If you have a patio but you don’t feel like using it all the time, you’re probably doing it wrong. Patios are one of the best parts of a house because it’s like an extension of your living space that’s solely for relaxing and for finding a bit of peace.
It merges the best aspects of your indoor living space and the ambiance of an outdoor lounge. That’s exactly what it should be!
Having a completely open patio may be decent in certain circumstances but when harsh weather conditions come, they’re tolerable at best.
One of the most common solutions to this, especially out here in Florida, is screening in your patio. Its benefits include:
- More privacy than a completely exposed patio
- Bug-free outdoor space
- Additional place for lounging and hosting visitors in
Screening in your patio takes some work and some days of installation. It’s best to leave it to a professional, but if you must, here are the steps that need to happen before you get that coveted screened-in patio.
Lay Out Your Goals for Your Patio
Why do you want to screen-in your patio? Most people are put off by bugs in their patio, and that’s the biggest reason why they have it done. However, there are various other reasons for why you need to decide what the purpose of your patio is.
Some want a wide seating area and maybe a dining table setup to welcome guests in when they regularly host dinners with friends. Some want to house their plants in a more closed in area instead of just having all of them unorganized outside the house.
You’ll see why this is a necessary step in later points.
Getting Building Permits
Patio screen enclosures usually require building permits from the city you’re residing in. The structure needs to pass the building requirements issued by them. This step avoids mishaps that could result to more inconvenience later on like accidentally going beyond your property line as one example.
Contractors are knowledgeable of this process and they typically already have a system for how they tackle this task. It may vary depending on the location, the property, and the homeowners’ preferences.
Getting a permit in itself could take weeks to secure. When hiring a contractor, they can create your enclosure during that time, which is a more efficient use of your time.
Decide on the Style of Structure
Remember when we said it’s important to set down goals for your screened-in patio? This is the point that clarifies its purpose.
We say screened-in patios are the best of both indoor and outdoor living spaces, but you still have to decide which of those two you want your patio to be like. It could be more of an indoor space or outdoor space, depending on two most common style options:
A screen enclosure is an aluminum structure with screens from the walls to the roof. It doesn’t provide coverage from the rain because it’s a lot like a pool cage structure-wise.
The main purpose of this style is to close off your patio from bugs, small animals like frogs, and also keep your plants organized with their own designated place within the enclosure. However, you might not be able to use this as a lounging area all the time because, as mentioned, it’s not the most viable option for this goal.
Screen Enclosure
Screen Room
A screen room is an enclosed screen-in area adjacent to your house that is covered by 3-inch insulated panel roof and screens on all sides.
If you’re looking to make your patio more of an extension of your living space, a screen room is more likely what you’d want to have done for your home.
The roof is the best feature of this style because of the following benefits:
- Cooler on sunny days
- Quieter when it’s raining
- Durable enough to carry the weight of one person
Pick a Design
When you think of a screen enclosure, the first thing to come to mind is like that of pool cages with the aluminum members and chair rails. These work and many homeowners also have this design made for their patio.
An alternative to it is picture windows, which is fast becoming one of the best designs, especially in Florida screens. It’s a single large panel on the wall with just a screen and no aluminum members to detract the view of the outdoors.
Choose the Screen Material
There are two common types of screen material: fiberglass and polyester. The former is the most common type of screen that’s typically the default material. For people who are mainly worried about the bugs, fiberglass screen is enough to prevent no-see-ums from entering the screened-in space.
However, polyester screens are far more superior in terms of strength and longevity. It’s a little more expensive than fiberglass, but it’s more than 100% more durable and long-lasting. If you’re planning to live long in your house right now, investing in polyester may be the better option.
Decorate
Decorating your patio is probably the easiest part of this whole project. Just searching through Pinterest for patio decor inspiration will give you plenty of ideas. Honestly it can get overwhelming.
This is why having an initial purpose for your patio becomes more convenient. It can inform all your decorating decisions. Here are some decor and setup ideas for different types of patios:
- Dining setup
- Outdoor sofa
- Picnic table
- Beach chairs
- Hammock
- Teepee tent
Why Hire a Professional?
Out of all the steps we enumerated here, which one would you be willing to do? We bet you’d only be excited for the decorating part. The rest of it seem too rigorous of a process to deal with, and that’s not even all of it.
There are subtasks that come with each step and trust us, you’d rather just have someone do it for you. Doing it yourself is not advisable for a project this big, especially when it requires some permits and sophisticated structures.
Either way, it’s good to know what you’re getting into and what happens when you decide to have your patio screened-in. Make sure you hire a contractor that will give you the least hassle about it.
We have a resource of contractors that might be able to do this service in your area. Check out our directory of contractor networks!