The whole purpose of a deck or sunroom is to enjoy the outdoors. Winter weather is very often quite inhospitable. Extreme temperatures will force people to shut themselves up in the home. Even in southern states such as North Carolina, the temperatures will frequently plummet to below freezing. Snow, ice and tremendous wind chills help to limit any outside family activity. Sunrooms and fully enclosed decks can provide an enjoyable outside environment without the harsh outside conditions.
Simply adding a couple of posts and a few sheets of plywood to create a covered deck is not as safe or straight forward as one would think. Different regions of the country will be subject to different types of environmental conditions such as heavy snow or ice. Most jurisdictions also require inspections to approve newly constructed or remodeled decks.
Areas which will receive snow and ice will require proper support, materials and design in order to create a safe and suitable enclosed deck or sunroom. The design can be just as important as the materials used in the construction of the covered deck. Additional details needing to be focused upon are whether the walls of the enclosed deck will be constructed of brick or wood. A combination of both materials can be used.
Proper insulation and windows are other important details to consider and are often overlooked. Many builders will just focus on insulating the walls. The ceiling, as well as the floor, should be insulated in order to provide the home owner with an all year round usable space. The type of windows installed will also greatly affect how comfortable the home owner will be when using the enclosed deck or sunroom. There are several considerations. Insulated double-paned windows are available, but an additional factor to be considered is the type of framing. Aluminum clad windows will conduct hot or cold temperature better than vinyl or wood framed windows.
Many home owners may view a deck as a do-it-yourself project, but without the experience, many costly mistakes will likely be made. For this not to occur, it is recommended that the home owner select a deck builder with the required experience and knowledge. There are many methods to secure the services of a competent deck contractor. Online searches have become the most common avenue of finding a local deck builder. Those builders who do have websites will often have a small sampling of the projects which have been completed. Viewing the company’s entire portfolio will also give the home owner several ideas not considered earlier.