I just want to say that I loved this idea. We were looking into buying Amish made glass inserts when I ran across it and were not in a position to buy them financially nor did we have the room to store the windows. I showed the video to hubby and ordered the supplies. It did take some time to get the done but was worth it! We are currently on our 2nd year of using them (in Illinois cold, warm, blowing winter) and while they are showing wear I am happy with them. They allowed us to extend the time on our deck both in the fall and in the spring. We also have 2 small electric heaters out there to use on sunny days (the deck faces the south) during even colder days during the winter. I do love the idea of using the velcro as several of our grommets did pull, especially in the corners. As we were finishing up the original project, we only did the grommets in the corners and only used the 1 inch washers down the sides and they almost did better. I believe this was because when the grommet was pounded thru the tape and plastic, it compromized it more than just slipping a screw thru it all. One more tip, LABEL your sheets when taking them down at the end of the year. I thought if I just piled them up and worked in reverse when putting them back up I would be ok. Let's just say, the old mind ain't what she used to be. ;) Anyhoo, I hope by this fall we will have the funds to get our actual windows and we now have space to store them. All in all I would do it again. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, label them CLEARLY, or you'll have a tough time when you're ready to hang them back up. (Written from sad experience.)
Thank you for an excellent, clear and well edited video (good fade in and out). I saw this on a pub in England but it was mounted on a horizontal support/draw wire so that the screen could be slid to one side but your video has given me other ideas; my posts are only 700mm apart so one could insert grommets vertically to line up with the posts and secure the vinyl sheet using a wooden batten screwed to the posts through the grommet holes. Windy, wet and nasty here in the UK in winter (I lived in FL for 8 years) so this would keep the sheets more firmly in place. Thanks again, a pleasure to watch and highly informative. Gareth
Hi. We used 20 gauge clear vinyl (fabric dot com), brown ProGaff gaffer's tape (tapebrothers), and brass grommits and deck screws from Lowe's. The main tools were scissors and a straight edge for cutting the vinyl, a hammer for the grommit kit, and a power driver for the deck screws. You'll also want a tape measure and a marker or sharpie. The gauge of the vinyl and color of the trim tape would be up to you and your local needs. Good luck.
I've been wanting to make our screened in porch a 4 season porch to increase the square footage of my tiny house and this is a great guide! Thank you for posting and I will let you know how mine turns out.
Thank you Karen, this was the best video I've seen on how I can keep the pups dry and see what they're getting up to in their outside play pen during the day in this none brilliant British weather. Since my stroke in 1998, mental blocks are a constant daily battle. I'm So, so grateful to you for explaining things clearly. Now to put it into practise... x :-)
I am so happy to have found this wonderful presentation! I've downsided into a +55 community and have a small balcony on the 2nd floor. Karen's instructions and video are exactly what I was hoping to find. I read the comments and believe for me and my situation the velcro is the way to go. Now, if anyone has an idea as to how I could have it extend "past my balcony" by 12 inches all the way around the outside.......that would be awesome. I have plants on the railing and I have hanging baskets I really wanted to keep as I grow some leafy greens. I live in NE Ga in Ringgold. The area that is open at my balcony that I wish to cover is 11 foot 7 inches across and 7 foot 5 inches down. There are so many wonderful helpful people with great ideas, thought someone can pass some ideas my way. If not, I'm doing it Karen's way! ....Gosh, I've been thing about this for months wondering how to block the constant cold winds at this apartment complex on a hill. .....It's nickname is Windy Hill! Thank-you for this video!! Ms Sherry
Still a relevant video years later! I had my deck screened-in two years ago and plan to use your method to help me sit out on my deck for as long as I can in the colder months.
I'm curious how long it lasted for her. If it lasted for 2 years? It would be worth it. If it lasted longer? BIG bonus! I looked through the comments to see if she had updated the success of her creation and couldn't find any comments she made about that. Did you use this method with success?
Tamara It could last forever. I went a slightly different route and used marine snaps to secure the vinyl panels to my deck. It was a lot of work in the beginning but it was worth it. In the winter, after I install my vinyl panels, I use a small propane heater and after about 30 minutes my deck is nice and toasty. The only problem I have in the winter is the deck floor being cold. I can sit on the deck for several hours before my feet get to cold. Other than that, I’m glad that I did it! Will send a pic if I can figure out how to.
This is the most helpful video I have seen! All the other "DIY" videos I found were material ordered from a company. Aside from the bonus of saving money, I love making things myself because there is much more of a sense of accomplishment when working on projects for my little bar! Thank you so much because I was really sure where to begin on this project! ~Crystal
This was a great idea, I used it for my cargo trailer conversion for the back drop down door. Thank you so much for taking the time to put this video up
we have already seen your video...now that we moved to another house, had to watch the video again today and make our screened porch ready for colder weather:) thank you:)
I ordered tape from the vendor you used, and their price was good and delivery was the next business day, followed up with the tracking number. Good service!
Take a look at EZ screen it’s a track system that looks really clean and simple and you put it on the outside of the porch. Then for the screen itself I looked at invisible screen and it is fantastic. You can find all the stuff on the Internet
This is a great idea! Thank you! I may see if I can find some clear vinyl shower curtains that already have the grommets in them and add more grommets as needed to the bottom.
Hi. The tape has held up pretty well, but as mentioned, we would use velcro if we were starting over. We might still use tape to dress the edges, but I'm not sure of that.
@@rbraxley I would prefer hooks to mount, that way I can put up and take down easier. I think doing this over and over each year would ruin the original holes eventually. I bought rolled shades for inside to keep most thunderstorms and summer rain out. Only gets wet on edge.
That's a good idea, I live in the Southeast part of the US and every year I have a mess on my screened in porch due to pollen and it's such a pain to deal with. This would definitely help me.
This is nice. I was just thinking while watching her roll this out that I had seen this clear vinyl down on the rolls where I buy my table clothes. I have a small porch and was thinking of giving this a go.
I love it!!! 💗 I cannot stand the nasty screens on my porch. Thinking of stripping them all out and doing this!!! Thank you for sharing your creativity and this clever DIY!!! 💗🙏🌺
Thank you so much for the easy instruction and variety of vids. I have many projects to do to repair/ improve my mobile home. I cannot afford to hire someone to do them, so I DIM. These teaching tools will help me get it right the first time!
Great ideas. After my husband died, I built a screened porch off my bedroom. It is open on three sides and I have a SpaBerry hot tub out there on concrete flooring. My dilemma has been rain blowing straight thru the porch, the cold in the winter and the awful yellow pollen in the spring. I think I can do this. Sometimes have terrible winds, though. I'm in the middle South, winters are not bad but do have some cold months. Brrrrr. Thanks so much for this idea. I had looked at ordering curtain weight canvas "tarps" but getting the different sizes cut was cost prohibitive. I could get the material and do it myself, I guess.
Great video! And, you've come up with such a tidy look. I'm going see if this will make my porch in Arizona usable this winter. Thank you for making this video - what a great help.
Thanks I just had a I call it sun room built and wanted to find some way of using it in the winter. I think you gave me just what I need. I also live in Ga. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks for posting this. I paid to have someone install plastic on in my screened breezeway and it come down the next morning. Last year I tried to use clear vinyl shower curtains on a rod to enclose the screens, but it didn't work. I am going to try it again using the tape around the edges and the screws at the top like you suggested.
