In the middle of winter, it can sometimes feel that the world has always been cold and snow covered. Even with the high number of “bluebird” sunny days in Calgary, there comes a point at which winter just needs to be done. This is often the time that Calgary homeowners start to make plans for their spring home improvement projects. These plans often revolve around spending more time outside, but it’s easy to forget about the summer winds and high midday heat while you’re sitting inside looking out at the winter landscape. Those in the know, however, should start thinking about how to breathe easy this spring with a screen room.
What Is A Screen Room?
A screen room feels like a compromise between being able to sit outside and building a full extension to your home. It’s effectively a covered porch, with mesh or screen for walls, and a wooden or aluminum set of posts and beams to support a solid roof. They usually sit at the back of your house and act as a seasonal extra room. It is possible to use them when the temperature drops, but you’ll spend most of your time in your screen room during the warmer months as a break from the outside.
The Benefits Of A Screen Room
When homeowners start thinking about encouraging themselves and their families to spend more time outside, the most common idea is to add a deck or a patio to the back of the house. These are cheap and easy installations, and for the most part, they allow you to sit outside during the day, when the wind is calm and when the sun isn’t too bright.
A screen room removes these barriers by providing protection against both wind and sun. The screen mesh doesn’t stop the wind as effectively as a solid wall, but you’ll notice a calming breeze rather than a full scale blow, and this will make your screen room into an airy retreat during the summer. The solid roof provides full shade as well as the opportunity to install a ceiling fan to keep everyone cool even on the hottest days.
Screen rooms are a popular home improvement choice because they can be built on top of an existing deck or patio, meaning that you save a small fortune by not having to dig foundations. This also reduces the building time, and a screen room can be installed in under a week with the right Calgary contractors. Given that you’re effectively gaining a brand new room, the return on investment for a screen room is remarkably high.
Finally, a screen room gives you a wide variety of options for the newly created space. Many people use it as an indoor outdoor living room, and fill it with couches and tables. However, you could also use it as a formal dining area to get the best of both worlds, or even a home for those indoor plants that need a bit of light and fresh air but who can’t handle strong winds and high heat.
