Screened-In Porches and Deck-to-Porch Conversions

What's included

• A screened enclosure added to your home's existing outdoor space.
• Framing and roofing coordination.
• Screen and door material selection.
• Electrical for lighting and fans, when needed.

A real screened-in porch in Herndon

Herndon is Deck Defenders' home market. This screened-in porch was built there directly by the division, without subcontracting the work out, with its own stairs, railing and skylights.

Can my deck become a screened porch?

Sometimes. A deck is designed to hold people and furniture; a screened porch adds walls, a roof and the snow and wind loads that come with them. Whether an existing deck can carry that depends on its footings, beams, posts and ledger. Many older decks weren't built with a roof in mind, so a conversion often means new footings or framing under the porch section, and sometimes a new structure altogether. We look at what's there before promising a conversion.

This is also why the counties' typical deck details don't apply. Loudoun County's typical detail can't be used for a deck with a roof or screened porch, and Fairfax County's permit guidance lists screen porches with decks and sunrooms under new additions to an existing home. A screened porch is designed and permitted as its own project.

Permits for a screened porch

• Unincorporated Fairfax County (Reston, Great Falls, McLean, Oakton, Chantilly, Centreville): Fairfax County Land Development Services.
• Town of Herndon: the Town's own Building Inspections office.
• Town of Vienna: a Fairfax County building permit plus Town of Vienna zoning review, which specifically covers screened porches.
• Loudoun County (Ashburn, Sterling, South Riding, Aldie): Loudoun County Building and Development.

HOA architectural review is a separate step in many neighborhoods. Check yours before settling on roof style, colors or materials. Our deck-to-screened-porch guide covers the planning questions in more detail.

Screened porch, open deck, or both?

Plenty of homeowners don't want to give up the open deck entirely. A common layout screens the part of the deck closest to the house, where the door is and where shade and bug protection matter most, and leaves an open section beyond it for grilling and sun. That split changes the structure, the stairs and the permit drawings, so decide early. If your existing deck is due for repair or replacement anyway, it can make sense to plan the new deck and the porch as one project rather than repairing a deck you're about to build over.

What a screened porch typically costs

The Deck Defenders cost guide lists $12,000–$30,000 for screened-in porches as a typical Northern Virginia reference range. Size, roof design, whether the existing deck structure can be reused, and electrical work decide where a project falls.