My vinyl panels were installed a week ago and it looks great. I used shower curtains since they already had the grommets at the top. The handy man added grommets to the bottom to hold it in place. My concern is whether the curtains will be able to survive the cold winter weather in Chicago. I purchased a small space heated for that space. I tried it last night on low and it was still very cold in my breezeway. I will have to adjust the temp. Anyone ever have the vinyl crack?
I had thought about sewing fabric for the grommets but this seems much easier. Thanks. I also thought about velcro but havent had good luck even with the heavy duty stuff. I have yet to find one with glue that will stick long enough or endure heavy weights. Perhaps grommets with velcro added to give a seal. I may even check for magnetic strips as well just to seal out the air.
Great job! Thanks so much. I'm doing something similar, but am making wood frames to fit into the existing wood frames. Your links are really helpful. Thank you again!
That’s an excellent idea! How did that work out? I see that you did this eight years ago. I’m in South Carolina and want to do the same with my plants and have a little sunny room during the winner. The frames are brilliant!
I put my vinyl up using the spline on the lower sections. I left screen up on top where wide roof eves protected the porch from Florida rain.Water used to flood directly onto the floor when tropical storms were torrential. The vinyl waterproofed very well. The hot sun would eventually cause the vinyl to become brittle. Replacement no big deal.
brilliant. i used the grommets only on top, creating a loop that i could put a pvc supported by a steel rod inside, across the top. curtain rod holders support that. I can manually roll the plastic windows up and tie them off (thru the grommet holes) when I want them up. they become inconspicous. the edges are attached by stainless marine snaps , the kind where one side screws into the wood frame, and the other side is hammered into the edge of the 20 g vinyl used for the enclosure. a radiant heater provides heat.
Nice job! I have a heavy duty frame greenhouse we use for sitting, but have a reflective tarp over roof. The biggest problem is sun will destroy any plastic within 2 years, and if using in winter, need tightly sealed plastic/edges, which gromments wont work for that, wind goes through. I have to replace one panel of my green house, and am looking for something that has uv block in the plastic before doing the labor on this. Even outdoor fabrics get trashed by sun in 2 yrs. Again, a fabric thatcan handle sunlight, so not to replace every two years.
Enjoyed your video ... We put shrink plastic up EVERY ( :) ) year looks great & usually last all year if a bird doesn't decide to fly into it ... very clear , just like glass . After watching this we may try using the material's you have used , we have to throw away the shrink plastic each yr. ... Thanks again
May I ask you how your clear vinyl enclosure is holding up? I'm getting ready to do this but wonder how materials hold in weather. I live in Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you for such a wonderful and informative video!!
You may ask. The vinyl has held up pretty well, though we're about to retire the panels because we're about to do something different with the porch. We do have them up right now and they still have good clarity. We have rolled them every year for storage, but it would probably have been better to have hung them. Over time a couple of the grommets have torn out and some of the tape is a bit gummy (probably because of our storage conditions). If we were making these today we would choose heavy duty velcro over the grommets. That would make them easier to put up and take down and would also (probably) create a tighter "seal" for the porch, though we were never going for a weather proof room. Professionally made panels would probably last longer and store better, but would cost a whole lot more. You should get several winters of use if you do something like we did, and take care of the vinyl. We live in Athens (Go Dawgs, beat LSU!), just down the road, so have the same weather as you.
This is an awesome cost effective way to test out the space and live with it before spending a bunch of money…This is exactly what I was looking for and you do a superb job with your videos. This made my heart happy when I found your video.
Do you mind telling us what you’re going to do next? Are you going to do glass? How did it work out in the winter time as far as heat goes were you able to sit out there some during the day or at night? Just wondering how much thermal capacity you get from the vinyl that’s all. We have a small cabin with a beautiful screen porch and it needs to work for us in the winter time as well as the summer so I’m looking at a lot of alternatives. Thank you so much in advance
@@mamasharoni Hi. Just noticed your question. It's a long story, but I'll try to make it short. We decided to put a small above-ground pool beneath the porch, so that it was flush with the deck. To do that they had to tear the porch apart (mostly), and then re-build. We decided we would use plexiglass panels for seasonal enclosure. We bought those just before the pandemic, so got lucky before the price of plexi went out the window (sorry for the pun). We bought 8x10 panels and cut each to the size of the section it was enclosing. These are held on with furring strips and deck screws. When we take them down at the end of winter we store them horizontally behind the sofa on the porch, under a sheet. The project also resulted in putting a solid roof on the porch, and we added under deck insulation, so with the panels up the deck is now much more like a room than before. I wouldn't say it's like a glassed-in room, but it's comfortable for sitting (or swimming) here in Georgia throughout the winter. Unfortunately, we neglected to make a video. Oh well.
I luv your idea. The only thing I might do to install it. Is I would use two sided tape to hang it before I put the screws to secure it. Enjoyed your video.
Hi Kurt. Actually, the panels have held up well, though we have lost a couple of the grommets, which we'll "patch" when we re-hang in a couple of weeks. While we do get below 40 degrees, we don't get much hard cold here. Interesting idea about the velcro.
Great instructional video. If you like this , search"How to enclose a porch with eze breeze windows." Less maintenance and you get year round use for a fraction of the cost of glass but still having the classy appearance of glass.
And by the way....we are happily using this solution right now. Our porch is large, but one small natural gas heater from Northern tool raised the temperature 12 degrees in the porch yesterday. So instead of a room that was unusable at 58 degrees, we had a useable room at 70. If you sit nearer the heater it works to a much lower temp. We also have a stand up propane heater that in conjunction with the NG one allowed us to use the porch at New Years when it was more like 40 degrees out!
Hi Quigley. Cannot really answer your question. We live in the Deep South, so we don't bother to heat the porch, though we can bring out a couple of ceramic heaters for "spot" heating on colder days. I can say the the vinyl panels did have a noticeable effect on keeping the porch warmer, but we're just not faced with very many really cold days. If it's really cold (by our standards) we just chicken out, but this did allow us to use the porch throughout the winter. Good luck.
I really like the way they look! I have had AWFUL luck with diy grommet projects in the past so I'm glad to hear the velcro idea. Thank you for such a great video! You explain everything so well and I love that you tell us where to find the materials that you used. I love your porch. Does anyone have any tips on the best place/way to get an outdoor rug that will hold up and not cost a fortune?
Hi. I think the spikey part of the grommet should go down into the fabric. The advantage of the spikes over the smooth is that the spikes make the grommet less likely to slip out of place under load. Look carefully. The set grommet should have the convex or raised surface to the outside on both sides. You have no choice with the 1/2 that goes through the fabric but it is up to the installer to assure the same on the top side. I am sorry if some comment has already pointed this out. I really like the use of Gaffers tape around the edges. Sooooo much easier than sewing fabric around. Fabric tape should hold up well in the weather too. Here is a good tutorial on grommets: th-cam.com/video/VW0oCSNZ4fA/w-d-xo.html
Good video wish I would have watched this before putting up tarps for the winter here in Wisconsin. Tarps, metal wires and the like is energy draining and time consuming since the deck/porch is half enclosed/open and the other half is exposed.
