We have a screened-in porch on the back of our house and we enjoy it, however, there are only so many times of the year we can REALLY enjoy it because of summer heat/winter cold/pollen/constant dirt/dust, etc...

We were toying around with the idea of enclosing it with sliding glass doors that have screen behind them. This way, it is enclosed in glass, but can be "open air" if we slide the doors open when needed.. We would also want to put down some type of carpet...probably indoor/outdoor carpet.

We don't want to install any heating/ac/plumbing...none of that. We just want to completely enclose it and block it off from the outside elements (except light obviously, and when we slide open the doors to expose screens).
I have attached 2 pictures of the porch for reference. It is mostly square, with a little rectangular hallway to the side that leads to the patio.

Any ideas on how much this would cost? My parents did something similar so I am going to get an estimate from their company (patio enclosures). Just curious if anyone here had done something similar.

6/30/2013 9:58:06 PM

What's the actual dimensions of the patio floor plan? You were thinking of using a bunch of sliding glass doors as the walls?

My only advice would be that it sounds like an interesting idea, in practice, if you buy ready made sliding glass doors, you are going to slide half of those glass doors and loose 1/2 of the "open air" since when you open them, you have to store them someplace. Plus, its not going to look very good, but it would be functional and probably run you around 2-3 grand in just materials; double or triple that if you pay for labor.


If it was my patio, this is what I'd look into doing:
1. Get a set of 3 or 4 glass panel Lift and Slide doors for each of the main face. There are plenty of custom window patio companies out there, Marvin is probably on top, but I'd first talk to some actual experts on how they'd think it would work for your small space.

Lift and Slide doors add a lot of girth since each panel are on their own guide so in a small patio area, it would take a lot of room away. Plus its also very very pricey; I want to say they start at 3 grand a piece without labor. Lift and Slides area really meant to be large openings from the actual house to the patio, not actually for the patio.

http://www.marvin.com/patio-doors/lift-and-slide-doors/options/

2. Probably the best idea would be to go with a series of folding & sliding (aka multi-fold) doors that wraps around the entire patio screened area on a rail/guide. This is another custom door job so expect it to be around 2-3+ grand per wall coverage for your size, plus other materials and labor. It would work really well considering it wouldn't take up too much space to house and should be pretty simple to open the entire area up and stash the panels to one side out of the way for outdoor air enjoyment.

A company called Anderson Windows & Doors make some pretty cool stuff, but I would probably shop around and do my research before dumping this kind of cash in your patio project.

http://www.andersenwindows.com/product/folding-patio-doors/


In any regards, I'd expect a job like this from a contractor easily hit 10-15 grand for either custom installations using top of the line doors. But I'd bet if you do your homework and shop around, you could easily cut that in half. Do note the two options above are built for the house so they are double panned and weather sealed like normal doors, but I'd expect there has to be some cheaper products that do exactly the same function for a patio environment of where you really don't need to worry about insulation or perfect weather sealing.

Shit if you are mechanically inclined, just get all the measurements done, order the custom doors and install yourself, save a few grand.

6/30/2013 11:44:28 PM

First, I gotta say that your porch is fucking awesome. Especially with that view of the water.

I think it's a great idea to be able to enjoy it year-round. I can't speak to the cost of a project like this, but I am sure it will be hella expensive. Probably worth it though, especially if/when you go to re-sell.

7/1/2013 11:30:46 AM

I got an estimate. Total would be approximately ~$19,000...

way way way outta my ballpark... so we will hold off

7/13/2013 4:06:27 PM

you could always just install roll-up plastic zip walls and use a propane heater, like many bars do. Just be sure to have some venting.

If you do what you are talking about doing, you really need to run HVAC to it. You don't want an enclosed space with no ventilation or conditioned air.

[Edited on July 13, 2013 at 5:34 PM. Reason : .]

7/13/2013 5:32:19 PM

^yeah, agreed. That's just asking for mold and other shit. Rollup plastic zip walls would be a great and cheaper alternative, maybe not as fancy, but roll them up and they are out of site, out of mind.

7/15/2013 6:53:18 PM

Quote :

"~$19,000..."

