Building a Screened-in Porch - River Studio Design

Our new build screened-in porch overlooking the Rideau River

We are so pleased with our new-build screened-in porch. In our former house, the screened-in porch was the most-used room in the house, aside from the kitchen. It’s a room for morning coffee, lunch, then homework, perhaps a drink in the evening.

I might add to this that the rural area where we live just out side of Ottawa, has a lot of bugs. It is impossible to sit outside for very long from dusk onward, without long pants and/or bug spray, due to mosquitos. There are black flies, June bugs.…, I won’t go on.

Before the Screened-in Porch

In this part of Canada, summer is so short to begin with, we knew we had to plan for the build in the winter and begin building as soon as the snow melted. Below is an early spring photo of our house before construction.

The Building Process

We hired our good friend and contractor Dave Havelock of Knightsbridge Construction for the project @DaveHavelock. We have known Dave for 25 years and have worked with him on several projects in the past.

This photo is mid construction of the screened-in porch.

The roof line for the screened in porch was a bit tricky to design, so we had a number of options drawn up in CAD before we decided on the final. The issue is that the porch was to be in an L shape, so the roof had to merge with the house on two sides. The porch would have two entrances, one from our dining room and one from the existing deck. It would also cover our kitchen window, so lighting was an issue.

The Ceiling

A new-build screened-in porch was added to a home to bring three-season living to a busy family. — This photo illustrates in inside roof line of the screened-in porch which is built around a corner. The skylight above the kitchen window brings light into the kitchen. We used only small windows on the wall pictured so that we would have privacy from our neighbours.

For the ceiling we chose pine boards with exposed beams. In order to reduce costs, we had the ceiling made out of one-inch thick pine boards. We then, skipped extra layer of plywood stage. Three-quarter inch nails were used to attach the shingles directly to the pine boards. This was possible because our design called for exposed beams and because it is a three season room. We would never be able to skip the plywood step if this room was meant for use in winter.

Shiplap is installed on all of the walls, with the exception of the brick walls where the house adjoins. The ceiling and the shiplap walls are painted in Benjamin’s Moore’s Simply White. This is the same colour we used for most of the inside of the house. We also added these charming black sconces which are on a dimmer switch. This is a similar style sconce to the once that we used in our laundry room in the @OneRoomChallenge.

The Screened-in Porch Windows

One of the most exciting aspects of the screened-in porch is the Sunspace Windows. When closed, the windows form an adequate barrier from the wind and rain. But as they are in sections, they easily click up to reveal screens which let the breeze blow through but most importantly, keep the bugs out. The Sunspace windows move up and down so easily. I am in love with the black that we chose for both the inside and out.

We are so happy with the Sunspace windows that click up to reveal screens.

A Heating Source

Since this was to be a three season room, we knew that a heat source would be necessary. We had not decided what we would use when we stumbled on this electric stove for under $100 at Rona. We did not think twice. While brown would not be my first choice, it blends in with the eclectic feel of the room. We plug it in when it is cold and it warms up the room fairly quickly.

Electric fireplace to heat three-season screened-in porch.

We had a hand-me-down two-seater black leather couch which is so comfy, that I knew it would be a favourite spot in the porch. We added additional seating to be able accommodate several people. The addition of some decorative cushions, pillows and throws offers lots of softness to snuggle into and enjoy the view.

We are still looking for the right door to join the porch to our dining room. The door would be installed directly where the window is currently. For now we enter the screened-in porch through the door on our deck.

This is the current window into the dining room which will eventually become a door, when we find the right one.

We are looking forward to spending lots of evenings with family and friends this season and savouring the moments in our comfy new room. And, the exterior blends in seamlessly with the existing house.