How do I enclose a screened porch?

My husband says it to hard

I don't know if this is a reasonably priced project, but years ago my brother had a porch that he fixed with 'panels' of door sized frames. He would put the screen panels in for the summer and the glass door frames in for the winter. Don't know if they even carry such things today but worth a check. Think he went this way as panels of glass in frames cost so much.

just can't have it all..... it would not be energy efficient if you do it inexpensively it needs sealed for AC/heat

Nothing you can do for a temporary fix. You would have heat and AC loss. You would need to make panels of wood and glass or clear plastic that can be screwed to the existing frame.

Hi Michelle. A company called FarmTek sells a tarp system for enclosures. It's not inexpensive, but will provide what you want.😊

A TEMPORARY FIX will include some thick cardboard & some tack nails. Large thick boxes will do. Just open them & stretch them out between the beams. Tack them down using a tack hammer to the beams. Duct tape around the edges to weatherproof it. Duct tape comes in a huge variety of colors now so you could get creative lol. You could decorate the cardboard with fabric or paper. Magazine pics will work too. School glue works well. Mind you, this won't work permanently because of the humidity when raining but it'll do for your temporary fix. Good Luck

Sounds like you are talking about a sunroom. Get some estimates. But first figure out how you would get the AC out there.

FYI I know people who have them and never use them. They say they would rather sit outside.

Not me I love my porch. My porch was just a regular framed in porch. My nephew help me enclose mine . We framed it all up and I bought 8 used storm windows. We put storm windows in now I can raise windows for spring or put down for winter. I have a portable ac to use when I need it and a small ventless gas heater when I need it. All in all material and labor it cost me approx. $1500. However I added a 12x12 room. Love my porch.

Use thick plastic we did it and we use it all year around

Probably not cheap, but I know several people that installed several sliding doors all around to enclose. cheaper than most, and can be opened and closed for any time or season.

Where I live people give away used windows pretty regularly, so free. You could "rig" the windows to be folded out with hinges (maybe piano hinges) and left up like an awning with wood or metal "legs" during milder seasons. And lowered and secured with latches during winter and summer to make climate control possible. Or you could hinge them to open sideways, but that may create a challenge to not block another side screen.

I do not believe it would be cost effective BUT you could look into full length window style storm doors. If you can buy a few of those then you can also erect framing that would fit them into your "slots" existing. I doubt the room would be energy efficient without any insulation.

thanks for all the great answers and suggestions! My main problem is the heat during summer (gets up in the high 90's with 100% humidity) and since I'm disabled with MS, I can't get out in the heat. :P I'll try some of the above and hope I can get out on the porch during the heat of summer. I'm sure whatever I use will not be attractive or "code", but it'll do! Thanks again!

I have a friend who had a large screened-in porch. She took panels of fiberglass (or whatever it is that they use to cover patios), cut them to size, then drilled holes in the top and attached a grommet-like device and hung them on screws attached to the porch. Not sure how she secured them at the bottom, but that shouldn't be too hard to figure out. She said it worked very well.

I used prefinished wooden screen doors. They come in 30-32-36 inches so fitting was no problem. In the winter, I wrap the entire porch (just 2 sides on mine) in plastic. That protects the screen doors and also adds heat when the sun is shining. I have had them up for at least 5 years and only now have one that needs replacing, which is less that $50.00.