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Enclosed Deck 4 Months Later /  by Harold Brown

Enclosed Deck 4 Months Later

Four months have passed since we had our deck enclosed making it into a sun-room, and since then we have had warm weather to cold weather. Warm weather you can be in the room with little problems and typically a nice breeze flows through the room. Next year we will consider a fan if the temperatures get too hot. The evening is great to sit and relax as well as enjoy dinner on occasion.  As the weather gets colder the current trend is that the room tends to be about 10 degrees warmer than the outside temperature and gets a bit chilly in the evening. We have used the electric fireplace several times and it heats the room up very quickly as long as we close the door leading into the house. We have a second smaller heater that we have used a couple of times that has worked out well. Currently the temperature outside is 45, the enclose room is 55 and the house is 69. The windows and door from the house to the room are open.

We opted for the Hybrid Room with thermopane or double paned windows. This was a good decision. There is some condensation on the vertical aluminum support beams. The ceiling, walls and windows do not have any condensation, thus it is limited to a very small area in the room. The beams that are sweating would have had a thermal break if we had gotten a 4 season room. The carpet feels cold when walking on it so tile or some other product would have been worse. Carpet was the right decision.

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We moved 3 chairs from other rooms in the house into the sun-room until next spring when we decide on what patio furniture we like. We started staining of the outside wood going from red/orange to white but weather and rain prevented us from completing it this year. A job for the spring. We also managed to do a quick cleanup of the yard and flowerbeds until we figure out what we want to do long term.

Enclosed Deck 4 Months Later

Overall the new sun-room is a great place to be in the summer, and it is also nice to be in the room surrounded by windows as the weather starts to turn. The TV and iPad in the sun-room makes it a great place to watch your favorite shows, check your email, and feel more like you are outside. Now I am waiting for the snow!

Enclosed Deck 3 Weeks Later /  by Harold Brown

Enclosed Deck 3 Weeks Later

It has been just over 3 weeks since our deck construction completed and now is a good time to update everyone on our first impressions, what we like, don't like, and what is coming up next.

Impressions

  • Although we added the additional footage to the deck it still isn't enough! I say this half jokingly, but it is a good idea to really think about the size of the enclosure and what you want to do with it. Our house is 2,100 square feet and with the enclosure we have added another 180 square feet. That sounds like a lot but when you take into account the two doors and their location that starts to dictate what you can do.

  • American Patio Rooms lived up to their claims and once the work started they continued until they were finished, even the electrician showed up in time to hook everything up. I have heard complaints about other builders that finished their work, but the electrician didn't show up for a few weeks to hook up the power.

  • Speaking to the crew that worked on my deck everyone had at least 10 years of experience and a few had over 20. All of the experience with American Patio Rooms.

 

Enclosing Our Upper Deck

What We Like

  • Just having the house back door and windows open and being able to freely walk onto the deck is great. No flies and bugs coming into the house is a big plus.

  • Another interesting point is we have a lower deck and it is now 50% covered by the upper deck. I can leave the door going onto the lower deck open when it rains. What is even nicer is now that the upper deck is enclosed and the bottom enclosed it gives a nice looking roof over the lower deck.

 

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What We Don't Like

  • The sound of a hard rain is much louder than we thought it would be. If you where watching TV or listening to music you would have to turn up the volume. I assume shingles on the roof would reduce the sound. We might have considered that option when building, but perhaps not (more money). The rain can also be heard from inside the house when the doors and windows are closed to the deck. However, it really isn't that bad in the house, only when you are on the deck.

 

enclosed deck, patio

What We Have Done

  • We decided to buy carpet instead of tile. It was a hard decision to make, but we decided to take the advice of the consultant and go with carpet. On the plus side it will be easier on the feet and warmer in the winter. The big plus is the money saved pays for the fireplace.

  • The outside vinyl siding that was on the house is now inside the enclosed deck. Although I have always power washed the siding it took three separate washings after construction to get it looking pretty good. It still has 14 years of aging, but over all it isn't bad. Just a lot of elbow grease and 3 different cleaners!

  • Power Washed the lower deck to clean it up after the construction

  • We replaced the old outdoor light with an indoor sconce (40 watts does a nice job)

  • We bought a lamp with all the colors we were looking for and made of natural materials

  • We bought screen saver flowers to put onto the sliding door screen

  • We have a mirror to put up that will conveniently hide some of the water stains that wouldn't come off the siding. They are faint but still noticeable

 

What's Next

  • Carpet will be installed in 8 days

  • Buy the electric fireplace (currently we have a deposit on it)

  • Purchase solid white stain for the deck stairs and support posts, and look for a few days when their isn't any rain in the forecast.

Stay Tuned

We will keep you posted on our experience with building and decorating our enclosed upper deck, now the Sun Room. Watch for more blog posts. If you want to read all of our posts on enclosing our deck click here.

Building An Enclosed Deck Final Day of Construction /  by Harold Brown

Building An Enclosed Deck Final Day of Construction

"Building An Enclosed Deck - Final Day of Construction" is the followup to yesterdays post post on Day 5 of construction. In summary the work started on Monday June 30 and except for a couple of pieces of siding ended on Wednesday July 9th. There was no work done on July 4th and on Monday July 7th. The delay was Independence Day and also waiting on windows to arrive on Tuesday. First thing today was to start working on the sliding door installation. Framing and then install. Just like installing the windows it is a bit of a job. Making sure it fits and functions smoothly always takes extra effort. Along with the door install came more silicone sealing. Never too much as long as it stops a single drop of water!

