glass / screen systems for a porch

[Bob Riefer]

I am rebuilding my porch. The roof and joists are good, but the railing system and flooring will be replaced. I would like to incorporate a system that will allow me to put glass inserts in each winter, and have screens in place the rest of the year.

Do you have a recommendation on any systems that I should look into?

Thanks!

[Ben Hatcher]

When my old neighbors did their porch, they found sliding doors to be the most economical. They found sliding doors with screens for about $400 a unit. They used 4 total and their porch is quite airy. In their setup, the doors all opened towards the corners so that they could put plants or furniture there and not worry about them being blown/knocked over.

[Bill LaPointe]

I did exactly that several years ago. 3 6' patio doors on the front wall and 1 each on the end. Bought them at the borg for about $300 apiece. Worked great for me!!DSCF0698.jpgDSCF0697.jpg

[Neal Clayton]

ever think about just building storm windows yourself?

building a simple single pane storm window is pretty simple. just a rail/stile cutter for a router table or shaper and a dado blade, that's it.

the hardware for mounting them is available in quite a few places.

if you google "storm window hardware" you'll turn up a few.

[Bob Riefer]

Hey guys,
Thanks for the ideas so far. The sliding door idea is an interesting one, but since my porch is about 5 feet above ground on the one side, I'm planning a railing system for safety reasons.

Building my own screen frames, and corresponding storm windows is definitely under consideration. Although, I think I can buy storm windows in a standard size at the borgs for less than I could build my own (and this is probably what I'll end up doing). So I'd just need to frame my openings to fit the storm window size that I select, and figure out a method of keeping them in place.

Any "kit systems" that people have liked, or am I going to get far better quality by going the route I propose above?

Thanks again!

[Bob Riefer]

Similar to the sliding door idea, how about this family of windows? I would build solid wall below the railing, and use these above the railing:

http://www.homedepot.com/Doors-Windo...atalogId=10053

[Greg Portland]

My Dad enclosed his deck and did what Bob suggests: windows all around + solid lower wall. This will be more energy efficient than floor to ceiling options and cheaper. This idea is not going to work if you -must- be able to exit at any point along the wall.

[Bob Riefer]

Hey Greg, why wouldn't it work if an exit is needed? Just transition to a door at that point, and then pickup the windows again right? You'd be somewhat cosntrained on door placement, but it would be same as building any exterior wall (just lots of more windows).