It’s always a tough decision. You know you want to sell your home in the relatively near future – 6 months, 1 year or maybe even 2 years. You think updating or adding particular upgrades might have a good return on investment by allowing you to charge enough to cover the cost of the upgrade and then some. But, who’s to know if that’s true? And if that update will increase the value of your home, by how much? What are the top things to update or add? The last area for consideration is how much you will enjoy that upgrade while you’re still in the home.

As complicated as these questions are in a regular scenario, the questions become even more complicated if your house is not a traditional home. This Juliette home is anything but plain and ordinary. It’s truly one-of-a-kind. It’s a historic farmhouse on many acres out by lake Juliette. The farmhouse is complete with horses and is the ideal place for hunting, fishing and horseback riding. But, there’s no outdoor space to sit and enjoy the yard or enjoy the fresh air or the fall breeze. The homeowner knew that a small economically built porch would be something she would enjoy for the next year or so when she prepares the house for sale. She was also certain that she would get the return on her investment in the new porch.

The house is out in a clearing and there’s zero relief from the hot Georgia sun. In addition, a screened porch would provide protection from bugs. After looking at her home and taking many factors into consideration, we agreed that a small well-built, but still economically built, screened porch was a great area to add to the home now. We also decided to add a small adjoining deck.

What is the best way to build an economical porch? A couple of porch upgrades that can quickly become quite expensive are the flooring and the ceiling. It may be tempting to use upgraded wood for the flooring. Pressure treated pine is the most economical and it also has the look of the timeless wood porch. You can see that the homeowner also used a large indoor/outdoor rug to further enhance the porch’s interior design.

Adding ceiling upgrades can also increase the porch’s price fairly quickly. This porch uses an open rafter design saving on materials and labor rather than a closed rafter look. Many of our porch customers choose open rafters for their porch because it’s the traditional, all American, screened porch look. It went perfectly with the style of this rustic farmhouse and the farmhouse setting. If you look closely, you’ll see the lighting fixture with the deer antlers. Often a small touch like that adds the perfect pop of decorating to add beauty and flair to the room.

In addition to the porch, we also added a small attached deck. The deck provides space for grilling and some more seating area to enjoy the outdoors. You’ll notice that the new pressure-treated pine has a tan appearance. When it grays out, it will blend perfectly with the home and look like it was always there.

Indeed, how long you’re planning on staying in your home is an important consideration when making home upgrades. We are glad to use our experience to provide design ideas to fit your lifestyle and the length of time you hope to enjoy your space.

Stephen Denton
Owner, Archadeck of Central GA

Give us a call for a free consultation: (478) 745 – 2000
centralgeorgia@archadeck.net

Visit our website: central-georgia.archadeck.com