Anyone who has tried to enjoy a Texas patio in summer knows the drill. You get in about ten minutes before the sun forces you under an umbrella, and another five before the mosquitoes show up, and by then half the point of sitting outside is gone. That is basically the reason our phone starts ringing this time of year with people looking to hire a screened in porch contractor.
We are Archadeck of San Antonio, and most weeks somebody calls us who already has a deck, or a patio, sometimes both, and still does not have anywhere outside they want to sit for more than twenty minutes – a place to escape the sun.
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What a Screened Porch Actually Solves
There is not much mystery to a screened porch. It is a roof paired with screens instead of open air. But that combination does more work than people expect.
The shade part is obvious enough. A porch with a real roof stays noticeably cooler than a bare deck or patio, especially once the afternoon sun gets low and starts hitting everything sideways. The screens are doing the harder job though, since they keep mosquitoes, wasps, and whatever else is biting that week outside while you stay in. You still hear the yard, still feel a breeze, but you just aren't dealing with the negative elements that usually chase people back inside.
A family we recently built for out in Bulverde told us their screened pavilion got more use that first summer than their deck had in the three years before it. Nothing unusual about that. Give people a shaded spot without bugs and they will find reasons to be out there, coffee in the morning, laptop in the afternoon, dinner once it cools off a little.
A Screened Porch Doesn't Replace Your Deck or Patio
People sometimes think it's an either-or choice, screened porch instead of a deck, or instead of a patio, like there's only room for one. That has not really matched what we see on actual jobsites.
A good number of our favorite builds have all three doing different jobs at once, a deck for the grill and the crowd, a lower patio where the dog and the kids can run without anyone stressing about a step down, and a screened porch somewhere in between that you can sit on no matter what's happening with the weather that afternoon.
And if you already have the deck or patio and just want the porch added later, a contractor who knows what they're doing can tie it in so it reads like it was part of the original house, not something stuck on after the fact.
What to Ask Before You Hire Someone
Plenty of companies build decks. Fewer of them have built enough screened porches to know where the tricky spots are. Framing a solid roof is not the same job as framing an open pergola, and if the drainage gets planned wrong you will end up with water sitting somewhere it shouldn't. The screen material itself needs to also survive Hill Country storms and heat without sagging or tearing after a year or two.
So before signing anything, ask how many screened porches the company has built, not decks in general. Ask who pulls the permit. Ask what the warranty covers if a screen tears or something leaks two summers from now. You'll usually be able to tell fast who has experience and who is learning on your dime.
Why Homeowners Keep Coming Back to Archadeck
We are proud to have built decks, patios, and screened porches around San Antonio and the Hill Country for many happy customers. Every job we finish carries a one-year workmanship warranty and a five-year structural warranty, and the design consultation up front does not cost anything, so you know what you're paying and what you're getting before signing.
If porch season has you picturing coffee outside in the morning without a bug spray bottle nearby, it is worth getting on our schedule now rather than in July. Jobs that start earlier tend to be finished by the time the heat gets bad, not just started.
Call us at (210) 702 3223 or fill out the easy form on our website, and we'll get your consultation on the calendar. Our service area includes San Antonio, Boerne, New Braunfels, Fair Oaks Ranch, Spring Branch, Bulverde, Schertz, Canyon Lake, Helotes, and the rest of the Hill Country, so wherever you are out here, chances are we've already worked nearby.
Neal & Rebecca Neathery – Owners Archadeck of San Antonio
