This newly built home came with a big beautiful porch. The homeowners realized that it needed to be screened to keep out nesting birds, biting mosquitoes and flies. They wanted to open the patio doors that lead from the kitchen to the porch when the weather temperatures are mild.
They imagined fresh air coming in through the double patio doors airing out the home. They could see themselves leaving the doors open in the evenings to allow calming sounds of crickets and frogs filling the dinning area while they enjoyed dinner.
On a rare occasion when the garlic bread in the oven was left a little longer than planned and the kitchen smelled smokey, they could air out the kitchen by opening the patio doors and not worrying what might fly in. A screened porch would keep critters at bay and pull out the smoke.
The new owners invited Palmetto Outdoor Spaces to stop by to take a look at their new porch. The homeowner spotted our van in the neighborhood and our employees tearing out a wood porch for a neighbor.
The team was removing the lady’s wood handrailing and wood posts. They replaced all the materials with extruded aluminum load posts and railing. They screened all the openings and installed a beautiful new PCA screen door. They screened with Super Screen insect mesh, a tear resistant mesh that has a 15-year warranty. We stock this mesh. It is made in Alabama by Twitchell Corp.
The homeowner was impressed that we completed his neighbor’s porch in one day. It was easy, we assigned both crews to the task. We have two vans with two trained employees in each van. Our best was on the job.
All of our employees are covered under our workers compensation insurance and we have liability insurance. Each employee receives paid benefits and competitive wages. Know when you hire Palmetto Outdoor Spaces that you are supporting our wonderful employees and their families and you are getting the best professionally trained and skilled talent in the Upstate.
The homeowner stopped by his neighbor’s home a few days later and asked who had worked on her porch and what she thought about our work. She told him that Palmetto Outdoor Spaces remodeled her porch and she was very pleased with the finished work, materials and the gentlemen that worked on her porch. She said a couple of nice things about me too.
He was convinced to give us a call to learn more about the materials we use and get pricing.
During my visit we discussed two framing and screening options. One was to leave the wood railing and pickets and the other was to remove the wood and replace with aluminum screen framing, just like we had done for his neighbor.
I showed him and his wife the aluminum framing pieces that we use and how they would attach to his home, posts and porch floor. We discussed replacing the treated wood posts with aluminum load posts, which are offered in three sizes: 3 x 3, 4 x 4, and 6 x 6. We have load specifications on all three sizes. If you are interested in this information, give us a call. We will email it to you.
I showed him two screen mesh samples I gave him to keep. We discussed the advantages of one over the other. See our FAQ area on our website to learn more about the many screen meshes we offer.
I measured the openings. We talked about the advantages of replacing the treated wood with the aluminum screen framing. We priced options and emailed them to him.
Things to consider when screening over a wood railing porch:
1. Once the porch is screened the wood pickets and any wood cross members cannot be stained or painted again, unless the screen mesh is removed.
2. Treated lumber railing pickets dry out, warp and fasteners come lose. In some cases the fasteners are on the screened side and cannot be accessed. Unsightly warped wood is their to stay.
3. Treated lumber wood railing top cap takes up the entire opening marrying up to the load posts. Oftentimes the pickets are outside the beam and posts plane. The posts and header have to be built out to cover the pickets with the screen mesh. Sometimes the extra material and labor make keeping the wood framing more expensive than taking it out.
Advantages of replacing wood with aluminum screen framing:
1. No painting or staining.
2. No warping wood pickets or rotting.
3. Easy to clean. Spray off with a water hose.
3. Better views for sure. Pickets are 1″ square and not 1-3/4″ wide like treated lumber pickets. Spacing is 4″ on center and not 3″.
The top rail is 2″ tall. Wood railing oftentimes has a 2″ thick capping and a 2×4 under it to support the capping. We have seen wood railing toppers at 6″ tall.
As we can see the homeowner weighed the advantages and selected the tear out and addition of the aluminum railing. It was all about the view.
They plan to create a beautiful garden filled with native plants and beautifully designed hard scapes. The plant additions and water feature in the works will create the beautiful natural sounds they dreamed of when they open their patio doors to the outside.
They also selected the Super Screen insect mesh, that offers some inward privacy, a 45% UV Block to help with heat gain and glare, and is tear resistant. The PCA Westmore Aluminum Screen door model was designed to match the handrail picket profile. They were made for each other. Homeowners may select a no kickplate, 8-inch kickplate and a 12-inch kickplate with the Westmore screen door model. See our other projects posted on Instagram that showcase those different kickplate height options.
