Screened in porches are very popular in many areas across the United States, including the San Antonio Hill Country. This popularity is not by chance. It’s not because homeowners have been duped into building a screened in porch. It is because a well-appointed, quality-constructed screen porch design has tons of benefits! An investment into a screened in porch for your Hill Country home could be just the right outdoor space for your needs too. Are there actually any disadvantages of building a screened porch? Well, that all depends on your specific needs.
Let’s First Consider the Advantages of Open Porches
As a Hill Country porch builder, Archadeck knows what folks love about open porches. Our covered porches provide shelter from the sun and afford a bit of protection from rain, while allowing cooling breezes to flow through. Porches of today are evolving from simple shelter and wood flooring and rails to spaces that are as beautiful as indoor spaces. Our Hill Country porches range from stark to truly elegant outdoor living areas. They can be chock full of amenities, like fireplaces, TV areas, and more. Would an open porch be more to your taste and outdoor living needs?
What Are the Positive Aspects of Screened Porches?
At Archadeck of San Antonio Hill Country, we believe there are many benefits to building a screened porch. Like their open porch counterparts, our custom screened porches in San Antonio Hill Country cover the entire design spectrum. They can additionally be designed with loads of functionality, often boasting premium low-maintenance materials, custom fireplaces, radiant heating, TV areas, dining spaces, and more. A screened porch will offer protection from the sun, and more protection from rain than an open porch would. Porch screens also bring a bit of privacy to your outdoor living experience, shielding the interior from the views outside.
Perhaps the main reason our clients have chosen to build a screen porch is because they keep out bugs and other critters that we would be otherwise exposed to in an open porch design. While screened spaces provide shelter from pests, and mosquitoes can’t necessarily get through the screens themselves, we must remember that bugs could intrude in other ways. Opening and closing screen doors will allow flying insects and even crawling insects to enter your porch. There could also be available avenues of entry by other means, such as beneath cracks where the trim meets. That said, you will have vastly fewer bug encounters on a screened porch than an open porch.
What Could Be Seen as a Disadvantage to a Screened-In Porch?
Any perceived disadvantage to a screened porch design is up to the individual. Some folks love the protection provided by screens, but feel they also hamper the view from within a bit. Others feel that screens impede airflow. Others still are dissuaded by the fact that building with screened walls requires a larger investment than an open porch design, as it requires more materials and labor to build.
If you choose Archadeck to be your Hill Country porch, you will be partnering with people who will work tirelessly to see that all your wants and needs are met. We want you to love your new outdoor living space and we look forward to helping you achieve it. Get in touch with our Design Consultants for a complimentary screened in porch design consultation at (210) 702-3223.
