A screened in patio is the least expensive way to turn an open porch into a room you can actually use at dusk, when the mosquitoes arrive. It is not a sunroom and it is not a four-season addition. It is a framed, roofed structure wrapped in insect mesh, and that distinction drives every decision that follows: framing, mesh, doors, permits, and cost.
The money goes into parts you never see: footings, the house attachment, kick plates, and door hardware. The mesh is cheap.
Disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links. If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This does not affect our recommendations. See our Affiliate Disclosure.
The Four Configurations
A screen enclosure is not one product. What you build depends on whether a roof and a slab already exist.
Screened porch under an existing roof
The house roof extends over the porch, and you enclose the space between the posts, the house wall, and the roof edge. It is the cheapest option per square foot because the roof and often the slab are already paid for. Watch the attachment: the frame still resists wind load, so the IRC requires a positive connection to the rim or band joist, with AS 4055 and NZS 3604 governing in Australia and New Zealand.
Screen room added to an existing slab
With a concrete patio and no roof, you need a new roof, the biggest cost jump in the project: $15,000 to $30,000 USD installed for a 12 x 16 ft (3.7 x 4.9 m) room, against $5,000 to $9,000 under an existing roof.
Check the slab first. A flat patio slab is often 3.5 to 4 in (90 to 100 mm) thick with no thickened edge, which is fine for screen-wall dead load, but the new roof posts need footings below frost depth.
Freestanding screened gazebo
A kit gazebo with screen walls, usually 10 x 10 ft to 12 x 14 ft (3 x 3 m to 3.7 x 4.3 m), on its own slab or deck. It is the cheapest entry point and the fastest build, though most consumer hardtops are rated only for moderate wind.
Screened-in existing covered patio
The roof and posts exist and you close in the openings, which makes this the best candidate for a modular panel kit. Measure the diagonals first; out-of-square openings are the top reason a kit does not fit.
Framing: Extruded Aluminum vs Wood
Two materials dominate. Aluminum is the default for screen rooms; wood suits porches that must match a house’s trim.
Extruded aluminum
- Alloy and temper. Most residential framing is 6063-T5 or 6063-T6, with wall thickness commonly 0.050 to 0.078 in (1.3 to 2.0 mm) and commercial profiles at 0.125 in (3.2 mm).
- Finish. Specify powder coat to AAMA 2604 for five-year Florida exposure or AAMA 2605 for ten-year. Thin or mill finishes chalk and fade within a few seasons in high UV.
- Corrosion. Aluminum is fine inland. Within about 1,000 ft (300 m) of salt water, specify marine-grade finish and stainless fasteners.
Wood framing
- Species. Pressure-treated southern yellow pine is standard; cedar or redwood where appearance matters.
- Spacing. 2 x 4 (38 x 89 mm) framing at 16 in (400 mm) or 24 in (610 mm) centers.
- Fasteners. Copper-based (ACQ, CA) treated lumber corrodes electro-galvanized fasteners. Use hot-dip galvanized to ASTM A153 or stainless.
Screen Mesh: What Each Option Is Good For
The mesh is where people overthink and under-specify at once. Four choices matter, plus solar screen.
- Fiberglass 18 x 14. The commodity screen, with a wire diameter around 0.011 in (0.28 mm) coated in PVC. Cheap, will not corrode, stops mosquitoes, but it will not stop no-see-ums.
- Fiberglass or polyester 20 x 20. The no-see-um mesh, which blocks biting midges and sandflies on the US Gulf Coast, in coastal Queensland, and on the New Zealand west coast. It cuts airflow by 15 to 25 percent.
- Aluminum 18 x 16. Stronger and more rigid than fiberglass, so it does not sag. It dents and corrodes in salt air unless coated. Best inland and at eye level.
- Pet-resistant vinyl-coated polyester. A coarse weave, typically 7 x 7 to 10 x 10 with a wire diameter around 0.024 in (0.61 mm), two to three times the thickness of standard screen. Use it on lower panels and pet doors.
Solar screen (60 to 90 percent openness) cuts heat and glare, so it is common on west-facing rooms in Arizona, Texas, and inland Australia. Use it on the sunny wall only, because it blocks the view and breeze.
