We have a 10 X 20 screened in porch and I'm looking for the most economical way to close it up for the winter with still allowing for light to come in. Last winter I wrapped a large sheet of plastic around the screened walls and besides being very noisy with the wind, it didn't stay up very well.
I thought about framing in 10 mil plastic sheets with wood and mounting these on the screened portions but thought that would require maintenance with the plastic tearing. Glass and Plexiglass would be too expensive and heavy.
I'm not looking for insulating properties. I'm just looking for a way to keep the snow out of the porch.
Thanks in advance.
Dave
Hi Dave, I have a relative who would qualify as a class A scrounge. Last fall he completed his glassed in solar room with thrown away old windows. If you talk to some of the window installers, I would bet they would be glad to have you take away some of those old single pane windows that they have to pay to dispose of.
FYI
Bud
Thanks for that info, Bud, but the porch has 16 screened areas all different sizes. I would need to have each piece of glass cut to fit. I'm thinking something like greenhouse poly that I can cut myself with some home made framing might work better.
Dave
They make a crystal clear poly that is used for temp winter storms. The only problems are, as you said, noise and keeping them in place. Once you rule out Glass and Plexiglass, there aren't a lot of options.
A quick search on make your own inside storm windows will give you lots of ideas for plastic solutions.
Bud
Thanks Bud. I did do that search for make your own inside storm windows and found lots of suggestions. Thanks for your input.
Dave
Last year I screened in our porch, 8'x30' by 8' high. My windows are 65H x57W with 10x 57 transoms on top. I too wanted to close it in to keep out the snow. I used 6 mil poly, the kind used as good vapour barrier in interior wall insulating. Two people were used to hold in place and pull reasonably tight during the installation. We did one window at a time to make the handling a little simpler. Installed it in late October, above freezing. I used a few staples to hold it in place followed by nailing 1/4 x 1 x 16 wood pieces every 40 or so around the perimeter of each window I did not nail the nails down tight to make removal a little easier in the spring. It stayed on all through the winter and with the shrinkage of the plastic due to cold temps. it hardly rattled at all. I applied to the outside so as to protect the screening. I expected it to tear in the very cold winter we get here in West Quebec, but to my surprise, it held up perfectly. The only problem was that the plastic is opaque and you cant see the outdoors all winter. So this year, I have decided to try clear plastic. Standard size available on a roll from my hardware store is not wide enough for my size of windows, so I have purchased clear shower curtains for $5 each and will use them. Hopefully the type of plastic will be as good as the 6 mil poly and survive the winter.
Tags: screened, porch, Glass Plexiglass, hold place, inside storm, inside storm windows, keep snow, make your, make your inside, make your inside storm, make your inside storm windows
