The Deck Has to Know the Porch Is Coming
A screened porch is heavier than a deck and it loads differently. Footing spacing, joist span and post positions all get decided at deck stage, and if the porch was not in the drawing then, they are usually wrong for it.
Which is how people end up paying twice: a deck goes in one year, a porch is added the next, and the second contractor has to open up and reinforce what the first one built. Designing both together avoids that entirely, and it is why we do the deck as well as the screening rather than handing one of them off.
Deck, Porch, or Both
- New deck with a screened section. Part open to the sky, part enclosed. The most common request, and the one that most needs planning up front.
- Screening a deck you already have. Possible far more often than people expect. If the structure will not carry it we will say so at the measure rather than after.
- Deck now, porch later. Fine — but tell us at the start and we will build the deck so the porch drops onto it without rework.
How Long It Takes
Two to three weeks from the first visit to finished for most projects, and only a small part of that is spent at your house. A panel porch is assembled at the shop over about six or seven days and then installed in anywhere from a couple of hours to a full day.
What It Is Built From
Fiberglass mesh in a range of shades, and aluminum frames in white, beige, silver, almond, sandstone, black and bronze, so the enclosure matches the house and the deck rather than announcing itself. Where you want more than bugs kept out, sliding vinyl glazing closes against wind and rain.
If Something Moves Later
Call us — a post settles, a door starts to sag, we come back. We stand behind the labor, and we walk the finished job with you before we leave.