Comedy Rules, I should point out that the video is NOT endorsed by the College of Education. That's where I work, and (unfortunately) the TH-cam accounts are linked. I responded to another comment and, too late, realized I was not in my personal account. Oh well. FWIW, the vinyl still looks good, but we don't leave it up during the warm months. We roll the sections for storage, as opposed to folding. Yes, vinyl does age over time, no doubt. We do not pretend that this solution will turn a screened porch into an indoor room. We live in a mild climate and using the wraps allows us to enjoy the porch for more of the year. It's early Nov and we haven't yet put the wraps on for the winter, but probably will in a week or two. If we were to start over today, we would consider using velcro instead of the grommet and deck screw method, which does not provide a tight seal. No auto parts on my front lawn, even if I do live in the Deep South.
+vikikis Don't honestly remember, but they were a standard size purchased from Home Depot or Lowes. They were a little larger than the head size of a standard deck screw. As mentioned elsewhere in this discussion, we would use velcro instead of the grommets if we were starting the project today. That would be more expensive though, and the grommets have done the job. Velcro would make it easier to put up and take down, and would provide a smoother look.
+The University of Georgia College of Education Would you glue velcro to the tape (tape, which you have added on the PVC) or sew it on the PVC? I am concerned, because at winter temperatures drop to -20 degrees and glue could work only for year.
I'm currently enclosing my back porch with this method. It is raining while I'm putting the panels up and I am finding the pro gaffers tape adhesive and coloring is coming off on my hands. I hope that it does not run onto the vinyl during the year. The Gaffers tape is water-resistant but obviously it is not waterproof. I was planning on putting some Velcro on it also but now I don't think it's going to stick. Will probably have to sew the velcro onto the Gaffers tape and vinyl trim. I checked on getting ezy Breeze Windows. It appears they run about $350 a piece on average.
I found 72" wide vinyl and have 77 wide openings so I am thinking just make up the 2.5" difference on each side with wider duct tape and some 2" wood furring boards on each side attached to my log posts? What do you think? Hope to complete by Nov 2. Doesn't have to look amazing. We live in the woods where this covered porch faces west and Lake Michigan effects and wind will be greatly reduced. Plus my kids are all moved out, husband has a bad knee an don't want to shovel these porches all winter long.
Our winter weather is typically just not very severe down here, so I cannot speak with any confidence about how well this type of set-up might withstand the conditions there in the frozen north. Our porch is also in the lee of our house, so is somewhat sheltered. Obviously a large sheet of vinyl could become a sail if it caught the wind, so I'd take that into consideration if the porch is not sheltered. We only used the tape to provide a finished edge and to provide some support for the grommets. In our set-up, the tape was not acting as "connective tissue" for the material. To answer the other question, I think our grommets were more like a foot apart.
Here's something I forgot to mention in the video: Don't fold the vinyl! If you fold it, you will get visible fold marks. Also, don't roll up the vinyl and leave it rolled up for more than a few minutes unless you leave the backing paper in place. Rolled-up vinyl will collapse on itself and will also leave visible marks.
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. The thing that concerns me is making holes in the wood of the outside of the deck. When you take it down, are there visible holes from the desk screws? Otherwise, great job to you.
Nice video :) I noticed a couple things that my help some people. Always work on a hard surface. Often measurements are out a tiny bit because of padding. It's also way easier to hammer in those grommets. Don't sit or move around on top of your product, you'll stretch and dimple the vinyl. I think I'm going to make 2 frames from lathe, glue and staple the vinyl between. I want to make screen panels and clear panels for different weather. I've seem online, that rolls of greenhouse grade poly (clear) are available in 20"x200" rolls for around $50. Our local greenhouses aren't open this time of year here in BC. Apparently birds still hit the panels (more seem to survive than glass) and cats like to scratch around the bottom fyi
I'm curious how it lasted through the winter and winds - I have a similar porch and I want it enclosed for my dog. We get high winds here in March tough - I live in Ajax, Ontario
@@LauraLM Hi. We never had a problem with the wind, but our porch is fairly well sheltered. This approach worked well for our mild winters, but I'm not sure how it'll handle your northern climate. Good luck.
I'm undertaking a similar project, but I opted to use snaps to hold the windows in place. Initially I was going to use turn-buttons (aka "common sense fastener"), but the cost of these proved prohibitive ($1.40 ~ $2.40 ea). It also requires a $50 tool to cut the oval holes. 100 snap studs, with wood screws, are $14. The other parts are even less. I'm using "gypsy" studs for where the window overlap. It's more work, but it solves the "what about the screw holes?" problem. I used Rochford Supply.
Hello. As mentioned elsewhere, we live in the Deep South, so we're not really faced with serious cold. If we are, we hibernate. The vinyl wraps do keep the porch warmer that it would be otherwise, so we consider them a success.
Hi. We used that system for a decade, and have now retired those vinyl panels. As mentioned in other replies, starting over we would use strong velcro instead of the grommet system. I think that would have provided a better "seal" and made the annual installation and removal process easier. The vinyl sections held their clarity and did the job for the entire time. The taped edges did become a bit gummy after several years, but that didn't diminish the efficiency of the system. We live in a mild climate, so the vinyl sections never had to do too much heavy lifting. I can say that we would still be using that system, but decided instead to switch to plexiglass panels held in place with wooden trim. The vinyl we placed on the outside of the porch, but the plexi we put on the inside. The new system creates more of an indoor feel than did the vinyl. We got lucky and purchased the plexi just before the pandemic, which means we got it for a good price. It might be a more expensive proposition today. Hope that helps.
Great porch covers. Can you continually screw and unscrew these in and out every year? I'm guessing the answer is no, but am not sure what the alternative would be.
The screws stay in place, and the grommets are slipped on and off at the appropriate times of year. The vinyl does shrink while in storage, so a hair dryer comes in handy to make the panels more pliable. If we were re-doing the project, we would probably use heavy duty velcro instead of the grommet system.
Hi. We didn't install wood framing on the outside. We attach the vinyl sheets to the wooden framing which is part of the structure of the screen porch. The screens stay up and we just put the vinyl in place during the winter months. We used short deck screws which we left in place, then we hook the grommets in the vinyl sheets over the screw heads.
You recommend gaff tape over duct tape, but gaff tape usually has a fabric backing compared to the vinyl backing off duct tape. Would the vinyl backing be better at resisting mold due to getting wet? How has the gaff tape held up over the years since doing this?
It's held up reasonably well, though no longer looks brand new. Duct tape would work just as well, but I'm not sure if it's available in as many colors. (Maybe it is.) As mentioned in other comments, we would go with velcro if starting over today, and maybe not use the tape at all.
We've never tried to compare the temp on the wrapped porch vs. the outside , so I really couldn't say. As mentioned before, we're in the deep South, so really low temps are rare. I can tell you that we bring plants in when we've got a freeze warning, and it's done the job. Greenhouse? Maybe not. The roof on our porch is transluscent, but not clear. I think a clear roof would pass a lot more solar energy and create a better environment for starting plants and cuttings. Good Luck.
Hello, I had this idea for recovering a 10x20 pop up gazebo. The finish was beautiful and I was able to make it water tight with the gorrila glue and some silicone. My only caution is that this material is not for what we used it for. With that being said it did not last long for me 1 year tops. The best material is the vinyl used for marine enclosures. Their material has uv resistance and has water repellent as well. It is very expensive and lasts years.
