How many months of the year are mosquitoes a problem? Have you tried putting a popup screened tent on the deck to see if you'd use the space?

Mosquitoes are basically a 3-season problem (like 9 months of the year) but they're worse on the ground in the yard than on the deck, and really only in the evening. I thought maybe if we go the canopy route we could solve that with citronella candles if we're out at night. Hadn't thought to try out a tent, we'd have to buy one, and I'm not sure it would help me address my fundamental concerns. I'm 100% confident we'd use the space if it's cool/shady enough and there was someplace comfy to sit down and read, birdwatch, etc. Just trying to weigh whether the pergola canopy is able to provide enough shade and protection from the elements that we could put some comfy furniture out there to enjoy...I don't want to spend any sort of money on something that's going to instantly rust, mildew, etc. since I know the canopies aren't totally weather-proof.

I guess what I'm saying is, I'm approaching this as a cheaper way to achieve some of the things I want out of a screened porch, without losing too much light in the house. So I was hoping someone had some experience with pergola canopies and screened porches and the various tradeoffs of space function, light, obstructed views, etc. who might help me think through whether I'm on the right track with the pergola canopy thing or not...

have you considered a yard company to come and spray for mosquitos? we used to be held prisoner by them, now we have an organic spray applied every 3 weeks and suddenly we have a 2 acre yard again; it really works well. this is in coastal RI.

if you want to sit outside at night, however, you will need screens. but the little no see ums always come through and bite me, they dont bite everyone but they have it in for me, i cannot sit outside at night even with screens. nasty red lumps. hummpf.

as far as furniture, noooo don't be prisoner to carrying cushions in and out. either make outdoor storage, or go for teak/canvas sling furniture that dries quick and is comfortable. you do NOT want the cushions inside on a day that no one has gone out. we have these in navy, chairs to match. after 5 years of full sun the teak is silvery but the canvas hasnt stained or faded.

We were considering the same and still do and hope to do that next Spring.
We have furniture outside and there is no problem with them..it rains, but they dri quickly. They have the Sunbrella fabric..stayed in the sun and the color is still the same

Honestly I'd thought of mosquito spraying as somehow incompatible with all the gardening I do, much of it oriented around pollinators, which I wouldn't want getting blasted as collateral damage. Do you know whether that organic spray you're talking about is okay on vegetables and flowers and safe for bees, butterflies, and other desirable insects?

Good point re: noseeums, I'm not sure if we have them here or not (piedmont of NC) but I'm a magnet for all things itchy so I'm sure they'd find me if we do.

Cool furniture, thanks for the suggestion. Silvery wood is fine, I don't expect anything to look perfect after a lot of sun exposure. I just don't want something I'm going to have to clean all the time. I'm not sure pool lounge furniture is necessarily the style I had in mind, but I'm sure I could find other shapes of furniture in those materials. Thanks a lot, do you know the brand of what you bought?

canopy's are great for shade, wind, or if you want to sit outside on the deck with it raining you can still be covered. so i like your idea. id probably stain it the same as your deck, but dont screen it in. its nice for it to be all open. and if mosquito's bother you... spray the yard for mosquito's. my sister did up in minneapolis and it was amazing! she has a canopy also so we were all happy outside on the 4th of july.

Thanks for the recommendation on the sunbrella fabric as well! What is the structure/frame of your furniture made of under the cushions? I think my problem is we have coated metal which of course rusted immediately, and I need to do like a treated wood or plastic instead...

Awesome, glad to know the canopy worked so well for your family. Shade/wind/rain protection is exactly what I'm looking for. I'll have to do some more research on mosquito spray and how well it works with pollinators and gardening.

My sister's yard was south facing and too hot most of the time to enjoy. They added a pergola and removal canopy and they were outside at every opportunity - creating an extra room for 3 seasons. The canopy they selected though was a full cover, which they added and removed at the start/end of the season. I know my sister felt the "extra" room was more of an advantage than losing some light. There is lots of furniture on the market that can be left out (ie; resin furniture in 1st picture) and you would only have to store the cushions when not in use (a Rubbermaid bin could be placed under the deck). In regards to mosquitos, we just set up zappers, which work well (don't like to spray due to having pets). Another thought, we had the same set up as you and used the bottom as a patio with retractable curtains, but you could screen in. The other idea is to have a retractable awning placed above the 3 windows and just pull up when not using - so you keep your light. I'm also wondering if adding a pergola to only half of the deck will even give you enough space to incorporate enough furniture and not feel squeezed in - your deck is a lot smaller than your inspiration picture.

