There’s only one thing better than spending the summer on your deck in Calgary, and that’s spending summer in your new screen room built on top of your deck in Calgary. A screen room is a permanent extension to your home that comes at a fraction of the cost of a full room. The reduction in finances comes from the fact that your deck provides all of the foundations, meaning you don’t have to dig deep holes or worry about levelling concrete floors. Your deck is also included in the floor plan of your house, so you don’t need to worry about extra building permits either.
Benefits Of A Screen Room
While it’s true that a screen room is more cost effective than even building a simple sunroom, it’s not a free project and you may want to finance it. Therefore, it’s worth considering the benefits of a screen room instead of keeping your deck before making the investment:
- Increase your home’s value – even though the cost doesn’t reflect it, a screen room still acts as an extra room in your home which will drive up the price of your house dramatically. Dollar for dollar, screen rooms represent one of the best return on investments that you can make for your home, even if you’re not planning on selling any time soon. If you are in the market for moving, you’ll be amazed at how many potential buyers see your screen room as the jewel in the crown, and as a major reason to make a competitive offer.
- Protection from the elements – of course, adding a screen room to your home should also be an investment in you and your family. A screen room offers much better protection from the elements throughout the Calgary year. During the summer, you’ll benefit from the roof and the mesh screens will block out the bugs, while during the spring and fall, you’ll find relief from the persistent Calgary winds. This extra protection means you’ll spend considerably more time out in your screen room than you ever would spend on your deck.
- Extra space all day long – finally, you and your family will benefit from having an extra room that you can use whenever you want. Most people will only use their deck when it’s sunny and warm outside, meaning that it gets used infrequently. When you turn it into a screen room, you’ll be able to sit and watch the sunrise over your garden with a coffee in the mornings and cuddle up with your loved ones at night.
Alternative Uses For Your Screen Room
For most people, a screen room is a great space to use for general entertaining and relaxing. For an informal setting, all you need is an outdoor furniture set of a couple of armchairs and a loveseat or a sofa, and you and your family will be able to relax in comfort all summer long. For something more formal, you might turn your new space into an indoor/outdoor dining space, with a fancy new table and chairs so you can eat with the summer breezes without getting pestered by the summer bugs. However, your new screen room should feel like a blank canvas, so here are some more creative ways to use your new space:
- Plant haven – if you were one of the thousands of Calgary residents who took up houseplants as a hobby during the pandemic lockdowns, then you’re always on the lookout for a place to house your green babies. A screen room is the perfect place for your houseplants that needs warmth and air to survive, and you’ll still get plenty of sunshine through the screens to keep everything alive. You can also build in some storage for your plant maintenance tools, the inevitable bags of soil and fertilizers as well as watering cans and/or indoor irrigation systems.
- Home gym – another popular option for your screen room is to turn into a home gym with a view. You’ll find the screens allow the warm breezes in to keep you cool as you work up a sweat, while also keeping out the bugs, and the roof protects you from the strong Calgary summer sunshine. For a cardio workout, you’ll want a treadmill or elliptical machine, while for strength training consider a weight bench or resistance machines. In both cases, you might want to make space for a yoga mat so you can stretch out and build your flexibility all from the comfort of your own home.
- Game room – your screen room can also become a focal point for your family when you need a break from the heat, or if you want to have that feeling of being outside into the late evening without the bugs. If you’re more into board games, your screen room can turn into a cozy gaming room with plenty of space for a dedicated table and a bookshelf to display all your favourite games. If game night is more boisterous, then you’ll want plenty of comfortable seating for everyone, and maybe a fold down ping pong table for some surprise gaming fun.
How you’re going to use your new screen room will dictate some of your design choices, such as where you place the external door, and whether you put one central light or a series of wall mounted lights. This means that you need to think carefully when you’re sitting on your deck dreaming of what you’re going to do with your new screen room.
Time To Take Action
It’s clear to see that from just about every metric, it makes sense to upgrade your deck to a screen room. The lack of digging and heavy construction materials means that you can start and complete this project in a matter of weeks, so come and talk to Desert Sun Patio’s team of screen room experts today!