Thank you im in Florida & yes it does get " cold" here as well. Miss the snow from up north at holiday time, just not working in it. Great INEXPENSIVE way to " winterize a screen porch w/o having to invest in glass or plexiglass. The only thing i might change is using some type of small hooks instead of deck screws for easy removal. The vinyl looks very elegant the way you taped it with gromets.
Hi. Living in Sweden but from the UK your idea is exactly what I was looking for to cover our front porch/decking. Having a little trouble sourcing the Vinyl here. I am looking for a width of 200 cm/80 inches which I am finding impossible to find. I gather your vinyl width was 54 inches? Solution wise would you suggest duck taping the center seem if I need to join two bit together or any other solutions would be great. Many thanks
+Akira Noah Akazawa (Noah) Hi. Don't remember, but I'd guess that our rolls of vinyl were 54 inches. Gaffer tape might do the job to join two sections, but then you'd have a really visible seam in the middle of the panel. Sewing would probably be the correct approach, but I'd guess that would require some sort of special machine to handle the material. I wonder if there's some sort of epoxy which would chemically bond the pieces without creating a wide seam.
Thanks for your video and ideas. It help me plan on how to do my own enclosure. For testing, I just did a small section of my deck - using 40 gauge vinyl which was nice thickness to work with. On the top side, I had grommet holes across the top of the vinyl so it basically hangs down and bears the weight. Then around the edging of the vinyl, I went with industrial strength velcro so when the vinyl edges sticks into place, it end up looking like large window panels. For aesthetics and reinforcement, I also use cloth tape around four sides of vinyl edging. The one panel I did looks alright and stable. The problems I had was finding vinyl longer than 54" so I have to figure a way to do wider openings. I also had problems buying wide tape (> 3 inches) of the right color and then trying to tape the edging neatly so I just settled on seeing some imperfections. Lastly, measuring for tight fit required lots of trial and error and doing one side at a time and then trimming the excess off seem to be best way.
+ck3908 Hi. Yes, it's tough to get the tape exactly aligned along the edges, so we too settled for less than perfect. Sounds like you've given your project a lot of thought. The 54" issue has come up with other commenters, so please feel free to come back and post if you find a good solution. I'd certainly be curious to know how you deal with it.
+rbraxley, I completed my project a day before the epic snow storm hit NY last weekend which was the ultimate test of the vinyl enclosure deck and I watched how well the structure stood up to the elements. I had maybe a few dust of snow that snuck in underneath the deck door which I knew there was a small gap, other than that, practically no snow on my deck. This was a very windy storm and I had 30 inches of snow around my area and my deck would have been blanketed with snow with the strong wind whipping around. What really helped I think is the industrial velcro that seal the edging quite tight, even though it will never be air tight which wasn't the goal anyway. Some of the taping kind of drooped afterwards, but the tape are just for aesthetics and I can fix that in the spring. I'm really pleased that the vinyl panel was tested against one of the biggest NY snow storms and no problems. In fact, when it is sunny, the deck is actually quite cozy even though it is freezing outside. Thanks again for your ideas that gave me the impetus to do this.
+ck3908 Congrats, and great job. Talk about putting it to the test, eh? I'm glad our set-up will never get that stern a shakedown. I see you went with Velcro. Sounds like it was the right choice. Any suggestions or hints for using the Velcro in a project like this?
Sorry long time to reply, the whole thing really withstood some extreme weather conditions in NY this past 5 months. Industrial velcro seal was very effective - air tight where ever it was applied so even with small gaps where I couldn't put the vinyl, the whole deck was essentially sealed off from the elements. I was pleasantly surprised with the warm green house effect from vinyl enclosure even during cold days as long as the sun was out shining on it. Couple of caveats in using velcro, first is the long strips of velcro hooks that has to stick to somewhere on the deck structure. Now I have an aluminum railing bar around my deck since I had installed it for screening. The 1 inch wide hooks stick very nicely to aluminum, not sure if one had a wooden structure, if would be as effective? although industrial velcro suppose to stick to most surfaces. And does one want to keep the strip of hooks on all year round? if you remove it, you need to probably buy new ones, and you if leave it on, it might not look that nice all over the deck structure. In my case, my aluminum color and the velcro color is very close so I chose to keep it on. The other problem is more with aesthetics. The corner edges of the vinyl tend to warp a bit and some taping of the vinyl came loose. These are minor issues but still need to figure a better way of taping for sure.
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Literally exactly what I'm looking to do. 10 years and you're still helping people! Well done!
12 years later, perfect video. Thank you so much!
Of all the videos that I have looked, yours was the simplest and best way to do it thank God you put it on video
I just want to say that I loved this idea. We were looking into buying Amish made glass inserts when I ran across it and were not in a position to buy them financially nor did we have the room to store the windows. I showed the video to hubby and ordered the supplies. It did take some time to get the done but was worth it! We are currently on our 2nd year of using them (in Illinois cold, warm, blowing winter) and while they are showing wear I am happy with them. They allowed us to extend the time on our deck both in the fall and in the spring. We also have 2 small electric heaters out there to use on sunny days (the deck faces the south) during even colder days during the winter. I do love the idea of using the velcro as several of our grommets did pull, especially in the corners. As we were finishing up the original project, we only did the grommets in the corners and only used the 1 inch washers down the sides and they almost did better. I believe this was because when the grommet was pounded thru the tape and plastic, it compromized it more than just slipping a screw thru it all. One more tip, LABEL your sheets when taking them down at the end of the year. I thought if I just piled them up and worked in reverse when putting them back up I would be ok. Let's just say, the old mind ain't what she used to be. ;) Anyhoo, I hope by this fall we will have the funds to get our actual windows and we now have space to store them. All in all I would do it again. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, label them CLEARLY, or you'll have a tough time when you're ready to hang them back up. (Written from sad experience.)
Thank you for an excellent, clear and well edited video (good fade in and out). I saw this on a pub in England but it was mounted on a horizontal support/draw wire so that the screen could be slid to one side but your video has given me other ideas; my posts are only 700mm apart so one could insert grommets vertically to line up with the posts and secure the vinyl sheet using a wooden batten screwed to the posts through the grommet holes. Windy, wet and nasty here in the UK in winter (I lived in FL for 8 years) so this would keep the sheets more firmly in place. Thanks again, a pleasure to watch and highly informative. Gareth
So grateful!!!! The cheapest estimate for custom job was $3200!! This, we can handle for sure. Thank you for the post!
Hi. We used 20 gauge clear vinyl (fabric dot com), brown ProGaff gaffer's tape (tapebrothers), and brass grommits and deck screws from Lowe's. The main tools were scissors and a straight edge for cutting the vinyl, a hammer for the grommit kit, and a power driver for the deck screws. You'll also want a tape measure and a marker or sharpie. The gauge of the vinyl and color of the trim tape would be up to you and your local needs. Good luck.
a trick : you can watch series at flixzone. Me and my gf have been using it for watching lots of of movies during the lockdown.
@Jalen Tristen Definitely, I have been using Flixzone} for since november myself :D
Doesn't it get really hot inside?
@@Anitasemp The wraps were only used during the winter.
I've been wanting to make our screened in porch a 4 season porch to increase the square footage of my tiny house and this is a great guide! Thank you for posting and I will let you know how mine turns out.
