How to Make a Front Porch Into a Year-Round Room

Converting a front porch into a four-season space requires making the space energy efficient. By insulating the space well, you can treat it as any other room of the house. In this case, you will either use glass components designed for extreme weather or a lot of solid siding to cover the walls of the room. Keep the design different than a standard room to capture the out-of-doors feeling of a porch, however. Use porch furniture, along with standard furniture, to give a relaxed feeling to the space.

Sketch pad
House siding
Tongue-and-groove wood
Energy-efficient windows
Stacked stone
Beadboard
Drywall
Light fixtures
Electrical outlets
Asphalt shingles
2-by-4-inch framing boards
Electrical wiring
Fiberglass insulation
Plumbing materials
Heating and cooling ductwork
Heat pump
Space heaters
Window air conditioner
Crown molding
Chair rail material
Paint
Tile
Carpet
Baseboard material

Instructions

- 1
  Draw the porch space on a sketch pad to experiment with various exterior designs. Use house siding, tongue-and-groove wood, lots of energy-efficient windows or stacked stone as possible enclosure materials. Plan to enclose the bottom half of the room in stacked stone and the top half in large energy-efficient windows, as one choice.
- 2
  Plan to cover the porch interior with beadboard on the bottom half of walls and drywall interspersed with large windows on the top half of walls. Define all lighting, electrical outlets or a wet bar area, for instance.
- 3
  Check the roof for any needed repairs. Add new asphalt shingles over the whole porch roof area if it’s been several years since shingles were replaced.
- 4
  Build framework to enclose the porch and define openings for windows and doors. Cut 2-by-4-inch boards to form studs for the room on 16-inch centers. Build enclosure framework for windows and doors for the entire porch space.
- 5
  Take down the porch roof interior covering to insulate rafter space. Run electrical wiring while the roof is open for new overhead light fixtures.
- 6
  Enclose the exterior shape of the porch. Install house siding and windows to enclose the room. Staple fiberglass insulation between interior studs and run any new wiring or plumbing materials before adding drywall or beadboard.
- 7
  Run heating and cooling ductwork into the space before finishing up walls and the ceiling. Connect to the home’s heating system, as one option, or install an additional small heat pump just for the room, if this is appropriate. Use space heaters and a window air condition as other options.
- 8
  Nail up beadboard on the lower half of walls and drywall on top sections before adding crown molding to the room. Install chair rail around wall areas at waist-high level. Paint the room in light neutral colors accented by white trim for an open, airy look. Connect light fixtures and electrical outlets.
- 9
  Lay a tile floor or install carpeting for the whole room. Nail up baseboards last, so they will cover any gaps between flooring and wall seams.

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