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Enclosing a Porch or Breezeway

Enclosing an open porch or a covered terrace or winterizing a porch that is already enclosed can be an excellent way to get more living space, and at a good price. If a porch is basically well constructed, you can make it into a year-round room for about $15 a square foot. And if a porch is already enclosed, you may be able to winterize it for $8 a square foot.

Not every porch is worth bothering with. In many older houses, and in some that are not so old, you’ll often find crackerbox porches that were tacked on after the house was built with little regard for either the appearance of the house or the way in which the porch was put together. We call a lot of these porches “two-by-four porches.” because two-by-fours were the heaviest lumber used in their construction. Usually both the roof and the floor have begun to sag because the framing is inadequate. And the porch may have a definite “tilt” because it is supported by a few decayed wood posts set in the ground. If you have this kind of porch, you are better off if you remove it entirely, for to reconstruct such a shoddy structure would cost more in the long run than starting from scratch. The appearance of the house probably will be vastly improved because its original lines will be apparent and the effect will be cleaner and crisper.

The ideal porch to work with is one that was designed and built at the same time as the house. Porches of this type seldom have a tacked-on look, and they usually are well constructed.

Depending on its size and location, a porch can be put to all sorts of good uses if it is made a part of the main body of the house. Even a small back porch off the kitchen can be converted into the very popular “mud room.” If it’s big enough, you can add a toilet and lavatory and also let it serve as the home laundry.

The open porch at the side of this house (left) was seldom used. The owners therefore decided to enclose it for added living space and year-round use. New outside wall framing was installed across the top and bottom of the porch, and stock sliding windows with insulating glass also were installed (right). The new clapboard siding matches the gable end of the house. [National Woodwork Manufacturers AssocIo lion]

A good-size rear or side porch can be made into an extra bedroom, study, TV room, or dining room. Not long ago we saw a house in which a portion of the side porch had been used to make space for a much-needed second bathroom. (In our present house the kitchen is located in what was once a screened-in side porch.) If the porch adjoins the living room, the wall between the two can be removed to create one large room. This is also something you can do if you have a covered terrace at the rear of the living room.

A great thing to do if you have a two-story house with a porch that has a flat roof is to make the roof into a second-floor deck. This can be a nice private place for sunning or just sitting, and it adds another outdoor living area to your house.

A front porch doesn’t offer as many possibilities as a rear or side porch. Because the front porch is usually the front entry to the house and opens directly into the living area, it doesn’t work as a bedroom. In any case it is never good to have a bedroom at the front of the house because it would lack privacy and get a lot of street noise. But converting a front porch is an excellent way to get a larger living room: just take out the wall between the two. If you want to go to the added expense of moving the front entry, a front porch can also make a nice family room or dining room.

Front porches usually make the front living room dark and dingy, and this is one reason why many people rip them off But if you combine the porch with the living room and add a lot of glass at the front, you’ll have a nice, bright living room.