New home Screened porch with Deck - Upgrade with builder or build later? (loan, buying)

[sunraz]

Hi ,
When buying a new home, should we consider builder's upgrade for a screened porch with deck or build later.


Which option is more cost effective?


And any approximate estimates for converting a 16x12 deck into a screen porch and extended deck will be really helpful, ( This is a basement house )


Thanks

[CLT4]

Do you want to wrap the cost into the loan for the house with the builder, or do you want to pay cash out once the house is complete? I'd expect at least $5,000 for a screen porch from an independent contractor building to code.

[sunraz]

We can pay cash later. Loan is not an issue. So replacing & extending an existing deck into a screened porch with adding support pillars would be 5k? Am assuming we will need to extend the roof too right?

[CLT4]

Yeah you would need to extend the roof. Could be over $10,000 too. I'd recommend you start getting quotes from contractors who can look at the plans for your specific home being built. The materials they are trying to match would have a dramatic difference in cost.

An asphalt roof will be dramatically different than a slate roof on cost, etc.... Do you need gutters and what types of gutters are you matching, etc...

[hotrod2448]

Without knowing what the builder option costs (you didn't say) versus building later with a contractor, the builder option would seem like it has to be more cost effective as they have crews out there doing this work already and you aren't doing rework wasting some of the materials you already paid for.

I'm assuming if you do not go with the builder's screened porch option you just get a deck with no roof over it, is that right?

If that is the case I would probably go with the builder option for a covered porch for the following reasons:
1. The porch roof will be built when the house is which removes the possibility of complications from someone else doing it after.
2. The gutters and drainage would/should all be planned for at the time of construction which limits the amount of stuff you are digging up and redoing later (or not redoing and will therefore be messed up).
3. The shingles will be the same batch and age and match the rest of the roof.
4. The new home warranty will also extend to the screened porch so if the roof leaks for some reason the builder will not have an "out" for fixing it by saying the porch contractor tore something up.

[UDcc123]

Keep in mind that builders know that the cost is getting lumped into the loan and cash isn't needed up front, so they typically can mark up prices. So even though it's cheaper cost for them since they're doing it at the time of build, the price for you can be more.


Two other factors to consider:
- If you have it done later, you'll be living in the house during construction, which is an inconvenience
- Ensure the builder's option is to the style/quality that you require. Sometimes they'll just give you bare bones (screens-but not screened in windows, built around the existing wood planks vs having a tiled floor inside, etc)

[Riley09swb]

My in-laws have put on two screened in porches in the last 5/6 years in two different houses. The cost was well north of 10k. They do have windows ( not traditional windows but ones made for a porch) in their screened in porch and that is some of the extra cost.

I think it would be easier to just do while it's getting built and wrap the cost into the loan.

[Midpack]

We've priced a couple new construction homes over the past 12 months and the screen porch option was $10-15K but that included integrating the roof into the homes standard roof layout. A free standing screen porch would be much less presumably, but probably inferior too? I've only seen one freestanding screen porch, it was butted up against the house, and there were perpetual water drainage issues between the house and the screen enclosure - whether that's avoidable or not I don't know.

[periwinkle06]

I totally get why you are weighing this out, but if your builder does good enough quality work for you to let them build your house, I'd let them do your screen porch at the same time. Trying to add things later can often cost even more, and doing it while are "open" makes it easier/cost effective. I'm guessing even with the builder mark up you'd at least break even.

[MikeyKid]

If you have the cash to do it, use the builder and put the extra ~10k down at closing so you are not paying interest over the life of the loan.