Thank you Karen, this was the best video I've seen on how I can keep the pups dry and see what they're getting up to in their outside play pen during the day in this none brilliant British weather. Since my stroke in 1998, mental blocks are a constant daily battle. I'm So, so grateful to you for explaining things clearly. Now to put it into practise... x :-)
Thanks for your kind remarks. Glad to know the video is useful.
I am so happy to have found this wonderful presentation! I've downsided into a +55 community and have a small balcony on the 2nd floor. Karen's instructions and video are exactly what I was hoping to find. I read the comments and believe for me and my situation the velcro is the way to go.
Now, if anyone has an idea as to how I could have it extend "past my balcony" by 12 inches all the way around the outside.......that would be awesome. I have plants on the railing and I have hanging baskets I really wanted to keep as I grow some leafy greens. I live in NE Ga in Ringgold.
The area that is open at my balcony that I wish to cover is 11 foot 7 inches across
and 7 foot 5 inches down.
There are so many wonderful helpful people with great ideas, thought someone can pass some ideas my way.
If not, I'm doing it Karen's way! ....Gosh, I've been thing about this for months wondering how to block the constant cold winds at this apartment complex on a hill.
.....It's nickname is Windy Hill!
Thank-you for this video!!
Ms Sherry
Glad you like the video, and good luck. Maybe somebody can make a useful suggestion on your extension. We're in Athens, so not too far away.
Thank you, you're just down the road a piece.
I did this...It was the best thing ever. Very easy. We are on year two. I did use 40 gauge vinyl though.
pictures please
Still a relevant video years later! I had my deck screened-in two years ago and plan to use your method to help me sit out on my deck for as long as I can in the colder months.
I'm curious how long it lasted for her. If it lasted for 2 years? It would be worth it. If it lasted longer? BIG bonus! I looked through the comments to see if she had updated the success of her creation and couldn't find any comments she made about that. Did you use this method with success?
Tamara It could last forever. I went a slightly different route and used marine snaps to secure the vinyl panels to my deck. It was a lot of work in the beginning but it was worth it. In the winter, after I install my vinyl panels, I use a small propane heater and after about 30 minutes my deck is nice and toasty. The only problem I have in the winter is the deck floor being cold. I can sit on the deck for several hours before my feet get to cold. Other than that, I’m glad that I did it! Will send a pic if I can figure out how to.
Yes! Thank you so much! This is the final touch I was looking for for my gazebo. Perfect!
This is the most helpful video I have seen! All the other "DIY" videos I found were material ordered from a company. Aside from the bonus of saving money, I love making things myself because there is much more of a sense of accomplishment when working on projects for my little bar! Thank you so much because I was really sure where to begin on this project! ~Crystal
Love Asheville I have to find your bar we are in Marietta South Carolina 40 minutes away
This was a great idea, I used it for my cargo trailer conversion for the back drop down door. Thank you so much for taking the time to put this video up
Great tips and looks very professional. Thank you for sharing. I am looking forward to more videos. Take care.
Probably a lot better and cheaper than buying. Good job!
Thank you for your tips, advice and knowledge! I've enclosed a small portion of my patio so far using your idea. More enclosing to come! Thanks again!
Glad you found it useful. Good luck the rest of the way.
Yes. Now that’s the kind of helpful video I needed. Thank you!
Thanks for the kind words. Good luck with your projects.
we have already seen your video...now that we moved to another house, had to watch the video again today and make our screened porch ready for colder weather:) thank you:)
Brilliant !! and thank you. I just saved a thousand dollar watching this video,
Good luck with the project.
I ordered tape from the vendor you used, and their price was good and delivery was the next business day, followed up with the tracking number. Good service!
I am thinking of doing this on the porch around my front door to cut wind and snow during winter. Thank you very much for this video!
That was a fantastic presentation. Just what I was looking for to make my project. Thank you very much. Your screened porch looks professionally done.
Take a look at EZ screen it’s a track system that looks really clean and simple and you put it on the outside of the porch. Then for the screen itself I looked at invisible screen and it is fantastic. You can find all the stuff on the Internet
This is a great idea! Thank you! I may see if I can find some clear vinyl shower curtains that already have the grommets in them and add more grommets as needed to the bottom.
Hi. If we were starting today we would use industrial-strength velcro instead of the grommets. See other comments.
Thanks for the reply. How did the tape hold up? Would you use tape again to frame the vinyl or would you sew on something to frame the vinyl?
Hi. The tape has held up pretty well, but as mentioned, we would use velcro if we were starting over. We might still use tape to dress the edges, but I'm not sure of that.
@@rbraxley I would prefer hooks to mount, that way I can put up and take down easier. I think doing this over and over each year would ruin the original holes eventually. I bought rolled shades for inside to keep most thunderstorms and summer rain out. Only gets wet on edge.
@@CandycaneBeyond Interesting idea. What kind of climate do you live in?
That's a good idea, I live in the Southeast part of the US and every year I have a mess on my screened in porch due to pollen and it's such a pain to deal with. This would definitely help me.
this is a light-weight solution and very well presented by the narrator. I recommend EnclosureGuy for your heavy weather applications.
Beautiful explained, May God bless you and your family.
This is nice. I was just thinking while watching her roll this out that I had seen this clear vinyl down on the rolls where I buy my table clothes. I have a small porch and was thinking of giving this a go.
Good luck with your project.
I love it!!! 💗 I cannot stand the nasty screens on my porch. Thinking of stripping them all out and doing this!!! Thank you for sharing your creativity and this clever DIY!!! 💗🙏🌺
Fantastic you saved my day. I thank you. Excellent video.
Thank you so much for the easy instruction and variety of vids. I have many projects to do to repair/ improve my mobile home. I cannot afford to hire someone to do them, so I DIM. These teaching tools will help me get it right the first time!
Thanks for the tutorial!
I was looking for this very project & yours turned out great.
Thank you for your video as I want to do the same thing to my porch. Very good directions and simple things to buy.
Good luck with your project.
Great ideas. After my husband died, I built a screened porch off my bedroom. It is open on three sides and I have a SpaBerry hot tub out there on concrete flooring. My dilemma has been rain blowing straight thru the porch, the cold in the winter and the awful yellow pollen in the spring. I think I can do this. Sometimes have terrible winds, though. I'm in the middle South, winters are not bad but do have some cold months. Brrrrr. Thanks so much for this idea. I had looked at ordering curtain weight canvas "tarps" but getting the different sizes cut was cost prohibitive. I could get the material and do it myself, I guess.
+lilyred
Hi. Yes, we have "yellow" season too. Hard to describe to someone who has never lived through it. Good luck with your project.
Great video! And, you've come up with such a tidy look. I'm going see if this will make my porch in Arizona usable this winter. Thank you for making this video - what a great help.
Thanks I just had a I call it sun room built and wanted to find some way of using it in the winter. I think you gave me just what I need. I also live in Ga. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Good luck with your project.
Awesome video and instructions. My only concern is the glue on the tape separating in the heat.
Thanks for posting this. I paid to have someone install plastic on in my screened breezeway and it come down the next morning. Last year I tried to use clear vinyl shower curtains on a rod to enclose the screens, but it didn't work. I am going to try it again using the tape around the edges and the screws at the top like you suggested.
