drawingboard lessons in residen t i a l d e s i g n B y Pa u l D e G r o o t

A vaulted feels airy compared to a flat ceiling.

Add a screened Exposed rafters increase height. Gable Tongue-and- hen the weather’s right, there’s no better screens groove boards increase or two layers place than a porch to enjoy a meal, to watch light and of plywood the kids play, or to entertain friends. But airflow. hide roofing W fasteners. to keep mosquitoes and flies from ruining the fun, you need screened-in . Like a giant screened , a Drop-offs greater than screened porch opens your to fresh air. Done 30 in. require right, a screened porch has plenty of daylight, pleasant a reinforced views, and good ventilation. guardrail. Tight-fitting boards Make it easy for people to gather keep out insects. Social —, family rooms, and dining areas, for example—facing the are an ideal M a x i m ize screened area location for screened . Although a porch with Exposing the rafters and the underside of the deck lends a casual, sometimes rustic, feeling to the space. It also increases the height of the room. two screened sides provides some cross ventilation, Splurge on tongue-and-groove wood decking, or use two layers of plywood three screened sides work much better. Accordingly, thick enough to hide staples and nails. Put the attractive face downward. try to avoid placing the porch at the inside corner of Elevated porches require a code-approved barrier for the bottom 3 ft. of . an L-shaped plan. Not only does an inside corner Design the barrier into the wall/screen assembly so that it doesn’t look like an limit airflow, but it also can make hassles with a tricky afterthought. A reinforced guardrail also protects the screening, something you roof merger. might want to include regardless of drop-off height if you have kids or pets. Also, avoid overlapping the porch with a , and don’t overlap a window or bed- room door unless the porch is relatively private with M ak e it b r i g ht a n d a i ry limited access. Screened porches create nice, sheltered outdoor Tie in the roof as high as practical You want to tie the porch to the landscape, inviting space, but they reduce to increase the sense of openness. people to use both the porch and the backyard. You can the amount of light in create more-inviting by breaking tall stair flights adjoining rooms. Low increase daylight to the interior room. into shorter sections with terraces or landings and by block more light dressing up these intermediate levels with barbecue than vaulted ceilings. In Try to keep the eave height grills, sunny seating, and potted plants. northern climates, you at least as high as the may notice lost gain ceiling inside the . in winter as well. Add The size should be just right skylights if you can’t The porch should be sized in proportion both to the the ceiling, and especially Generous adjoining room(s) and to the overall scale of the house. if it’s lower than the A tiny porch off the grand of a large home ceiling of the adjoining helps to keep looks and feels incongruous. Likewise, an oversize room. Skylights boost the out rain. porch linked to a small bungalow seems out of amount of daylight Dividing character architecturally. Respect the scale of the house to the screened porch the screen by using existing eave lines and roof shapes; this helps to and bounce more light into upper into the house. Lighter and lower sections eases keep the porch from overwhelming the house. paint colors, wood tones, replacement. The and activities you’re planning for the and light-colored Screen panels between porch also are constrained by its size. Seating four com- 4 ft. and 6 ft. wide balance also help to reflect visual openness with the fortably for dinner requires a 48-in.-sq. or 48-in.-dia. additional light indoors. ability to get screens taut.

92 FINE HOMEBUILDING drawingboard c o n T i n u e d

Design for flow Add and where you can to a direct route between the kitchen and the zone to one side or a corner, maximizing increase the glass area, visually expanding outdoor eating area so that people aren’t floor area for furniture and keeping the the interior space. They also allow for forced to walk through the cook’s work porch size in check. good airflow and, placed properly, provide area. Also, avoid traffic patterns through a The screened-porch door should open convenient traffic flow. living-room conversation group or in front onto a comfortably sized landing area. You Traffic patterns are critical when planning of the TV. On the porch, the house door and don’t want to be teetering on the top step door locations and furniture layout. Create the screened door should isolate the traffic as you open and close the door.

Two doors improve A 60-in. by 30-in. This door bypasses A 48-in.-dia. table circulation on this larger table seats six. the screened porch for seats four comfortably. porch, keeping traffic access to the grill and the away from seating areas. backyard. Three screened 18 ft. sides maximize A U-shaped 28 ft. cross ventilation. conversation group requires a space Uncovered deck approximately or space ties 14 ft. 10 ft. by 12 ft. 14 ft. the porch to the yard.

Don’t block a favorite Sliding doors light-filled preserve space corner with the for circulation screened porch. and furniture.

Cross ventilation through house Windows and doors The traffic pattern ventilate the house. skirts the kitchen work zone. A wall of doors and continuous flooring Plan a direct path from the material expand the sense of interior space. kitchen to the eating area.

round table, while lunch for six requires a 60-in.-dia. round table or plane with a code-required landing and steps chews up valuable a 60-in. by 30-in. rectangular table. floor space, limits mobility, and invites accidents. If you can’t get You can push back and get up from a table with as little as 24 in. a tall ceiling, you can use several strategies to boost daylight in the between the table and a wall or other furniture, but 36 in. or more screened porch (drawings p. 92). is easier on your back and keeps chairs from banging the walls. Add at least another 24 in. if the “scoot-back” zone is also a walking Block the bugs, and protect the view zone. (You can get by with less additional space if the walking zone When you choose screening, you need to balance your desire for is seldom used.) Plan for serving and storage, too. You might want transparency with your need for durability. Standard fiberglass to keep seat cushions, candles, and other items below a serving coun- screen is low cost, easy to install, and flexible enough to stay taut ter. Built in or not, storage and serving stations need floor space. when stretched without denting or creasing. Aluminum screen- ing costs a bit more but visually is more transparent. However, it is Add headroom for comfort prone to oxidation and dents easily—pets and kids can make alumi- Screened porches reduce the amount of daylight entering adjacent num screening look bad in a hurry. rooms, so the brighter and loftier you can make the porch, the bet- Traditionally, screen mounting is done by stretching and stapling ter. In general, the farther the porch extends away from the house, rolled screening over openings framed in the wall and then hiding the higher the ceiling should be. While a flat 8-ft.-high ceiling for the staples with battens. However, getting screens tight can be chal- a porch only 8 ft. deep might be OK, that same ceiling for a 14-ft.- lenging. I let a window-screen company make custom panels deep porch will seem low. to fit framed wall openings. Sandwiching thin aluminum frames If the adjoining rooms have 9-ft. ceilings, then shoot for at least a between a fixed stop on the outside and a removable one inside flat 9-ft. ceiling for the porch, or vault the ceiling for extra airiness. makes for a finished look that is easily replaceable if damaged. As a rule, don’t increase the ceiling height by setting the porch floor below that of the interior rooms. A continuous floor plane beyond Paul DeGroot (www.degrootarchitect.com) is an architect in Austin, the threshold creates nice visual continuity. Also, interrupting that Texas. Drawings by the author.

94 FINE HOMEBUILDING