Watching the game on your porch, throwing a holiday party, or just sitting outside with a coffee or glass of wine could be a chilly endeavor during the colder months. If you want to use your porch year round, you’re faced with toughing it out or problem-solving the smart way. Without having to remodel your porch to a three-or four-season porch, there are options to stay warm despite the chill. How can you winterize your porch to enjoy your space any time of the year? We have a few options for you.
Installing a wood-burning fireplace or a gas fireplace requires a flue, which would require a remodeling of your porch. Sometimes that isn’t an option. Enter the ventless fireplace. Ventless Fireplaces use a mixture of gas and air that burns without fumes and, therefore, doesn’t require a vent or flue. A ventless fireplace can still serve as the focal piece of a porch, depending on the surround you also incorporate, like a mantle and a brick or stone façade.
Whether you’re building a new porch or your home already has a porch, extending the electricity to this space is a great move for plenty of reasons. As for how outlets help to winterize your porch, just think of everything that creates heat that also requires an outlet. Heating blankets and space heaters can provide a lot of comfort in the cold, but only if you have access to electricity.
For screened-in porches, Eze Breeze windows are an easy addition that fits right into the screen frames to block the chilly fall and winter air. Instead of glass, the windows are made of ultra-clear vinyl that’s as clear as glass. They’re available in fixed or sliding styles, so you can choose to open your windows or keep your porch free from cold air all day. Either way, Eze Breeze Windows enables you to use your porch year round. The best part? They’re removable, so you can take them down and store them away until the next fall rolls around.
This is only appropriate for grade-level porches with stone, concrete, or tile flooring. These radiant heat systems are the same you’d use indoors and are safe to use outside because they are completely encased. Just turn on the heat and enjoy the warmth.
As for installation, there are two ways your radiant flooring can be installed by a professional: wet and dry. Wet installations embed the cables in poured concrete. Unfortunately, this is only an option when you’re adding a new porch to your home. Dry installation is ideal if you’re only replacing the flooring surface with tile or stone because the cables would be placed just before the flooring is installed.
Radiant ceiling heating works in the same way that in-floor radiant heating works, except from above. The heaters are installed just above your ceiling and the radiant heat uses the ceiling material to transmit heat. The downside is that heat rises. So, if your porch ceilings are particularly high, the heat won’t be quite as effective.
Also available are ceiling heating panels that are built in with the ceiling. These visible ceiling heaters work like floor heaters and transmit direct, infrared heat. They don’t heat the air around you but rather, well, you.
Insulated, or thermal, curtains will keep heat in and cold out of your porch. You can also pull them back during the day to let in natural light and views. Be sure to buy curtains that are made for the outdoors, or you could be dealing with mold and stains that will result in replacing them sooner than you’d like.
If in-floor radiant heating isn’t an option, this is the next best thing. An under rug radiant heater is like a heating blanket that you can slip under your rug to enjoy a heat underfoot. By being able to cover it with your favorite outdoor rug, you can enjoy the heat without having to compromise on style.
Heated seats come in electric or battery powered. Bring it to the next level with completely heated furniture. Heated furniture is a somewhat new offering, so there are limited styles, and tend to be more of an investment. However, they are made to last, so your investment will keep you warm for quite some time.
For wood-burning or gas fireplaces, installing a cast iron back plate will store heat and radiate it back into the space. The heat will continue to radiate even after the fire is out. The best part is you can add a cast iron back plate. Steel is also a good option for wood fireplaces, but iron is a more popular choice, for its performance and appearance.
Hopedale Builders is a Charlotte-based remodeler that has been building and updating porches for decades. We know porches. We also care about your vision and experience. If you’re looking to update your porch or start from scratch, contact us to schedule a consultation today. You can also learn more about porches in our guide which will tell you everything you should know about adding a porch to your home.