A screened porch is an amazing place where you can enjoy your summers as well as winters. This makes it a great asset to the interior decoration of your house which can prove to be a unique home decor.
Building a Screened Porch
Materials Required
- 6 x 6 treated/exterior grade wood
- 2 x 4 treated/exterior grade wood
- Decking lumber
For a screened porch, a flat roof on top of your home or building is required. While constructing this, care should be taken about deck protection.
- Set up the area where you want to construct the deck. Find out the location of the roof drain and the slope of the roof. Take care that the roof water is not blocked after the construction of the roof deck.
- With a carpenters chalk line, mark the outline on the deck of the roof such that it forms a square. Fix the direction of the 6 x 6 wooden beams which acts as base for the deck. These wooden beams also referred to as sleepers, do not block the flow of water. So, the sleepers and the slope of the roof should face in the same direction.
- Based on the size of the layout, cut the sleepers and install them. Position these sleepers on the roof where the deck is going to be placed.
- Place the sleepers and lay a piece of decking across all the sleepers and secure each one.
- The next step is the installation of the windshield made preferably from pexiglass, reason being, it's the most economical product for this job. In order to install it, the posts need to first be carved.
- The posts should not be less than 38 inches above the deck. If, the wind blows heavily, you can have posts of a height of approximately 44 inches, which is capable of accommodating a larger windshield. You can also cut the posts according to the desired height you want. However, make sure that while cutting the posts, you cut an extra 5 inches, and make sure that this extra part runs along the post.
- All the posts should installed at all the corners, wherein, a distance of 48 inches should be maintained between two posts. In order to make the distance between the posts equal, you can modify the dimensions.
- Slip the notch of the post above the outside face of the sleeper and secure it on the side of the sleeper. To avoid the splitting of wood, offset the bolts diagonally from one another and use two hot dipped galvanized threaded bolts with hex heads of size x 6 inches.
- After you have completed installing the posts, the next step is to install the decking. Fix two stainless steel screws of size 1 inches at each location where the deck material laps over the sleeper. The distance between the screws should be consistent throughout.
- Install a rail with a 2 x 4 inch bottom, between the posts which are 2 inches above the deck. Make a notch of size x inch with the help of a router. Screw it to the post. Follow the same procedure for the top rail as well.
- Now, install the pexiglass. Place the pexiglass between the post and groove of the bottom rail. Place the top rail and slide the notch over the pexiglass.
- Fasten the top rail and check the level. After the installation of the rails and pexiglass, add wooden stops of size 1 x 1 inch to all the sides of the pexiglass, which will prevent it from moving during strong gales.
- The final step is to lightly sand the porch, and then stain the sealing according to the general outlook of the house. Always try to place the furniture according to the style and space within the porch, do not clutter it so that it seems untidy. You always have the option of laminating the flooring of the porch to make it weather proof, as the floor is just as important as the walls and ceiling as a contributing factor towards home improvement.