That's crazy. My mother in law just got quoted 17K to have an entire screened in porch built from scratch.

7/15/2013 10:02:47 PM

^ yeah, that's for screened in. the glass is the expensive part. ask her to get a quote for a glassed in porch.

I like the idea of the propane heater. Either that or a propane fire pit. You probably wouldn't even need the zip in plastic windows. I have a friend that has both a propane heater and a propane fire pit out on his patio. We frequently sit around them in the winter and it keeps us nice and toasty.

7/16/2013 8:34:04 AM

$19k for that job sounds about right for what you were looking to do.

7/16/2013 9:54:04 AM

Third-ed for the propane heater. That plus the plastic would make it nice in the winter. In the summer...hmm.

Get a fan that moves more air?

7/16/2013 2:37:21 PM

my original assessment wasn't too far off, but I defiantly low balled it. I could think of better ways to improve the house/backdoor for 19k...

which would involve a hot tub and a motorcycle with cash still left over... lol

7/16/2013 2:43:31 PM

I don't want to to do the plastic b/c I know too many folks who have that and they wish they would have gotten sliding glass doors. The plastic discolors, etc...

The quote I got was for a 2-3 foot high glass panel all the way around on the floor. Then above that is sliding glass doors with screen behind. So 100% glass, 50% air.
That quote also includes all the electrical outlets they have to put in (because of code there has to be about 8)
It also includes tearing out the screen porch and installing a subfloor, carpet, etc....

If you look in the snow picture, there is more than just the main porch area... to the right of it in the snow picture there is a "hallway" that is also screened in that leads to the patio.
Just the main porch area is 14' x 14' and then the hall added on quite a bit more space.

7/17/2013 9:45:41 AM

Yeah, I was going to mention that the plastic will discolor, get scratches, and possibly even crack if it gets cold enough.

Would glassing in the porch increase the square footage of your house? Or is the porch already included in the square footage of the house? I don't really know how that works. But if it increases the square footage of your house, that could be an added benefit if/when you go to sell.

7/17/2013 9:51:30 AM

to me that seems high for what, 5 sliding glass doors?

7/17/2013 9:52:30 AM

I think it sounds about right. I have 1 double pane glass window on the front of my house that is cracked. I was quoted $500 to replace it.

7/17/2013 10:47:11 AM

if we get it hvac'd, then it increases the square footage..

but regardless, a closed in porch like that would increase the value...

And there are going to be at least 7-8 sliding glass doors.

7/17/2013 11:19:29 AM

I wouldn't think it would take much to tie into your existing HVAC system. Not something you'd need to do immediately, but something to consider down the road.

7/17/2013 11:32:29 AM

you can get a sliding glass door for $300.

i just see where the rest is coming from. framing and installation shouldnt be 15Gs should it?

7/17/2013 2:37:11 PM

$300 sliding doors would be on the extreme low end. For a project like this, he'd probably be looking at more like $600-$800 per door, and possibly more if he's looking for more decorative models.

I'd estimate about $8k for the materials. While I agree that $11k is pretty crazy for installation, it sounds about right. That's why I try to DIY as much as possible.

7/18/2013 11:38:40 AM

well... it isn't just doors... there will be 6x6 posts, electrical wiring ran throughout the porch with about 6-7 outlets, a new floor with indoor/outdoor carpet, etc...

I'm still trying to talk them down

7/18/2013 10:35:26 PM

to me, sounds like a mold factory, to me.

7/19/2013 9:44:48 PM

Quote :

"you can get a sliding glass door for $300. i just see where the rest is coming from. framing and installation shouldnt be 15Gs should it?"

Sliding glass doors from home depot you are referring to tends to be singular or installed individually on one wall, not being used as actual walls to enclose an entire room since they are designed to be recessed into an actual door frame... It would be hard to use off the shelf glass doors to fit OP's custom job that it would require more work and be ghetto as hell.

Quote :

"For a project like this, he'd probably be looking at more like $600-$800 per door, and possibly more if he's looking for more decorative models."

That would be on the cheap side. The three door custom sliding glass doors hit more in the 1600+ range and that's without the hardware track pieces.

7/29/2013 5:16:09 PM