Screen room

[00na]

Our house came with a deck that we hardly used. Our yard is buggy, and I am a mosquito magnet. A few years ago, we replaced the deck with a sunroom and stone patio. We worked with Four Season Sunrooms (Sunrooms | Solarium | Greenhouse | Sun Rooms | Sunroom | Four Season Sunroom | Patio Enclosures). It cost about $20,000 for the sunroom, but my husband did a lot of the finish work (tiling, painting) himself. We installed electric floor heating to give us the option of using it year round. It has come in handy for hosting during the holidays, but we limit the use of the room in winter because electric heat is expensive. We LOVE our sunroom, and it is the most used room in the house.

[stevo75]

What about a Patio Mate?

I had one attached to my seasonal RV in Maine. Worked great and reasonably priced depending on size. They come in multiple different sizes.

Patio-Mate Chestnut 19'3"l x 11'6"w Screened Enclosure - BJ's Wholesale Club

[3cents]

Reactivating this thread, as I'm now seriously getting quotes. I also hope to get some opinions on remodel or move (some years later).

I started this thread by asking about screen-room. But I'm getting quotes to do a mudroom. It is small, just 10x5 feet and will lead to the backyard. Gable roof, cedar shake sidings, not heated, probably costing $20K+. I will also have to get permits.
- Question: is this money down the drain? I'm thinking of resale value.

The walkway and stairs from the driveway to the front door is also falling apart. The quotes are coming in at around $10-$12K. This is to rebuild the walkway with concrete pavers or bluestone, repoint the stairs, and replace bluestone treads. There's also a very long iron railing that needs to be pulled out, and put back in.

And now my general questions...

All these quotes got me thinking. How much do I want to remodel? I could go on: the kitchen is original, the bathrooms are original, the basement is partially finished, etc.

Alternatively, just hang on for some more years. Only do repairs (e.g. the walkway) and no remodeling. If say ~7 years later, I have the financial means and I want to, sell and move to another (read: more expensive) place.

There are various cons about this house:
- The layout isn't good. The chimney is in the middle, making it impossible to open some areas. The 'official' dining room is separated from kitchen by a hallway, so we're using it as office space instead. There's a small full bath on the main level; the other 3/4 is in the basement.
- The house is on a double yellow line road. The house is set back by about 3 cars length. There's some traffic during rush hours, but otherwise traffic is pretty light. Nevertheless, it's not a side street.
- The driveway (3 cars length) is narrow, flanked by 4 feet high retaining walls on both sides.

But there are plus:
- Huge family room on a side of the house, about 12x25. Picture windows all around.
- South facing. Excellent excellent sunlight.
- Good sized 3 bedrooms.
- Bought this ~3 yrs ago in the mid $600Ks. In Winchester, I think this is a fairly OK house at this price point. Current median house price in Winchester is ~$950K (very expensive!).

Any opinion is greatly appreciated.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by 3cents

Reactivating this thread, as I'm now seriously getting quotes. I also hope to get some opinions on remodel or move (some years later).

I started this thread by asking about screen-room. But I'm getting quotes to do a mudroom. It is small, just 10x5 feet and will lead to the backyard. Gable roof, cedar shake sidings, not heated, probably costing $20K+. I will also have to get permits.
- Question: is this money down the drain? I'm thinking of resale value.

It's not money down the drain, but don't expect most of your money back. Assuming you're there for 7 years, is a mudroom worth $3k/year? Online calculators suggest remodels return about 50% of their value, but home-buying is so nonlinear that it is difficult to assess. Also, who knows what the market will be like that long from now?

Originally Posted by 3cents

The walkway and stairs from the driveway to the front door is also falling apart. The quotes are coming in at around $10-$12K. This is to rebuild the walkway with concrete pavers or bluestone, repoint the stairs, and replace bluestone treads. There's also a very long iron railing that needs to be pulled out, and put back in.

And now my general questions...

All these quotes got me thinking. How much do I want to remodel? I could go on: the kitchen is original, the bathrooms are original, the basement is partially finished, etc.

Alternatively, just hang on for some more years. Only do repairs (e.g. the walkway) and no remodeling. If say ~7 years later, I have the financial means and I want to, sell and move to another (read: more expensive) place.

There are various cons about this house:
- The layout isn't good. The chimney is in the middle, making it impossible to open some areas. The 'official' dining room is separated from kitchen by a hallway, so we're using it as office space instead. There's a small full bath on the main level; the other 3/4 is in the basement.
- The house is on a double yellow line road. The house is set back by about 3 cars length. There's some traffic during rush hours, but otherwise traffic is pretty light. Nevertheless, it's not a side street.
- The driveway (3 cars length) is narrow, flanked by 4 feet high retaining walls on both sides.

But there are plus:
- Huge family room on a side of the house, about 12x25. Picture windows all around.
- South facing. Excellent excellent sunlight.
- Good sized 3 bedrooms.
- Bought this ~3 yrs ago in the mid $600Ks. In Winchester, I think this is a fairly OK house at this price point. Current median house price in Winchester is ~$950K (very expensive!).

Any opinion is greatly appreciated.

All good questions. You're the only one with the real answers. Do you like where you are? Moving/remodeling are expensive and annoying. It's often the right choice, though. The real question is: "Will spending money improving (or upgrading) my home do more for me than spending that money doing something else?". Just remember that there will almost always be compromises you have to make.