When purchasing a new home or updating your current one, the exterior should always be paid just as much attention to as the interior. We can tend to think about renovating the kitchen or the bathroom are we decorating the bedroom and not really think about different fence types and fence styles or should you have screened porches or not. However, the exterior is what most people look at because it can be seen without even coming into the house. If you are trying to sell your home, the exterior can up the value of the home as well as the curb appeal. Let’s focus on the idea of screened porches. To do or not to do?
Advantages of screened porches
- Pests – having your porch screened in has a great benefit of being able to admire the view without batting away birds and other insects insects that might be attracted to the light or the home. Mosquitoes of the main problem when trying to sit out on your porch and it can really ruin the experience whether it’s a romantic dinner for two or a party. Tiki torches and like can be used to try and deter mosquitoes but nothing is as effective as an actual screen. If the screen holes are small enough, nothing will be able to get through. Bigger holes will still allow some insects to get in.
- Weather ? unfortunately screens don’t give a lot of insulation from the cold but they do protect against leaves and particles that could be blown into your porch by the wind and also from the rain somewhat. If you like to sit out in the porch and listen to the rain having a screen might be best for you. Well it won’t block all of the rain, you won’t get drenched sitting in the screened porch.
- Cleaning ? it is very easy to clean the screen. Just set up a hose in the porch and simply spray the screen from the inside out to get rid of any caught bugs, leaves, dust or debris. If you do not have a hose in the porch area then you could also use a bucket of soap and water and a big sponge like what would be used at the car wash. That would be just as effective although it will require slightly more elbow grease.
- Inexpensive ? screens are relatively cheap initially and over the long run. To have it installed properly might be a little bit pricey but provided that nothing damages the screen, regular use of it will last you a long time. The screen will quickly pay for itself. However, if you have pets or children or harsh weather, the screens may not last very long!
Disadvantages of screened porches
- Weather ? this might seem contradictory but if the wind is too strong it can actually damage the screen. It will not insulate from cold at all. Of the screen is not expensive to replace, no one wants to have to replace stuff unnecessarily.
- Space ? although screening in your porch may not actually reduce any space, it will appear to look smaller than if it was just an open porch. There may also be less area for suntanning if the screen provides shade. If you grill or barbecue a lot, the smoke will be contained in the area of your porch more so that if there was no screen allowing it to billow outward.
- Look and Privacy – screens often make the whole home look blocked off and uninviting. An open porch is much more welcoming because you can see the front of the home without barriers. However, if privacy is what you are going for, then this is not a problem. Keep in mind, though, if there’s a light on in the porch at night time, the screens can be seen through.
Whatever you decide to do, needs to be what’s best for the needs of you and your family and your home. Cost will of course factor in, depending on how large of an area you want to screen in. But overall, remember that there are pros and cons to everything, you just have to decide which ones outweigh the other. Visit here for more information.
