Building a Three Season Porch

The following is for the DIYers and DIY wanna-be's, those ingenious souls who like to make some sawdust! Converting a porch to either a screened porch or sun porch is a great project!

Grab a friend, grab some cold drinks...let's "rip a board" or two!

Step 1

The same steps apply to building a three season porch as they do for building screen porches. However, because you will be replacing the screens with glass, frame support needs to be more substantial.

Look at our guide to screened porch panels to determine which method is best for you. Your screening method will dictate how and what you use for conversion to a 3-season porch.

NOTE Use our porch screening materials guide to determine the best screen material for your porch. Although screen material can come in widths of up to 9 feet, I don't recommend a width of over 4 feet as it is very difficult to stretch it properly if wider. Four-foot widths provide more than sufficient viewing area.

Step 2

Chances are you are not going to have glass from floor to ceiling. So when framing your porch for both screen and glass panels, I recommend you frame for standard sizes to minimize costs.

Having glass panels made is relatively cost effective. Either purchase your screen frames or build them to the same size. However, you can also have non-standard glass panels made also which will increase your visual field.

Do not make them larger than you can install/remove safely as necessary.

OPTION: Instead of glass consider using acrylic panels or acrylic storm panels. Lighter in weight, they are easier to work with and look great. However, they do tend to scratch easily and can break if handled incorrectly. Consider using them as a knee-wall or to replace/cover the screens in colder weather.

NOTE: Before planning further, take note as to where you are going to store either the screens or glass panels when not in use! We had to store over 35 glass panels (storm windows)- they do take up space and must be handled carefully! Perhaps you will have storage space beneath your porch (ensure you have easy access).

Special NOTE: We had screens permanently installed on the porch. By doing so, we didn't have to store them. The glass panels fit in the same frames and were held in place with twist locks. We only had to store the glass panels.

Step 3

The framing on our porch was 2x4 and it worked great. The 2x4s gave plenty of space to hold both the screen and window.

We also had wood panels to cover the bottom row of frames to use instead of either screens or frames. It offered more privacy and captured more heat in the winter.

Step 4

Add amenities. Consider installing an exterior fan or perhaps using a portable heater. Either one will help cool or heat the space appropriately.

There you have it! Now you are ready for building a three season porch.