A Chevy Chase couple wanted to transform their deteriorating deck into a rustic porch but the project took on a life of its own and they ended up with a polished and trimmed, screened-in porch. It was not what they asked for, they admitted, but it was definitely what they wanted. “It’s important that we are able to turn on a dime,” said Herb Stanwood, who designed the deck for Case Design/Remodeling. “The project ended up being very different in the end.”
The homeowners initially requested a rustic look to complement a collection of teak furniture. Stanwood and Case project manager Wayne Jackson convinced them, however, that an all-white porch would be a perfect complement to the white trim on the Chevy Chase Village Tudor-style house.
“Now that I see the white and how it works with the trim, I’m so glad I went with the white instead of the rustic look,” the homeowner said.
Case built the screened porch on the existing cedar deck. The owners thought the deck only needed power-washing, but a closer inspection revealed that it was on the brink of collapse.
“It wasn’t structurally sound,” Stanwood said. Case reinforced the deck and used it as the foundation for the new structure.
The decision to abandon the rustic look was also made, in part, because the owners wanted their porch to be maintenance-free. “What concerned me about going with natural wood was that we were getting a lot of bees boring holes in the deck,” the homeowner said.
The porch was wrapped with Azek PVC with all-mitered construction that left no exposed ends. To make the PVC look like natural wood, Jackson said all corners were mitered to create the appearance of authentic New England-style trim, and Azek beaded board was used for the ceiling.
The rotting floor was covered with ipe, a Brazilian hardwood that is naturally resistant to rot and decay. The ipe was installed over the deck using clips to create a seamless appearance.
The further the homeowners got into the project, the more changes they made.
“It was like peeling off the layers of an onion,” Stanwood said. The original design request included four 2-foot by 4-foot skylights. However, after the homeowners saw the small cutouts, they realized they wanted more.
“I wanted as much sunlight as possible,” the owner said. So they went with six 4-foot by 4-foot skylights, more than doubling the skylight area.
On the sides of the deck, Case created a screen of 1-inch by 4-inch slatted boards to let in light and air but block the view of a neighboring house on one side of the residence. The trim on the interior looked like an extension of the home’s interior, which featured a white French country kitchen with sliding glass doors to the porch.
The new enclosure greatly enhances the existing home by turning a worn deck into a magnificent expanded living and entertaining space.
“You always have to be prepared for changes,” Jackson said. “I’ve been doing this for 40-plus years. With most clients, what they envision is not necessarily what they want. That’s why we help them through that process.”