My vinyl panels were installed a week ago and it looks great. I used shower curtains since they already had the grommets at the top. The handy man added grommets to the bottom to hold it in place. My concern is whether the curtains will be able to survive the cold winter weather in Chicago. I purchased a small space heated for that space. I tried it last night on low and it was still very cold in my breezeway. I will have to adjust the temp. Anyone ever have the vinyl crack?
Thank you for posting this video. I can't wait to get started.
I had thought about sewing fabric for the grommets but this seems much easier. Thanks. I also thought about velcro but havent had good luck even with the heavy duty stuff. I have yet to find one with glue that will stick long enough or endure heavy weights. Perhaps grommets with velcro added to give a seal.
I may even check for magnetic strips as well just to seal out the air.
What a great instructor!!!
Great job! Thanks so much. I'm doing something similar, but am making wood frames to fit into the existing wood frames. Your links are really helpful. Thank you again!
That’s an excellent idea! How did that work out? I see that you did this eight years ago. I’m in South Carolina and want to do the same with my plants and have a little sunny room during the winner. The frames are brilliant!
I put my vinyl up using the spline on the lower sections. I left screen up on top where wide roof eves protected the porch from Florida rain.Water used to flood directly onto the floor when tropical storms were torrential. The vinyl waterproofed very well. The hot sun would eventually cause the vinyl to become brittle. Replacement no big deal.
brilliant. i used the grommets only on top, creating a loop that i could put a pvc supported by a steel rod inside, across the top. curtain rod holders support that. I can manually roll the plastic windows up and tie them off (thru the grommet holes) when I want them up. they become inconspicous.
the edges are attached by stainless marine snaps , the kind where one side screws into the wood frame, and the other side is hammered into the edge of the 20 g vinyl used for the enclosure.
a radiant heater provides heat.
Sounds like a great upgrade.
Nice job! I have a heavy duty frame greenhouse we use for sitting, but have a reflective tarp over roof. The biggest problem is sun will destroy any plastic within 2 years, and if using in winter, need tightly sealed plastic/edges, which gromments wont work for that, wind goes through. I have to replace one panel of my green house, and am looking for something that has uv block in the plastic before doing the labor on this. Even outdoor fabrics get trashed by sun in 2 yrs. Again, a fabric thatcan handle sunlight, so not to replace every two years.
10 years later, I found this one. Thanks, I am going to do it.
Enjoyed your video ... We put shrink plastic up EVERY ( :) ) year looks great & usually last all year if a bird doesn't decide to fly into it ... very clear , just like glass . After watching this we may try using the material's you have used , we have to throw away the shrink plastic each yr. ... Thanks again
You could also apply some double stick tape on the back side of the duct tape to help to seal it
lola johnson Interesting. How do you keep the shrink wrap up? That is, how to you fix it to the frame of the porch?
May I ask you how your clear vinyl enclosure is holding up? I'm getting ready to do this but wonder how materials hold in weather. I live in Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you for such a wonderful and informative video!!
You may ask. The vinyl has held up pretty well, though we're about to retire the panels because we're about to do something different with the porch. We do have them up right now and they still have good clarity. We have rolled them every year for storage, but it would probably have been better to have hung them. Over time a couple of the grommets have torn out and some of the tape is a bit gummy (probably because of our storage conditions).
If we were making these today we would choose heavy duty velcro over the grommets. That would make them easier to put up and take down and would also (probably) create a tighter "seal" for the porch, though we were never going for a weather proof room.
Professionally made panels would probably last longer and store better, but would cost a whole lot more. You should get several winters of use if you do something like we did, and take care of the vinyl.
We live in Athens (Go Dawgs, beat LSU!), just down the road, so have the same weather as you.
This is an awesome cost effective way to test out the space and live with it before spending a bunch of money…This is exactly what I was looking for and you do a superb job with your videos. This made my heart happy when I found your video.
Do you mind telling us what you’re going to do next? Are you going to do glass? How did it work out in the winter time as far as heat goes were you able to sit out there some during the day or at night? Just wondering how much thermal capacity you get from the vinyl that’s all. We have a small cabin with a beautiful screen porch and it needs to work for us in the winter time as well as the summer so I’m looking at a lot of alternatives. Thank you so much in advance
@@mamasharoni Hi. Just noticed your question. It's a long story, but I'll try to make it short. We decided to put a small above-ground pool beneath the porch, so that it was flush with the deck. To do that they had to tear the porch apart (mostly), and then re-build. We decided we would use plexiglass panels for seasonal enclosure. We bought those just before the pandemic, so got lucky before the price of plexi went out the window (sorry for the pun). We bought 8x10 panels and cut each to the size of the section it was enclosing. These are held on with furring strips and deck screws. When we take them down at the end of winter we store them horizontally behind the sofa on the porch, under a sheet. The project also resulted in putting a solid roof on the porch, and we added under deck insulation, so with the panels up the deck is now much more like a room than before. I wouldn't say it's like a glassed-in room, but it's comfortable for sitting (or swimming) here in Georgia throughout the winter. Unfortunately, we neglected to make a video. Oh well.
I luv your idea. The only thing I might do to install it. Is I would use two sided tape to hang it before I put the screws to secure it. Enjoyed your video.
Looks so easy to do, thanks for the video!
You're a great teacher. Thank you. I learned a lot.
good job....young lady! i like the tape idea...
Hi Kurt. Actually, the panels have held up well, though we have lost a couple of the grommets, which we'll "patch" when we re-hang in a couple of weeks. While we do get below 40 degrees, we don't get much hard cold here. Interesting idea about the velcro.
Great instructional video. If you like this , search"How to enclose a porch with eze breeze windows." Less maintenance and you get year round use for a fraction of the cost of glass but still having the classy appearance of glass.
And by the way....we are happily using this solution right now. Our porch is large, but one small natural gas heater from Northern tool raised the temperature 12 degrees in the porch yesterday. So instead of a room that was unusable at 58 degrees, we had a useable room at 70. If you sit nearer the heater it works to a much lower temp. We also have a stand up propane heater that in conjunction with the NG one allowed us to use the porch at New Years when it was more like 40 degrees out!
Hi Quigley. Cannot really answer your question. We live in the Deep South, so we don't bother to heat the porch, though we can bring out a couple of ceramic heaters for "spot" heating on colder days. I can say the the vinyl panels did have a noticeable effect on keeping the porch warmer, but we're just not faced with very many really cold days. If it's really cold (by our standards) we just chicken out, but this did allow us to use the porch throughout the winter. Good luck.
I really like the way they look! I have had AWFUL luck with diy grommet projects in the past so I'm glad to hear the velcro idea. Thank you for such a great video! You explain everything so well and I love that you tell us where to find the materials that you used. I love your porch. Does anyone have any tips on the best place/way to get an outdoor rug that will hold up and not cost a fortune?
Wonderful idea . You did a great job !!! What is the porch roof covered with ?
At that time, the porch was roofed with polycarbonate, but was installed improperly, and has now been replaced with deck roofing.
