Transform Your Home: Benefits of Adding a Three-Season Porch
Imagine that, instead of scrolling on your phone first thing every morning, you made a cup of coffee, went out on your porch, and watched the birds for a few minutes.
Sounds delightful, right?
But we all know the uncomfortable truth: You’d probably spend that time swatting bugs or shivering in the cold. Most porches are only comfortable during specific times of the year when it’s neither too cold nor too hot, and the bugs are at a minimum level of irritation.
At Fortress Construction, we help solve this problem by building three-season porches you can comfortably enjoy most of the year and in many weather conditions.
This blog post will explore the wonderful world of three-season porches. If you’ve never heard about three-season porches or are curious about how they differ from other porch types, keep reading!
What Is a Three-Season Porch?
When you think of a porch, you probably picture an open porch—a covered deck attached to the side of your house. Open porches provide shade and shelter from the rain but are open to cold winds and bothersome bugs.
Some homeowners opt to cover the openings of their porches with screens, creating a screened-in porch that keeps all bugs at bay. This is a wonderful solution for people living in warm climates, and if you’d like to know more, you can read our Ultimate Guide to Screened-In Porches.
But people in colder climates sometimes want a little more.
That’s where three-season porches come in. Three-season porches, sometimes called sun porches, are designed to keep you comfortable through the spring, summer, and fall. They typically have screens covered by windows or sliding glass doors that you can open to let in the breeze or close to shut out the cold, depending on the weather.
But wait, you may be wondering. If you cover your porch openings with windows, doesn’t it just become a sunroom?
Actually, no. Sunrooms are designed to be used year-round, with insulated windows and walls, and they use the same HVAC system as the rest of the house.
On the other hand, three-season porches are not typically insulated or connected to the house’s HVAC system. They rely on natural ventilation, ceiling fans, and (optional) outdoor fireplaces to regulate temperature, and they are too cold to comfortably use in the winter months.
Importance and Benefits of a Three-Season Porch
People living in homes with three-season porches report that they enjoy them and use them often. But what about these sunny spaces makes them such a great home addition?
Let’s explore the main benefits of having a three-season porch.
Extended Outdoor Living
Truly the most wonderful thing about a three-season porch is implied in the name—the fact that you can have a bug-free space to listen to the rain, feel the breeze on your face, watch the birds, and observe the changing seasons throughout spring, summer, and fall.
If you live in a place with long, cold winters, you may only be able to use your porch half the year—but that’s still double the amount of time you’d be able to comfortably use an open porch!
Versatility
Because three-season porches are semi-climate-controlled (which we’ll talk about more later), they’re much more versatile than a typical open porch. For example, you can use the area as:
- A family room
- A home office
- A dining area
- An overflow area when you host large events
In many ways, you can treat your porch as another room of your home!
Maintenance
Similarly, because of its enclosed nature, maintenance on a three-season porch is simple compared to an open porch or deck.
This is particularly relevant when it comes to furniture. Furniture is the primary thing that inspires people to actually use their outdoor living areas. People naturally gravitate to comfortable, inviting spaces. However, while open porch furniture deteriorates quickly and must be brought in over the winter, three-season porches offer enough shelter to leave furniture up year-round.
(Note: If you have an open porch or deck that has not been maintained well, you may be interested in reading our blog post on Deck Resurfacing FAQs and Insider Insights.)
Affordability
Finally, although three-season porches cost a little more than other porch types, they are very affordable compared to sunrooms (sometimes called four-season porches).
You might think, if I’m going to add windows in my porch anyway, why not just turn it into a sunroom and use it year-round?
While a sunroom might be the best option for you, three-season porches are much simpler and more affordable to build.
Compared to three-season porches, sunrooms require:
- Insulation in the walls
- Insulated windows and doors
- A stronger foundation to support that extra weight
- Connection to the HVAC system
Furthermore, the permitting process for a sunroom addition is typically more expensive and arduous than for a three-season porch.
Is a Three-Season Porch Worth It?
That all sounds great, you may be thinking, but I’m planning to sell my house eventually. How much return on investment can I expect from a three-season porch?
Three-season porches are undoubtedly charming, and prospective buyers will imagine themselves eating breakfast, chatting with friends over coffee, or watching their children fingerpaint in this lovely room where the indoors and outdoors collide.
Generally, you can estimate about a 50% ROI, although that will vary depending on your area, the market, and how well-placed your porch is.
For example, a view of a stream and trees is much more appealing than a view of a muddy backyard and tall fence.
But the ROI only tells part of the story regarding the value a three-season porch adds to your home.
Ask yourself honestly: would you use it? Would your family use it? Because if a three-season porch gets your family to spend time together enjoying nature, that right there is priceless!
Climate Control in a Three-Season Porch
By this point, you probably have a clear vision of what a three-season porch might look like attached to your home and all the ways you might use it. However, you’re probably still fuzzy on how a 3-season porch maintains a comfortable temperature if it’s not connected to your HVAC system.
Let’s look at the best ways to keep your porch comfortable for three seasons of the year.
Shade
In the cooler months, sun shining through the windows of your porch will make it warmer, but in the warmer months, that extra heat won’t be welcome.
Mitigate this problem by thinking carefully about shade.
First, consider building your porch in a place where it will be shaded by trees. When the trees lose their leaves in winter, warm sunlight will flow in.
Second, consider adding heavy curtains or blinds to strategically block the sun as necessary.
Fans and Breeze
Build your porch in a place where you can catch a cross breeze in the summer. Fans add a great deal of comfort in summer, so consider adding a ceiling fan when you build.
Warmth
As summer turns to fall, nothing makes a three-season porch more comfortable and inviting than a crackling fireplace.
Even if you can’t afford a fireplace, you can still add warmth with a propane or electric heater. Make sure to have cozy chairs where you can curl up with blankets, and side tables where you can set warm drinks!
Quality
Finally, although your three-season porch will not technically be insulated, a competent contractor will do all they can to ensure your porch is as weathertight as possible.
How Fortress Construction Can Help
If you live in northern Virginia and are looking for an experienced general contractor, look no further than Fortress Construction!
We specialize in creating outdoor living areas, and with over 22 years of experience, our mission is to provide the highest-quality workmanship possible.
We’d love to build you the three-season porch of your dreams. Or, if you read this blog and realized you’d rather have something else, we also build:
Do you have a project in mind? Call us to get an estimate!
We look forward to hearing from you.