Day 6 Photo Slide Show

If you cannot see the slide show follow the link to see the gallery: Day-6-Enclosing-Our-Deck

Summary of what was accomplished today:

  • Prep and Install Windows
  • Seal all seams
  • Rebuild stairway handrail
  • Finish open area left from cutting off original rafter
  • Finish sealing bottom of deck for insulation
  • Cutout rotted wood in chimney and replace with new plywood
  • Finish outside vinyl trim
  • Clean up of work area

Tomorrow one person will stop and put up the couple pieces of siding and some sealer and we are done.

What's next for outside?

  • Paint the existing wood (change color from red to white)
  • Redo the backyard landscape. It was last done in 2004 and we tore it all out last month
  • Finish the area under the deck that currently has marble chips
  • Replace the walkway to the lower deck
  • Do something about the steps that come down to the ground near the lower deck
  • Clean the lower deck again
  • Get the lawn chairs, table and umbrella setup on the lower deck
  • More stuff that I am sure is on the wife's list

Check out the follow-up to this post by clicking here.

Enclosing The Deck Day 5 of Construction /  by Harold Brown

Enclosing The Deck Day 5 of Construction

This post "Enclosing The Deck Day 5 of Construction" is all about the work done on the fifth work day of enclosing our upper deck. Day 4 of construction was mainly focused on getting the roof sealed, trim and end caps put into place, and the insulation under the deck put into place. The fifth day started about 9:30am on July 8th with the crew getting the deck ready for the windows. Then another crew arrived with the windows and installation began. There is a lot of work related to getting the windows into place and making sure everything is working. Once again all the guys knew their jobs and worked well together. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of selecting a company that retains its employees by treating them properly. The experience of each individual working on my deck ranged from 10 to 24 years with all that time working for American Patio Rooms.

Day 5 Enclosing The Upper Deck

Below in the picture gallery you will see a few pictures of the work being done on our deck. Keep in mind that in 5 days of work the deck is almost done and was completely built on site. Other than windows and doors the entire deck was custom built and fit to the house during the build. Nothing was prefabricated and forced to fit into place after construction. Do your home work and appreciate the quality that is possible when enclosing your patio or deck.

Day 5 Photo Slide Show

If you cannot see the slide show follow the link to see the gallery: Day-5-Enclosing-Our-Deck

Today’s summary of work is as follow:

  • Prep work for windows
  • Put up the spouting and gutter
  • Installed Windows and adjusted fit
  • Sealed all the seams with silicone
  • Installed Soffit
  • Hooked up electrical and installed spot lights
  • Started adding the last of the trim
  • Cutoff stair handrail to appropriate height

It rained pretty hard today for a while but the crew stayed onsite and worked inside the deck until it cleared up,  then work started up again in full swing. I am looking forward to tomorrow and the last day of work. Installing the slide glass door and completing the final touches. My last construction post will be tomorrow, but I am sure I will have a few more pictures to share as we finish the interior decorating.

I sincerely hope you find good use from my articles and you are inspired to enclose your deck or patio, and I hope you take a few pictures to share with others.

Enclosing The Deck Day 4 of Construction /  by Harold Brown

Enclosing The Deck Day 4 of Construction

Enclosing The Deck Day 4 of Construction consisted of putting the finishing touches on the existing structure and beginning to insulate the bottom of the deck from the cold weather that is just around the corner. The morning started with a few sprinkles of rain but it didn't last long and work started. There was a 2 man crew again today, once the windows arrive we will be back to a three man crew. First up was to cut off part of the roof that was remaining and wrapping that in aluminum, next quite a bit of time was spent adding all of the end pieces and caps to give the deck that finished look. Finally on the roof to seal everything, and on the bottom of the deck adding the insulation to keep the heat in and the cold out!

Day 4 Photo Slide Show

If you cannot see the slide show follow the link to see the gallery: Day-4-Enclosing-Our-Deck

Today's summary of work is as follow:

  • Blending the enclosure into the rest of the house
  • Add the end pieces/trim to the roof
  • Seal the roof from the elements and make sure no water leaks anywhere
  • Run the electrical wires into the utility room and wait on the electrician
  • Add the under deck insulation
  • Add the 90 degree bend to the bathroom vent
  • Prep work for the soffit

See my first post from April 5, 2014 related to enclosing our deck by following this link. See Day 3 of construction by following this link.

Cleaning The Siding
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Enclosing The Deck Day 3 of Construction /  by Harold Brown

Enclosing The Deck Day 3 of Construction

Here we are at "Enclosing The Deck Day 3 of Construction" and so far the past 2 days have been nice despite the early forecast of rain. It looks like today we will bypass the rain again! Sometimes things just work out. On the agenda for today was to get the walls and windows installed. Unfortunately the windows are not getting installed so that is a little disappointing. We knew the sliding glass door was on back-order so we were expecting that. The past 2 days we had a 3 man crew and today there is a 2 man crew. Looks like Tuesday before we get the windows.

Day 3 Photo Slide Show

If you cannot see the slide show follow the link to see the gallery: Day-3-Enclosing-Our-Deck

The highlights for today were:

  • Adding the additional posts for the walls and windows (a lot of measuring and cutting)
  • Identify where to put the electrical outlets
  • Running the electrical wires
  • Installing the walls and running the wires through them
  • Electrician identified where to run the electric lines to the deck

Overall the first 3 days of construction have gone well and the enclosure has really started to look good. The 3 man team works great together and stays busy the entire time they are on site. It has been hot the last few days, but that hasn't slowed anyone down. Very impressive work and they put up with me and my camera. It has to be a real pain working on enclosures that are 10 feet in the air. That is a lot of stair climbing everyday. See yesterday’s posts and slide show here.

Tomorrow will the last day worked this week on the deck as Friday is July 4th. Happy Independence Day everyone, enjoy the fireworks!

Want to read all my posts about our new enclosure? Click here to see the first post. Keep taking pictures.