| Mesh type | Weave (per inch) | Wire diameter | Blocks | Strength | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fiberglass 18 x 14 | 18 x 14 | ~0.011 in (0.28 mm) | Mosquitoes, flies | Low | General-purpose walls, budget builds |
| Fiberglass or polyester 20 x 20 | 20 x 20 | ~0.009–0.011 in (0.23–0.28 mm) | Plus midges, sandflies, no-see-ums | Low to medium | Gulf Coast, coastal Queensland, NZ west coast |
| Aluminum 18 x 16 | 18 x 16 | ~0.011 in (0.28 mm) | Mosquitoes, flies | Medium | Inland sites, high-visibility panels |
| Vinyl-coated polyester (pet-resistant) | 7 x 7 to 10 x 10 | ~0.024 in (0.61 mm) | Mosquitoes; resists pets and impact | High | Pet doors, lower panels, high traffic |
| Solar screen | 17 x 20 to 20 x 20 | ~0.011 in (0.28 mm) | Insects; cuts solar heat gain | Low to medium | West- and sun-facing walls only |
Doors, Panels, and Roof Integration
Screen panels are held in a channel by a spline, a vinyl or foam cord pressed into a groove in the extrusion. Spline runs 0.125 to 0.185 in (3.2 to 4.7 mm) and must match the channel; undersized spline is the usual cause of a screen that pops out in the wind.
Aluminum frames stay stiff to about 4 ft (1,200 mm); beyond that the screen drums in the wind. Standard practice is a mullion every 3 to 4 ft (900 to 1,200 mm), keeping panels small enough to re-screen on a sawhorse.
Every screen room needs a solid kick plate, 12 to 18 in (300 to 450 mm) tall, at the base of each wall. It takes the string trimmer and the dog; 24 in (600 mm) is not excessive for pet owners.
- Hinged outswing doors, 32 to 36 in (810 to 910 mm), self-closing. Outswing keeps rain off the sill.
- Sliding doors, for wide openings and moving furniture; clean the track twice a year.
- Pet door inserts, a panel that replaces one screen section and avoids any frame cutting.
Where the screen meets the roof, a continuous header carries the top of the panels, flashed and fastened to the structure. Three things get skipped: piecemeal headers that leak and rack, screen bearing on the roof deck so runoff cannot clear, and wall penetrations caulked rather than flashed.
A new roof over a screen room is structural work. In most US jurisdictions the roof and footings need a permit; in New Zealand, a covered structure attached to a house is building work under the Building Act 2004 and generally needs a consent.
What a Screened In Patio Costs: Kits vs Custom Builds
Two paths: modular kits for homeowner assembly, and custom builds fabricated to the opening and installed by a crew.
Big-box and online kits ship as modular aluminum panels with pre-punched frames, spline, screen, and hardware, assuming square, plumb openings and a level surface. Pricing runs roughly $10 to $20 USD per sq ft (0.09 m²) of floor area, so a 12 x 16 ft (3.7 x 4.9 m) kit lands at $2,000 to $4,000 before doors and roof.
Kits win on predictable fit and easy re-screening, but fail on irregular openings and any slab out of level by more than about 1/4 in (6 mm) over the run.
Custom aluminum screen rooms are fabricated to measurement with heavier extrusions, engineered attachment, and better hardware: $25 to $45 per sq ft (0.09 m²) under an existing roof, $40 to $75 with a new roof.
If your opening is close to a stock kit size and reasonably square, the kit saves 50 to 70 percent; if not, the labor to fit it can exceed the cost of a custom frame.
| Build type | Typical size | USD | CAD | AUD | NZD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Modular screen kit under existing roof (DIY) | 12 x 16 ft (3.7 x 4.9 m) | $2,000–$4,000 | $2,700–$5,400 | $3,000–$6,000 | $3,300–$6,600 |
| Custom aluminum screen room, existing roof (installed) | 12 x 16 ft (3.7 x 4.9 m) | $5,000–$9,000 | $6,800–$12,200 | $7,500–$13,500 | $8,300–$14,900 |
| Wood-framed screened porch with new roof (installed) | 12 x 16 ft (3.7 x 4.9 m) | $9,000–$16,000 | $12,200–$21,600 | $13,500–$24,000 | $14,900–$26,400 |
| Freestanding screened gazebo (kit or installed) | 10 x 12 ft (3.0 x 3.7 m) | $1,500–$6,000 | $2,000–$8,100 | $2,300–$9,000 | $2,500–$9,900 |
| Re-screening, materials only (DIY) | Per sq ft of screen | $0.30–$1.00 | $0.40–$1.35 | $0.45–$1.50 | $0.50–$1.65 |
Conversions are approximate. Local labor rates vary far more than the exchange rate suggests, and because extrusion is often imported, AUD and NZD pricing can swing harder still.
Permits, HOA Approval, and Setbacks
Screen enclosures sit in a gray zone that varies by jurisdiction, so the honest answer is: ask.
- United States. An enclosure with a new roof or footings is generally a permitted structure under the IRC; screening an existing covered patio with no structural change often is not. Many jurisdictions set a threshold, commonly 100 to 200 sq ft (9 to 19 m²).
- Canada. Provincial codes, largely modeled on the National Building Code of Canada, govern. A screened porch with a roof is usually an accessory structure needing a permit.
