suggestions for a screened porch

[John Mercier]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

I think a lot would have to be about design. My father had the windows put in to his camp, and I thought he gave up a lot in terms of outdoorsy feeling. The average window size for our porches here is 36" wide by 48" high, so when 1/4-1/3 of it is taken up by the vinyl when "down," it appears more closed off (the windows are 4 sections). If we had floor-to-ceiling windows like in some of the ad pictures, where the vinyl pieces are pushed down almost to the floor, it might be less noticeable.

We have decided not to go that way because camp opens May 1st and closes October 28, so it's only a few weeks of "3-season" weather and it's easy enough to throw full coverage tarps up for the winter.

Were money not an issue, were it my year-round home, and were I able to design it from scratch, I gotta think I would go with the windows because I could design it to minimize the "drawbacks" of the windows while having the benefits: cleanliness (pollen is BRUTAL on a screen porch) and cold and rainy weather.

At camp, though, it's supposed to be totally outside, so I do (for now) prefer full screens.

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In some cases they get designed that way to deal with the fall protection codes.


An added benefit was that the screens got protected from ''walk through''. For a window of only 36x48... probably best to use a tilt-wash double hung or gliding window; and just remove the sashes during the season.
It cost more, but can really extend a season even into four season should the need arise.
Problem has always been the storage of the sashes.

Some have wanted to use the large double hung or gliding window that we have in the Meredith Marvin showcase... but removing those sashes is at minimum a two person job... very heavy.

We did have one customer that has done the folding door with the retractable screen... but that was to open their entire walkout basement to the outside.