If your newly-built home has an open porch, Archadeck of Nashville wants you to know you may actually have a screened porch that’s halfway done! We specialize in transforming these open porches into screened porches for increased functionality and years of enjoyment.
Have you purchased or looked at new construction for your next (or first) home? If so, you may have encountered this reality: today’s new home builder is going to offer you a covered porch, but they won’t screen it in. Why? Because they don’t have to. Their homes are selling just fine as they are.
That doesn’t mean you have to settle for what the builder provided! Our clients tell us they get a great deal more use out of a porch once it’s screened in. A screened porch not only protects you from sun, rain, and pesky insects, it becomes an outdoor room that you can truly live in. A screened porch, customized to meet your needs, may turn out to be your favorite room of the house.
Making that New Home – and Porch – Your Own
Homeowners find it takes some time to truly make a house “your own.” Indoors, that may mean new paint colors or wallpaper, or adding a special one-of-a-kind tile backsplash in the kitchen. Outside, that may mean expanding a porch, deck, or patio to create a more functional outdoor living space. With a newly-built home, converting a covered porch into a screened porch is one of the most satisfying ways to claim your space.
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In a relatively short time, your porch experts at Archadeck of Nashville can turn that half-finished porch into the screened porch you really need. We can often finish these projects in just a couple of days. In many cases, we don’t need to get a builder’s permit because we’re not creating or altering any structural components. (Don’t worry – we’re not one of those companies that tries to side-step the permitting process. If your project requires a permit, we will definitely obtain it.)
Converting a Covered Porch into a Screened Porch
Another reason why this porch transformation may not take as long as other porch projects is because your builder has already done half the work. When the roof, ceiling, and floor are already in place, your new porch may be halfway there!
Of course, there’s more to the process than simply tacking up screens. We’ll need to add more posts, depending on the size of your porch. Whether it’s 10 × 20 or 5 × 20, or bigger, we put in columns every 5 or 6 feet. We work hard to match the columns the builder had in place. We’re very good at matching materials to make your outdoor room look like it was screened in all along. We enjoy building within the aesthetics of the home.
Along with screens, we can also add a knee wall to make it seem more like a real screened room. It is a real screened room, yes, but there is something about a knee wall that makes it feel more defined, more “finished.”
Instead of screens alone, you also have the option to install an Eze-Breeze system that includes windows and screens. With Eze-Breeze, your room crosses over from screened porch to a 3-season room. The windows are made of crystal-clear vinyl panels that slide open (up to 75% out of the way) when you wish to reveal screens. With Eze-Breeze you have the advantage of being able to close the windows fully when there’s a chill in the air. That’s one thing you can’t do with a screened porch, so it’s something to consider!
Wiring Your Screened Porch for Sound … and Heat … and More
Did your covered porch come with a ceiling fan? How else will you stir up breezes on a sultry Nashville night? What about interior light fixtures, and exterior lighting, too? What about heat? We wrote an article recently about creature comforts on your new Nashville porch, and one of the takeaways is our enthusiasm for infrared heaters made by Infratech. These radiant heaters are energy-efficient and safe, and they give off a soft glow. Having infrared heaters on your screened porch is an excellent way to give yourself more porch days each year! They work so much better than traditional space heaters that there’s simply no comparison.
Finally, while you may have an electrical outlet on your porch now, you probably need a few more. You’ll want to plug in your TV, a lamp or two for ambiance, your gaming system, a sound system, and perhaps a refrigerator for refreshments. Think big, especially if you enjoy entertaining. Your new screened porch is going to become everyone’s favorite room.
Making it More Than a Porch …
We can upgrade your porch in other ways, too, in addition to adding screens and a knee wall or the Eze-Breeze system. If you want to create a more complete outdoor space, consider adding an adjacent patio area and a fire pit. A screened porch and patio work together as a set to make your outdoor space even more functional. And a fire pit … we don’t have to tell you how much enjoyment a fire pit adds in your back yard.
If you’ve found the home of your dreams, Archadeck of Nashville can give you the outdoor living space of your dreams! If cash flow is a concern right now, we offer a financing option many clients find helpful. We can schedule your design consultation and talk about the financing arrangements when we meet with you about your porch project.
Let Archadeck of Nashville transform your covered porch into a screened porch for maximum enjoyment. Contact us today to learn more by calling (615) 640-3628, or send us an email at nashville@archadeck.net.
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