Hi. I think the spikey part of the grommet should go down into the fabric. The advantage of the spikes over the smooth is that the spikes make the grommet less likely to slip out of place under load. Look carefully. The set grommet should have the convex or raised surface to the outside on both sides. You have no choice with the 1/2 that goes through the fabric but it is up to the installer to assure the same on the top side. I am sorry if some comment has already pointed this out. I really like the use of Gaffers tape around the edges. Sooooo much easier than sewing fabric around. Fabric tape should hold up well in the weather too. Here is a good tutorial on grommets: th-cam.com/video/VW0oCSNZ4fA/w-d-xo.html
Good video wish I would have watched this before putting up tarps for the winter here in Wisconsin. Tarps, metal wires and the like is energy draining and time consuming since the deck/porch is half enclosed/open and the other half is exposed.
Comedy Rules, I should point out that the video is NOT endorsed by the College of Education. That's where I work, and (unfortunately) the TH-cam accounts are linked. I responded to another comment and, too late, realized I was not in my personal account. Oh well.
FWIW, the vinyl still looks good, but we don't leave it up during the warm months. We roll the sections for storage, as opposed to folding. Yes, vinyl does age over time, no doubt.
We do not pretend that this solution will turn a screened porch into an indoor room. We live in a mild climate and using the wraps allows us to enjoy the porch for more of the year. It's early Nov and we haven't yet put the wraps on for the winter, but probably will in a week or two.
If we were to start over today, we would consider using velcro instead of the grommet and deck screw method, which does not provide a tight seal.
No auto parts on my front lawn, even if I do live in the Deep South.
+rbraxley AHA,,, VELCRO!!!!!!!! GLAD I READ THIS,,,,BECAUSE I AM GOING TO ATTEMPT THIS,,,,,THAT IS VERY HELPFUL
+rbraxley What size are the grommets?
+vikikis Don't honestly remember, but they were a standard size purchased from Home Depot or Lowes. They were a little larger than the head size of a standard deck screw. As mentioned elsewhere in this discussion, we would use velcro instead of the grommets if we were starting the project today. That would be more expensive though, and the grommets have done the job. Velcro would make it easier to put up and take down, and would provide a smoother look.
+The University of Georgia College of Education
Would you glue velcro to the tape (tape, which you have added on the PVC) or sew it on the PVC?
I am concerned, because at winter temperatures drop to -20 degrees and glue could work only for year.
At minus 20 "the vinyl may become brittle and crack apart". Perhaps you should Consider Lexan or Plexi-Glass.
Excellent thanks for sharing going to go get some supplies and do the same
Very nice instructions. Thank you. Wish I could slap each smart butt commenter for you.
Thanks for the support. I say a virtual poke in the eye for the mean people. (Thinking of Three Stooges now.)
It's 2019. This is still excellent.
I'm currently enclosing my back porch with this method. It is raining while I'm putting the panels up and I am finding the pro gaffers tape adhesive and coloring is coming off on my hands. I hope that it does not run onto the vinyl during the year. The Gaffers tape is water-resistant but obviously it is not waterproof. I was planning on putting some Velcro on it also but now I don't think it's going to stick. Will probably have to sew the velcro onto the Gaffers tape and vinyl trim. I checked on getting ezy Breeze Windows. It appears they run about $350 a piece on average.
Our tape never ran during its many years of service. Good luck with your project.
I found 72" wide vinyl and have 77 wide openings so I am thinking just make up the 2.5" difference on each side with wider duct tape and some 2" wood furring boards on each side attached to my log posts? What do you think? Hope to complete by Nov 2. Doesn't have to look amazing. We live in the woods where this covered porch faces west and Lake Michigan effects and wind will be greatly reduced. Plus my kids are all moved out, husband has a bad knee an don't want to shovel these porches all winter long.
Our winter weather is typically just not very severe down here, so I cannot speak with any confidence about how well this type of set-up might withstand the conditions there in the frozen north. Our porch is also in the lee of our house, so is somewhat sheltered. Obviously a large sheet of vinyl could become a sail if it caught the wind, so I'd take that into consideration if the porch is not sheltered. We only used the tape to provide a finished edge and to provide some support for the grommets. In our set-up, the tape was not acting as "connective tissue" for the material.
To answer the other question, I think our grommets were more like a foot apart.
very well explained ... thanks a lot
Here's something I forgot to mention in the video: Don't fold the vinyl!
If you fold it, you will get visible fold marks. Also, don't roll up the vinyl and leave it rolled up for more than a few minutes unless you leave the backing paper in place. Rolled-up vinyl will collapse on itself and will also leave visible marks.
so how do you store it for the off season?
Heat gun restores those marks . Low and slow with the heat
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. The thing that concerns me is making holes in the wood of the outside of the deck. When you take it down, are there visible holes from the desk screws? Otherwise, great job to you.
Nice video :)
I noticed a couple things that my help some people. Always work on a hard surface. Often measurements are out a tiny bit because of padding. It's also way easier to hammer in those grommets. Don't sit or move around on top of your product, you'll stretch and dimple the vinyl. I think I'm going to make 2 frames from lathe, glue and staple the vinyl between. I want to make screen panels and clear panels for different weather. I've seem online, that rolls of greenhouse grade poly (clear) are available in 20"x200" rolls for around $50. Our local greenhouses aren't open this time of year here in BC.
Apparently birds still hit the panels (more seem to survive than glass) and cats like to scratch around the bottom fyi
Good point Kim. Honestly, we just left the deck screws in place. In fact, we're about to re-hang the vinyl pieces for the upcoming winter.
I'm curious how it lasted through the winter and winds - I have a similar porch and I want it enclosed for my dog. We get high winds here in March tough - I live in Ajax, Ontario
@@LauraLM Hi. We never had a problem with the wind, but our porch is fairly well sheltered. This approach worked well for our mild winters, but I'm not sure how it'll handle your northern climate. Good luck.
I'm undertaking a similar project, but I opted to use snaps to hold the windows in place. Initially I was going to use turn-buttons (aka "common sense fastener"), but the cost of these proved prohibitive ($1.40 ~ $2.40 ea). It also requires a $50 tool to cut the oval holes. 100 snap studs, with wood screws, are $14. The other parts are even less. I'm using "gypsy" studs for where the window overlap. It's more work, but it solves the "what about the screw holes?" problem. I used Rochford Supply.
Where can I buy 10 feet by 10 feet vinyl ?
Glad to hear it. Wish we got a commssion. Sounds like you too have wrapped your porch.
Hello. As mentioned elsewhere, we live in the Deep South, so we're not really faced with serious cold. If we are, we hibernate. The vinyl wraps do keep the porch warmer that it would be otherwise, so we consider them a success.
What a beautiful job and video. Kudos.
I'd love an update...do you think the tape went mouldy? Was it warm enough? Did it last a few seasons?
Hi. We used that system for a decade, and have now retired those vinyl panels. As mentioned in other replies, starting over we would use strong velcro instead of the grommet system. I think that would have provided a better "seal" and made the annual installation and removal process easier.
The vinyl sections held their clarity and did the job for the entire time. The taped edges did become a bit gummy after several years, but that didn't diminish the efficiency of the system. We live in a mild climate, so the vinyl sections never had to do too much heavy lifting.
I can say that we would still be using that system, but decided instead to switch to plexiglass panels held in place with wooden trim. The vinyl we placed on the outside of the porch, but the plexi we put on the inside. The new system creates more of an indoor feel than did the vinyl.
