Hi! New here and looking for some advice/help with our screened in porch.
We are located in the Midwest, and get cold winter months from October-March, and would like to extend the use of our porch.
We are planning to install a wood stove (grandma bear fischer potentially) in our screened in porch, which sits off the side of our kitchen/breakfast nook. There is a sliding door that separates the screened in porch and the house. The porch is not conditioned space, but is sided similar to the home, under a roof, and has standard fascia/gutters on the eaves.
My question is ultimately the following: Has anyone had luck installing thick plexiglass temporarily throughout the winter to help with the wind/elements? Or vinyl shades/rolled up protection? We'd like to close off the screens, but dont want to get to the level of installing full blown windows, trimming them inside and out, etc. We may still go this route, but would guess this would add almost 3.5-4k based on the cost of materials (8 large windows approx 4'x4').
Things we plan on doing:
- painting all exposed framing white
- insulating roof joists/installing tongue and groove wood ceiling
- insulate "sill" beneath screens and install finished wall material, potentially more exposed wood
- build hearth in center of back wall, thin concrete, install wood stove
- wire 2 permanent fixtures and switches for lighting (existing power from outlets on walls)
- screen protection with "wood framed" plexiglass inserts installed from October-March
Thanks for any and all suggestions, this is a bigger project for us and want to consider all ideas (finishes, layout, design, etc). Anything suggested is good to hear and fun to consider.
Thank you!
![[Hearth.com] Wood stove, screened in porch finishes](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/288/288684-8755cb46f26bda9109be347070500f0c.jpg?hash=iMX6_iEiRM "[Hearth.com] Wood stove, screened in porch finishes")
![[Hearth.com] Wood stove, screened in porch finishes](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/288/288685-b12b82e8a081f9c85eea342273fbca98.jpg?hash=94AsnlgMuO "[Hearth.com] Wood stove, screened in porch finishes")
We are located in the Midwest, and get cold winter months from October-March, and would like to extend the use of our porch.
We are planning to install a wood stove (grandma bear fischer potentially) in our screened in porch, which sits off the side of our kitchen/breakfast nook. There is a sliding door that separates the screened in porch and the house. The porch is not conditioned space, but is sided similar to the home, under a roof, and has standard fascia/gutters on the eaves.
My question is ultimately the following: Has anyone had luck installing thick plexiglass temporarily throughout the winter to help with the wind/elements? Or vinyl shades/rolled up protection? We'd like to close off the screens, but dont want to get to the level of installing full blown windows, trimming them inside and out, etc. We may still go this route, but would guess this would add almost 3.5-4k based on the cost of materials (8 large windows approx 4'x4').
Things we plan on doing:
- painting all exposed framing white
- insulating roof joists/installing tongue and groove wood ceiling
- insulate "sill" beneath screens and install finished wall material, potentially more exposed wood
- build hearth in center of back wall, thin concrete, install wood stove
- wire 2 permanent fixtures and switches for lighting (existing power from outlets on walls)
- screen protection with "wood framed" plexiglass inserts installed from October-March
Thanks for any and all suggestions, this is a bigger project for us and want to consider all ideas (finishes, layout, design, etc). Anything suggested is good to hear and fun to consider.
Thank you!
