond the screened room, creating an additional covered porch outside of the screened porch. While it may sound extravagant, it is the perfect place to put those rocking chairs to good use!
Three and Four Season Porches
Want to add more versatility to your screened porch? Many homeowners also opt to use a sliding window panel system to make use of their screened porch later into the year and add more options. A convertible window system like the EZE breeze sliding panel system offers you the ability to convert your screened porch into a three or four season room on demand. These systems use sliding glass panels that mimic the function of a sliding door and can be set into place very easily and quickly. By adding a space heater to the structure you can utilize the space for longer periods through even the chilliest season. By using a convertible system on your screened porch you can still feel the warm breezes of summer, and when the temperature drops you have the peace of mind knowing that your screened porch also offers more function with added cold weather protection as well.
Sunrooms
Sunrooms serve as an extension of your home’s living area as well as an extension of your outdoor living area. Sunrooms give you full protection from the elements with an unobscured view of nature by the use of numerous windows that sometimes even feel as though they are window walls. These structures can be used year round, snow or sleet because they are conditioned in the same manner any interior room would be, which means they require an HVAC system or instill the use of a wall mounted electric inversion heating and cooling system that offer individual room control. In essence, the presence of HVAC, or heating and cooling system creates a dynamic where you actually are getting a room addition when you choose a sunroom.
If you are looking for shade and interested in seeing how our creative porch and outdoor room designs could work for you, contact Archadeck of Central Georgia today. You can reach us by phone at (478) 241-8406 or via email at centralgeorgia@archadeck.net.
Stephen Denton, owner Archadeck of Central Georgia.
.