- Australia. Rules vary by state and council. Some enclosures qualify as exempt development; others need a development application. AS 4055 wind classification applies either way.
- New Zealand. A porch may be exempt under Schedule 1 of the Building Act 2004, but a covered structure with new footings usually needs a consent and must satisfy NZS 3604.
Setbacks treat a screen enclosure as an accessory structure, commonly 3 to 10 ft (0.9 to 3 m) at the side and rear, though corner lots, waterfront sites, and recorded easements change that.
HOA and covenant approval is often stricter than the building department. Architectural review committees care about color, roof pitch, height, and street visibility, so get written approval before ordering material.
Climate Reality Check: Where Screened Enclosures Pay Off
This is the part most cost guides skip. A screen enclosure is a seasonal, unconditioned space: it keeps insects out and lets air in. That is a good trade in a warm, humid, insect-heavy climate and a poor one almost everywhere else.
Where they dominate: the US Southeast and Gulf Coast (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas), plus coastal Queensland and the Northern Territory, where long warm seasons and mild winters make a screened room usable 10 to 12 months a year.
Where they struggle: most of Canada, the US Midwest and Northeast, the Pacific Northwest, and much of New Zealand outside the far north.
- Insect pressure is lower and shorter. In Ontario cottage country, black flies and mosquitoes are intense for six to eight weeks, not eight months.
- Heating is impractical. Screens are permanently ventilated, so you only heat air that immediately leaves. Converting to a three-season room means interchangeable glass panels, roughly doubling the cost.
- Cost per usable month is poor. A $15,000 CAD screen room used four months a year costs far more per hour than a deck, a covered pergola with roll-down shades, or a glazed sunroom.
New Zealand deserves its own note. Insect pressure is lower than in Australia, sandflies are a regional South Island issue, and the consent process adds cost, so screened enclosures rarely beat a covered or glazed structure there.
In a cold climate, skip the screen and go to a glazed panel system or a covered pergola with roll-down shades. For insect control at a summer cottage, a screen room is still the right tool.
Maintenance and the Mistakes We See Most Often
Ongoing maintenance is modest: wash the mesh with a soft brush and mild soap twice a year, rinse the frames, and touch up scratched powder coat. Never pressure-wash screen; it stretches the mesh off the spline.
Re-screening is the main recurring job. One panel takes 30 to 60 minutes with a spline roller and a hook tool, and material runs $0.30 to $1.00 USD per sq ft (0.09 m²) for fiberglass, two to three times that for pet-resistant screen.
The mistakes we see most often:
- Framing straight to the slab with no gasket. Water wicks up the extrusion and the bottom rail corrodes. A sill gasket costs almost nothing.
- Skipping the kick plate. The screen then fails at the bottom, where the dog and the string trimmer operate.
- Undersized footings. Screen walls plus a roof produce real uplift load. Footings must sit below frost depth, commonly 12 in (300 mm) where there is no frost and 36 to 60 in (900 to 1,500 mm) through much of Canada and the northern US.
- Wrong spline size, which is why a screen pulls out, or blocking a dryer vent, HVAC intake, or required egress window.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a screened in patio cost per square foot?
DIY modular kits run about $10 to $20 USD per sq ft of floor area. Custom aluminum screen rooms under an existing roof run $25 to $45 per sq ft installed, and a wood-framed porch with a new roof $40 to $75.
Is a screened in patio the same as a sunroom?
No. A screen enclosure is unconditionally ventilated and cannot be heated or cooled effectively. A sunroom uses glass or insulated panels and is at least semi-conditioned, costing two to three times as much and usually needing a full permit.
What is the best screen mesh for a patio?
Fiberglass 18 x 14 is the sensible default for most walls. Move to 20 x 20 no-see-um mesh where midges or sandflies are a problem, and use pet-resistant vinyl-coated polyester on lower panels and pet doors.
Do I need a permit to screen in my patio?
Screening existing openings with no structural change often needs no permit. Adding a roof, posts, or footings almost certainly does. Thresholds vary by state, province, and council, so confirm locally first.
Can I heat a screened in patio?
Not practically. Screen is permanently open to the outside, so any heat you add leaves with the air. A patio heater takes the edge off a mild evening but will not carry the space through a Canadian winter.
How long does a screened enclosure last?
A powder-coated aluminum frame meeting AAMA 2604 or better commonly lasts 20 to 30 years. The screen is the wear item: expect six to ten years on sun-exposed walls, longer for pet-resistant mesh.
About the Author
Wartaholic Writer is a contributing editor at Wartaholic, covering outdoor living, hardscaping, and patio design. Articles are researched against manufacturer documentation, published industry standards, and hands-on installation practice, then fact-checked before publication.
Last updated: September 2026