We got lucky and purchased the plexi just before the pandemic, which means we got it for a good price. It might be a more expensive proposition today. Hope that helps.
@@rbraxley Thank you so much for a detailed update, that's really helpful👌
Woman and power tools.... Great combo... nice work...
I went with shower curtain then. Old wooden shutters worked great
Fantastic video, thanks SO much for sharing!!✨
Great porch covers.
Can you continually screw and unscrew these in and out every year? I'm guessing the answer is no, but am not sure what the alternative would be.
The screws stay in place, and the grommets are slipped on and off at the appropriate times of year. The vinyl does shrink while in storage, so a hair dryer comes in handy to make the panels more pliable. If we were re-doing the project, we would probably use heavy duty velcro instead of the grommet system.
@@rbraxley Thank you very much. I appreciate the reply.
Hi. Agreed. The approach we took works well for our mild climate, but don't think it would make much difference in a really cold region.
Hi. We didn't install wood framing on the outside. We attach the vinyl sheets to the wooden framing which is part of the structure of the screen porch. The screens stay up and we just put the vinyl in place during the winter months. We used short deck screws which we left in place, then we hook the grommets in the vinyl sheets over the screw heads.
You recommend gaff tape over duct tape, but gaff tape usually has a fabric backing compared to the vinyl backing off duct tape. Would the vinyl backing be better at resisting mold due to getting wet? How has the gaff tape held up over the years since doing this?
It's held up reasonably well, though no longer looks brand new. Duct tape would work just as well, but I'm not sure if it's available in as many colors. (Maybe it is.) As mentioned in other comments, we would go with velcro if starting over today, and maybe not use the tape at all.
We've never tried to compare the temp on the wrapped porch vs. the outside , so I really couldn't say. As mentioned before, we're in the deep South, so really low temps are rare. I can tell you that we bring plants in when we've got a freeze warning, and it's done the job. Greenhouse? Maybe not. The roof on our porch is transluscent, but not clear. I think a clear roof would pass a lot more solar energy and create a better environment for starting plants and cuttings. Good Luck.
I think this is brilliant!
I like it more for the keeping bugs out not the cold, but that's just me.
Thank you for making this video!
You're welcome.
Hello, I had this idea for recovering a 10x20 pop up gazebo. The finish was beautiful and I was able to make it water tight with the gorrila glue and some silicone. My only caution is that this material is not for what we used it for. With that being said it did not last long for me 1 year tops. The best material is the vinyl used for marine enclosures. Their material has uv resistance and has water repellent as well. It is very expensive and lasts years.
Super helpful. Thanks!
Thank you im in Florida & yes it does get " cold" here as well. Miss the snow from up north at holiday time, just not working in it. Great INEXPENSIVE way to " winterize a screen porch w/o having to invest in glass or plexiglass. The only thing i might change is using some type of small hooks instead of deck screws for easy removal. The vinyl looks very elegant the way you taped it with gromets.
Good job lady thanks
Thanks for sharing this idea, may be i could use it in my flat during rainy season. By the way which soundtrack it is in background !!!
You Go Girl!!! Nice job 👍
Hi. Living in Sweden but from the UK your idea is exactly what I was looking for to cover our front porch/decking. Having a little trouble sourcing the Vinyl here. I am looking for a width of 200 cm/80 inches which I am finding impossible to find. I gather your vinyl width was 54 inches? Solution wise would you suggest duck taping the center seem if I need to join two bit together or any other solutions would be great. Many thanks
+Akira Noah Akazawa (Noah)
Hi. Don't remember, but I'd guess that our rolls of vinyl were 54 inches. Gaffer tape might do the job to join two sections, but then you'd have a really visible seam in the middle of the panel. Sewing would probably be the correct approach, but I'd guess that would require some sort of special machine to handle the material. I wonder if there's some sort of epoxy which would chemically bond the pieces without creating a wide seam.
Nice video.. What about the maintenance of vynil plastic ?? Do they turn yellow after few years ?
Nice job! Very clever!
Thanks for your video and ideas. It help me plan on how to do my own enclosure. For testing, I just did a small section of my deck - using 40 gauge vinyl which was nice thickness to work with. On the top side, I had grommet holes across the top of the vinyl so it basically hangs down and bears the weight. Then around the edging of the vinyl, I went with industrial strength velcro so when the vinyl edges sticks into place, it end up looking like large window panels. For aesthetics and reinforcement, I also use cloth tape around four sides of vinyl edging. The one panel I did looks alright and stable. The problems I had was finding vinyl longer than 54" so I have to figure a way to do wider openings. I also had problems buying wide tape (> 3 inches) of the right color and then trying to tape the edging neatly so I just settled on seeing some imperfections. Lastly, measuring for tight fit required lots of trial and error and doing one side at a time and then trimming the excess off seem to be best way.
+ck3908
Hi. Yes, it's tough to get the tape exactly aligned along the edges, so we too settled for less than perfect. Sounds like you've given your project a lot of thought. The 54" issue has come up with other commenters, so please feel free to come back and post if you find a good solution. I'd certainly be curious to know how you deal with it.
+rbraxley, I completed my project a day before the epic snow storm hit NY last weekend which was the ultimate test of the vinyl enclosure deck and I watched how well the structure stood up to the elements. I had maybe a few dust of snow that snuck in underneath the deck door which I knew there was a small gap, other than that, practically no snow on my deck. This was a very windy storm and I had 30 inches of snow around my area and my deck would have been blanketed with snow with the strong wind whipping around. What really helped I think is the industrial velcro that seal the edging quite tight, even though it will never be air tight which wasn't the goal anyway. Some of the taping kind of drooped afterwards, but the tape are just for aesthetics and I can fix that in the spring. I'm really pleased that the vinyl panel was tested against one of the biggest NY snow storms and no problems. In fact, when it is sunny, the deck is actually quite cozy even though it is freezing outside. Thanks again for your ideas that gave me the impetus to do this.
+ck3908 Congrats, and great job. Talk about putting it to the test, eh? I'm glad our set-up will never get that stern a shakedown. I see you went with Velcro. Sounds like it was the right choice. Any suggestions or hints for using the Velcro in a project like this?
+ck3908 Did you put velcro directly on tape or on vinyl?
Sorry long time to reply, the whole thing really withstood some extreme weather conditions in NY this past 5 months. Industrial velcro seal was very effective - air tight where ever it was applied so even with small gaps where I couldn't put the vinyl, the whole deck was essentially sealed off from the elements. I was pleasantly surprised with the warm green house effect from vinyl enclosure even during cold days as long as the sun was out shining on it. Couple of caveats in using velcro, first is the long strips of velcro hooks that has to stick to somewhere on the deck structure. Now I have an aluminum railing bar around my deck since I had installed it for screening. The 1 inch wide hooks stick very nicely to aluminum, not sure if one had a wooden structure, if would be as effective? although industrial velcro suppose to stick to most surfaces. And does one want to keep the strip of hooks on all year round? if you remove it, you need to probably buy new ones, and you if leave it on, it might not look that nice all over the deck structure. In my case, my aluminum color and the velcro color is very close so I chose to keep it on. The other problem is more with aesthetics. The corner edges of the vinyl tend to warp a bit and some taping of the vinyl came loose. These are minor issues but still need to figure a better way of taping for sure.
Thank you for the great idea and instructions!