This is the story of a home we were pleased to make “feel like home.” Our clients in the Aultman Pines neighborhood south of Macon, GA, own this home and had been renting it out for some time. When they decided to move into the home themselves, instead of renting it, they knew the house needed renovations, including a revamp of the outdoor living space. However, we advised the homeowners to first replace the Masonite siding and replace it with vinyl siding because the Masonite had failed and the house was starting to rot. This delayed the construction of the porch for months, but it was the right call for the homeowner.

With the siding handled, they were able to proceed with a much-needed upgrade to their outdoor living space. The home had a backyard wooden deck that needed to be replaced, and these clients had a better idea. They felt they’d get more use out of a screened porch than a deck. At Archadeck of Central Georgia, our philosophy is that whatever outdoor structure you’re apt to use the most, that’s the one you should build. While a deck is right for some people, if you’re a screened porch family then you should have a screened porch.

We removed the old wood deck and built a screened porch in its place. The homeowners wanted a place for their grill, so we included a small grill deck off the porch. The project is built with the addition of a future hot tub in mind as well because the homeowners eventually want to add one next to the screened porch.”

For materials, the homeowners selected pressure-treated wood for the inside of the screened porch and low-maintenance composite decking for the grill deck outside. Their decision was driven by price, with wood being more economical than composite decking.  Because the interior of the screened porch is protected from the weather, wood used inside the porch will last longer — and look great longer — than it would outside on a deck subjected to sun and rain. For the grill deck they selected the Ipe color composite decking boards from Fiberon’s Horizons line. They also used the Fiberon Ipe rail cap over the grill deck’s wooden railings. Finally, they chose a bronze screen door and bronze screens for the screened porch.

As early as the design phase, this project took an interesting turn because the home had a window looking out from the kitchen onto the original deck. Once a screened porch was sketched in to replace the deck, suddenly we had a window and its roof inside the porch. We were able to remedy this by making the porch walls a foot taller than usual (about 9′ rather than 8′) and using a knee wall to cover the roof of the window. Never let it be said that Macon porch and deck builder Archadeck of Central GA doesn’t meet a challenge head-on!

If your outdoor living space could use some help to make it feel more like home, contact Archadeck of Central Georgia to learn more about our custom outdoor living designs in Macon, Warner Robins and the surrounding area. You can reach us by phone at (478) 745 – 2000 or via email at centralgeorgia@archadeck.net.