About Four Season Porches

Benefits

• Summertime, and the living is relaxed. This is the time of the year to bring dinner outside to a picnic table, to watch the wildlife in the yard and to entertain guests where there is plenty of room. All that sounds great until you consider the frequency of rain, wind, sweltering sun, mosquitoes and bees. How about adding a roof over your head? Screens, glass windows and doors let in the light and the view, but keep out the discomfort.

Significance

• When the weather turns cold and people want to stay inside during leisure hours, they often feel cooped-up. Does all the extra space and light enjoyed outdoors all summer have to go away? Not if you have an insulated, heated and closed-in four season porch. The significance of that extra room is that it greatly adds to your home and your family life, whether you use it for a private retreat, a studio or a party room.

Considerations

• If you decide to turn a patio or screened porch into a four season porch, you'll want to tie the structure to the main house by repeating architectural details, using similar materials, colors, roofing and scale. In the picture, a porch picks up the design elements of the house so well you would never know it was not part of the original construction.

Effects

• What is the effect of having a home with a four season porch? When it's time to resell, you can count the square footage of the porch into the total footage of the house. That is good news. A closed-in, heated sun room or four season porch adds to the value of your home, because it is increased living space. That is the difference between a three season porch and a four season porch: heating and year-round livability.

Potential

• You may not recoup the cost of your four season porch when you resell. Expect to get back perhaps 65 percent of what you paid to build it.
  A traditional home addition might bring a better return on your investment, but the charm and lifestyle implications of your four season porch make your home more desirable. It just might be the feature that causes a potential buyer to fall in love with your house.

Expert Insight

• National averages for the expense of a four season porch or enclosed, heated sun room range from $10,000 to $70,000. Yours could be anywhere in between, based on its size, style, quality of materials used and extra features included. If you're building the porch on an existing foundation, such as an open porch, patio or deck, the cost will be less than if an original foundation has to be built. However, if you do use a foundation that is already there, make sure it can support the weight of your new structure.