If you are considering a new Kansas City area screen porch for your home, there are things you should consider in your final design.

Last week we published a blog about the technical aspects of designing your new porch. At first, it may not be intuitive that technical and practical considerations are also design considerations for you Kansas City area screen porch. But, you must determine particular functional characteristics of your new space before you can jump into the design of your space.

Fun screen porch design considerations.

We promised that this post would cover all the fun considerations involved in designing your new porch. First, it’s important to note that design is a collaborative process. We could not design a great new porch without working very closely with you on what you are looking for. We hope that our experience and expertise with building porches allows us to translate your needs and wants into a great design. So here goes the fun part of the porch design process.

Creating kitchen access to this Leawood KS porch required removing a wall and installing a large custom sliding door.

Have you picked out furniture for your new porch? You don’t have to purchase it yet. But, it’s important to have the dimensions if possible. That way we can design the correct size to accommodate both the furniture and the traffic flow around it. For example, if your porch space will be utilized for eating, we must also take into account how the chairs will be placed. While eating, they will be pushed out a little from the table but after eating they may be pushed way out as people sit back and relax or move their chair back to give their fuller belly some breathing room. It’s important to know that you still need room to walk around the eating area even when the chairs are pushed out.

Believe it or not, the flooring boards themselves are not the only aspect of floor design. The direction of the floorboards allows you to add even more of a custom look and to add visual appeal to your floor. The boards can be run parallel, perpendicular, or at an angle. A parting board can be utilized between where boards would otherwise abut. A picture framing technique can be created using an alternate color board for terrific aesthetic appeal.

Also read: How much value will a screen porch retain?

Think about the porch posts and the width of the screened areas within the posts. Do you want very wide screened sections for particular visibility? Or perhaps there is something outside of a particular area that you don’t care to see. Let your porch designer know and they will likely have great suggestions to help you accomplish that goal.

It’s even important to think about color at the design stage. If you have a finished, or enclosed, ceiling, you have the flexibility to paint the ceiling. The color of the ceiling will have an affect on the overall design. There is a reason that most interior ceilings are painted white. It makes the room look larger. If you are considering an open rafter porch, you will most likely leave the wood its natural color which will be darker but will also be higher from the ground achieving that more open and spacious feel.

Getting back to the less glamorous decisions, it is important to consider your budget first. As you will see from reading all of the choices above, budget will be an element of your design. It’s extremely helpful to identify an overall budget range with the designer so that you can have a realistic discussion about which choices may fit within that budget.

Choose a trusted, award-winning porch and deck builder – choose Archadeck of Kansas City!

Also read: Heating Options for Your Screen Porch

Bonnie and Dan Hall, Archadeck of Kansas City Owners

Looking at lots of pictures will help you identify some design features you like and dislike. Take a look at our website and our Houzz site for many great pictures to help you identify some design aspects you like.

Then give us a ring for a free consultation or drop us an email. (913) 851 – 3325 or kansascity@archadeck.net. We look forward to working with you to design your new porch.

The choice of decking materials is large. There are many types of natural products and composite or man made products. Different colors or grain patterns can make a distinctive looking deck. What can make your deck even more unique and eye popping is your choice of railing. The number of options available is truly amazing.

If using a wood deck, do you want the railing to match? Do you want it made of wood but do you want to paint or stain it a contrasting color? Do you want a unique spindle arrangement or pattern? Do you want a traditional 6 x 6 post, an 8 x 8 post, a 4 x 4 post? Do you want a metal spindle instead of wood? Do you want decorative post caps or lights?

Steel, aluminum, vinyl, composite, and wrought iron railings are all options also. Anyone who has ever stained or painted a deck railing with all those spindles and railing components knows how time consuming it can be and these railings can solve that problem as low maintenance alternatives. Many people have told me that they dislike their railing because it’s at their eye level when they sit down. In most cases these other railings have a smaller profile and really open up your view.  Color choice, profiles, longevity are just a few other benefits.

As with everything else; quality, style, and material choice comes with a price. Vinyl railings are usually the least expensive. At the high end would be a custom wrought iron rail. Consider aesthetics, functionality, maintenance, and price and you can have the best rail for your situation.

Dan

I addressed setbacks in my last post and I wanted to address utility easements also. This is one more thing to consider when building your Kansas City deck. I’ve been involved in designing several Kansas City decks where my deck plans were affected by utility easements. In two cases there were sewer line easements that ran right up to the corner of customers homes. In one case the city would not consider a variance at all. Their position was that if there was a sewer line break they would want to repair it as swiftly and with as few obstacles as possible.

In the second case the city would allow a variance but at the owners own risk. If there was an emergency the city would destroy the deck if it impeded their repairs. If the deck needed to be rebuilt it was the homeowners expense. The city would not take any responsibility. These projects were both in exclusive areas on prime lots without the ability to build a nice deck or screen room to compliment the homes.

Plot plans are usually provided at the closing of your home but are usually available either on line in many cities or at the city offices in others. The best thing to do is to check these before purchasing a home in order to fully understand the property description and any rights of way or easements that other entities or persons may have on your property.

One of the most important issues that impacts the overall usability of a sunroom or room addition is defining the way a family wants to use the room.   Many people don’t spend enough time thinking about this issue.  For example, do you need additional year round living space?  Or alternatively,  is the best use of your new sunroom a 7-9 month use?  The answers to these simple questions are frequently not so simple, since each family may have a unique plan for the new space.  In a professionally designed room the answer to the above question reflects in a series of changes to the design, materials, and optional features.  Energy efficiency,  solar heat gain, aesthetics, architectural features,  temperature stability,  sound isolation, maintenance and upkeep,  and  overall satisfaction with the sunroom will all  be issues that can and should be addressed in the design and construction.  Some companies simply pack as much glass as possible into every sunroom, and this strategy inevitably results in a large number of unhappy users, since a sunroom with 95% glass will in many cases either be the coldest room in the house or the hottest room.  The solar orientation of the room and amount of summer tree cover can have a major impact  on the summer comfort of the room, and should be a feature of the design.  Multiple design alternatives and window choices can improve the comfort level of the room in both summer and winter.

Steve Folsom