Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 11, 1994 TAG: 9403140141
SECTION: LAWN & GARDEN PAGE: 7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
So many families choose to enclose their patios to make them more hospitable. Enclosures can range from something as simple as an aluminum cover, to walls and insulated windows that allow the room to used year-round.
For many years, when most people thought about making a patio more livable, they asked for roofs and screening, said Kyle Cook of Cook Siding and Window Company. These are still popular options, he said, but interest in other types of enclosures is growing.
Although his company has been in the siding business since 1954, it has just recently branched out into enclosures because of the increased demand and because of new materials that make construction less expensive than ever before.
Specialized siding and windows with removable panes can be installed to create a screened room part of the year and a fully enclosed room for the rest of the year. Even old screen rooms can often be retro-fitted with windows, Cook said.
"It does more than keep the bugs off," he said. "It creates an additional family room."
One line of siding Cook offers is made of aluminum and comes in all colors. The surface is similar to an automobile finish, so it never needs painting. The aluminum shells are reinforced with rot-resistant wood, which adds strength and insulation. A 1-inch thickness allows the room to be used all year except for winter, and the 3-inch grade, with the proper windows, turns a porch or patio into a year-round room, he said.
Screening in an average 12-by-15 patio or porch costs around $1,400 Cook said. Enclosing it in 1-inch siding and single-paned windows costs around $3,500.
"It's cheaper than getting a general contractor to build something similar," he said.
Finishing off their patio was something Dawn and Mike Carroll had in mind when they moved into their Salem home six years ago. The existing concrete slab was almost reduced to gravel in spots, Dawn Carroll said, but because she was pregnant with their first child, there was no time to do anything about it.
But last December, when the couple decided to have Cook's company put new siding on the house, they decided to go ahead and "do it all at once," Carroll said.
Instead of replacing the concrete, the Carrolls had a wooden deck built a few inches above it, and lattice installed to hide the gap between the two levels.
A contractor built a roof over the patio, and Cook's company put up 3-foot walls along the sides to match the color of the house.
The upper parts of the walls are made of screening. They didn't want all screen, Dawn Carroll explained, because she was afraid their three young children would push it out while they were playing.
Inside, the ceiling is covered in vinyl siding, and two fans will be installed to cool the 16-by-22-foot room. The outside stairway to the basement is now inside the porch, but a siding wall keeps the children away from it.
"It looks really nice," Carroll said. The cost of finishing the patio, exclusive of the rest of the siding that was put on the house was about $9,500.
Carroll said her husband jokes about the porch being the biggest room in the house now, but the whole family is glad for the extra space.
Carroll stays at home during the day to take care of the children: Jessica, 6; Drew, 3; and Austin, 20 months. When the warmer weather comes, she said, the new porch will be the perfect place to sit and read while she watches them play in the yard. She hopes to one day have enough money to add windows so the family can use the room in the spring and the fall as well.
by CNB