Cost of a Screened in Porch (house, general contractor, per square foot)

[childseyes]

I recently had a contractor out to give us an estimate on replacing our deck boards, extending it out another 6 feet, putting a roof on and screening it in. It would end up being a 26 x 18 foot deck with 16x18 screened in and a 10x18 portion left out in the open for grill etc. We never got as far as plans and an estimate because the builder said to budget between $75 and $150 per square foot depending on materials. That would put this project at a MINIMUM of $35000.

I'm in sticker shock. Is this in keeping with others in this forum have spent? Can anyone recommend a good contractor who has reasonable pricing and may even work side by side with us to keep costs down?

[Tart Green Apple]

Screen and no walls for 35K?! When you sell you are never going to recover that cost.
I would get some more estimates for sure.

[ncpaul]

I am a general contractor and that price sounds high. The deck addition should run approx. $16 per Sq ft The roof could vary quite a bit depending on the pitch and how it ties into the house. The roof and screen could easily run up to $20,000 depending on what you want. Send me a private message if you would like more details

[hickorybro]

That's crazy! We just bought a house that has a 12' x 16' deck on it. We got an estimate to "close it in" with a gable roof and rolling tempered glass and the works -(not just a screened in porch). Now granted, we already have the deck portion and he said it was structurally sound enough to build this room on to, but even then, our estimate came to $17,500 for a fully enclosed glass room. To pay $35k for just a screened in porch sounds nuts to me.