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Sunrooms and porches can help you take advantage of summer in the Upper Valley while it lasts. By Kim J. Gifford

ow that summer is here, people throughout the Upper Valley are gathering on porches for barbecues, lemonade, and relaxation. This quintessentially American pastime is not only evocative of summer but of a simpler past, of a Norman Rockwell painting.

If you are thinking about adding a porch or sunroom to your home to enjoy with your friends and loved ones (or your morning newspaper) you would be wise to first consider the basic options—the open porch, the screened-in porch, the enclosed porch, or the sunroom.

clockwise from top left: the classic porch swing; a screened- in porch for summer dining; synthetic materials replace porches of wood; a beautiful spot to read a book.

Types of Porches

An open porch is a wonderful thing—an outdoor deck or patio protected by a roof from the rain. Millions of Americans enjoy the outdoors from their open porches during the warm seasons’ pleasant nights and mornings. The drawback with open porches is that while they offer protection from the rain, they don’t protect you from wind, uncomfortable temperatures, and insects.

For those who live in buggy areas, screened-in porches add key protection. The downside of screened-in porches is that the screens dull the sensation of being outside, and, like open porches, their use is restricted to the warmer months. An increasingly common solution to this limitation is screened-in porches that can become enclosed porches by simply replacing the screens with glass during the colder months.

Many people think of enclosed porches and sunrooms as the same thing, but that is not the case. Keith Raymond, owner of Claremont Glassworks in Claremont, New Hampshire, sells and installs pre-fabricated sunrooms by a company called Four Seasons. He says, “a porch usually doesn’t have an insulated floor or roof. But a sunroom is constructed with the same principles as a house: it’s a four-season room, only its walls are largely made of glass,” he said.

Sunrooms, as well as porches enclosed in glass, protect users from both bugs and the elements. However, during the summer months they tend to gather too much heat, like a greenhouse. “You need a way to dissipate this heat, especially in the summer so that they do not become unusable,” says Bob Jackman, manager of LaValley Building Supply in West Lebanon, New Hampshire. A common solution to overheating sunrooms are window air conditioning units.

Making the Right Choice

The first consideration when choosing the type of porch or sunroom you want to build is how you plan to use it. Are you building it because you want to feel as if you are outdoors? Do you want to use it year-round? Will you be hosting many people?

“If [you are building purely for the sensation of being outdoors] you certainly don’t need to spend $20,000 on a specially customized sunroom made of glass, because you can get that out of a porch,” said Jackman. On the other hand, if you want a room with a lot of sun that you can use year round, an insulated sunroom could be the way to go.

Location is another factor in determining what type of porch to build. Does the location afford beautiful views? Is it buggy, windy, or sunny? What time of day is it exposed to the sun? These questions are important to think about—as they could even make you realize that you should be building your porch elsewhere. When possible, experts recommend locating a porch on the east side of the house. If you are able to do so, the morning sun will warm the porch so you can eat breakfast out there, and in the evening when you get home from work, it will be in the shade and cooler.

Another obvious consideration when thinking about adding a sunroom or porch is cost. Believe it or not, many builders recommend their prospective clients to envision their dream sunroom or porch without considering cost. From there, they can cut the cost by peeling away the least important elements of their dream design until the price becomes manageable.

If all these considerations have your head spinning, don’t worry. Once you get to thinking about them all, you’ll realize that much of the decision-making is out of your hands and dictated by your home, location, and budget. Moreover, consulting with one or more experts will also lessen the burden. No matter what you end up with, you’ll have a space where you can sit back and take pleasure in the great outdoors from the comfort of your chair and in the company of those you enjoy.

One local contractor describes the problematic result of not fully weighing your options before moving forward with a deck, porch, or sunroom. He calls it, “The Great American Deck Syndrome.” First, someone decides to build a deck off their home because they want to enjoy the outdoors. Shortly after the deck is built, they realize that when it rains they can’t sit on the deck, so they have a roof added and make it a porch. Before too long, they can’t stand the bugs any longer and decide to screen it in. All is well for a while, but as time goes by they decide they want more living space and so they winterize their porch and finish it off. “After that, they sit in this new room and say, ‘we ought to build a deck.’” Although this epidemic isn’t always avoidable due to changing needs and desires, the further ahead you can anticipate your needs, the sooner you will be able to enjoy the option that is right for you—and the less you’ll pay.

Open & Screened-In Porches The type of materials to build with are determined by a number of factors, ranging from whether the space will be exposed to the elements to whether it will be heated and what type of house it is being built onto. Pressure-treated wood will protect an open or screened-in porch from rain, and Jackman recommends using pressure-treated wood near the bottom of walls and for the deck to handle water coming in through the screens. Trumbull-Nelson’s Tony Instasi cites the increase in composite material to prevent rot and the need for maintaining wood. Enclosed Porches and Sunrooms If, on the other hand, you plan on building a sunroom or an enclosed porch that you will heat year-round, the floor will need a solid foundation like concrete, which can later be topped with hardwood flooring, tile, etc. PVC is a cheaper alternative than wood for the walls of sunrooms and enclosed porches. That said, the classic aesthetic of an older home might dictate the use of wood and more traditional materials