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Adding Value to Your Home with a Weatherized Porch

ADDING VALUE TO YOUR HOME WITH A WEATHERIZED PORCH
 August 18, 2020 |  Home Decor, DIY |  foundation, home exterior, landscaping

A screened porch can be the perfect place to relax and entertain guests during the warmer months of the year. But if you live in an area with freezing winters or muggy summers, your porch may sit empty the majority of the time. If this sounds like a problem you currently have, then it might be time for an upgrade. An all-weather porch will allow you to better utilize this part of your home, while adding both beauty and value.

DIY or Hire
Once you’ve made the decision that changing to an all-weather porch is right for you, you have two options. You can either hire a contractor to do all the work, or you can try and do it yourself. While you might manage to save some money with a DIY, hiring out may better fit your remodeling timeframe. The biggest factor when making your choice is ultimately how confident you feel in your own handiwork. You could even try and merge the two options by doing what best fits your skillset and leaving the rest to a professional.

Layout
The next step is trying to configure the layout of your new enclosed porch. You will want to stay within the parameters of your current porch and avoid expanding past that. If you try to build out too far, you could run into structural issues. It is easy to get carried away when remodeling your home, but always remember that safety comes first. Plus, you don’t want to overshoot your budget.

Opening Up
One additional piece of construction you can do is to have a portion of the adjoining wall cut out to give a viewpoint to the rest of the house. This will give a more open feeling and lets conversations in different rooms carry on. If you have a door to your porch, taking it out will allow people to easily pass from room to room.

Flooring
There are a wide variety of flooring types to choose from when deciding which is best for your porch. From hardwood to vinyl planking, and even concrete, each has their own pros and cons.

Windows
Your next design decision is picking the right windows to avoid blocking your view, whatever it may be. Installing large floor-to-ceiling windows gives you a full 360 degree vantage point. However, rooms like this can be difficult to regulate in very hot or cold places. Going with a shorter wall around the sides helps solve this temperature problem, and still gives you the option of putting in larger windows to see your surroundings.

Lighting
Selecting the right windows for your porch also plays a role in the room’s lighting. You want windows that are going to let in the most sunshine during the day to keep things looking nice, and they’ll help cut down on your electric bill. If you really want to let the sun in, you can put in a skylight overhead. For cloudy days or nighttime lighting, floor lamps let you brighten things up. When it comes to ceiling lights, dimmable canned lights along with powerful spotlights give you the brightness you need, and have a sleek, modern look.

Decorate and Done!
What you plan on using your new porch for will help give you some direction for putting on the finishing touches. If you like to entertain all your friends and family, you will need lots of seating and possibly a few larger tables. If you want to use your porch as your personal retreat, then you will probably only need a few places to sit. Adding a TV can be a nice touch when you want to host a watch party for the big game, and it can keep kids entertained as well. Depending on the flooring you’ve chosen, putting down a few throw rugs will add another piece to your decorating.

Get Every Room Checked by NPI
Whether it’s a porch, your kitchen, your bathroom or any other spot in your home, it’s important to make sure that everything is in working order. A professional home inspection from NPI will help you find any issues in the thousands of components in your house. Contact your local NPI inspector to schedule an inspection today.