If you want to have a very good 3-4 season bug proof room a screened porch with glass frames that can be installed in colder months is the way to go. You deck is large, so it sounds like you could still have unscreened deck areas as well.

To keep letting sun into the house, consider light drapes or none on the windows looking onto the screened porch and the addition of skylights inside the screened room. Skylights can be ordered with motorized shades inside the the layers of glass to help keep the room from over heating.

If you only need protection from the sun, check out a motorized awning. You unfurl it when you need shade and leave it tucked against the house when you don't.

Have some storage built into your new sun room or deck for things like cushions or hoses or toys for the kids. We often build storage like this into benches.

Best

Diane Menke

Myers Constructs Inc.

myersconstructs.com

That set up is great! I would LOVE to screen in the bottom level as a patio, but the house is actually a one-level ranch, though it looks tall from the back because it's raised up high. The lower level door is to our "crawlspace", which is like 8 ft tall (no crawling required). To get enough clearance below the deck to screen and make it useable, we'd have to dig out some of the ground and probably hardscape and install drainage, and I worry it would end up a little odd because there's no access to that level from inside the house, you'd have to walk down the exposed deck stairs to get into the screened part from the outside. Or is that totally fine?

I may talk to the guy who was going to do this project for us and tell him we need to figure out a way to find a solid canopy...my issue is I want it to be retractable so I can continue to grow plants out there that need light, and I've heard the motorized components of retractable awnings can be prone to failure after a few years.

We have teak furniture. I have to clean it in Spring because dust and snow make it a bit messy, but it's not a big deal..not fun, but it's doable.

For mosquito I don't have a solution..I can't spray anything toxic because I want to keep pollinators and insects.

Love the furniture, that's such a pretty line! And it's great to hear that the mosquito spray appears to be pretty selective in what it kills. Thanks a bunch.

we roll the pool loungers into the garage in the winter. the deck furniture (only through the house access) we cover with a/c covers and bungee cords out of sight of windows.

Ok, cool, another couple of votes for motorized...any thoughts on the longevity of those motors? The guy who's building this for us does awnings, shade sails, pergolas, all sorts of things and said he never recommends the motorized awnings because they always fail after 3-5 years, even the high end ones.

Good idea for covering furniture in the winter. Thanks.

And a seasonal cleaning is totally fine, I'd expect that. Have to do that on my front porch rocking chairs too, even though the porch is roofed. Just don't want something I have to clean before I sit in it every time, or I know I'd never bother sitting in it. Which would defeat the purpose of this whole undertaking, haha.

In regards to the bottom area, as long as you have headroom, not sure why 8ft is not high enough to use. We had to walk down our stairs to get to this space and it was worth it...but it's really about your lifestyle. We also set up a hammock there and that was well used. I can't comment about motorized awnings, other than I believe they are a bit expensive. I think a sail may be a good solution - enough coverage but not too much, inexpensive, space for your plants in the sun and by placing in the middle of the deck, the furniture won't feel as squeezed in (vs pergola on one side only). We also use tarps on our outdoor furniture, potting table, etc and bungee cord to hold down (along with bricks on the corners) during the winter months.

i have to say we are gobsmacked by how good an organic can work. we were sitting in a neighbor's back yard we said how is it you dont have any mosquitos? and they said they had a company spray.

since we have west nile, EEE, and lyme disease where we are, there is no messing around. i have to admit i think i'd even go with a non-organic; i'm happy we didnt have to make that choice.

for those who are continued prisoners of insects carrying truly debilitating and potentially fatal disease, i'd really recommend calling to find out whats available in your area.

I am like you, a bug magnet. For me, the only thing that works is a screened in porch preferably above ground (as you have). Now it costs more up front, but in the long run, it requires very little maintenance and is always ready to use. I would save to do it right and do a screened in area on your deck. We have a mosquito system with "natural" product and we have plenty of bees, so no problem there at all. But I can't sit out due to other insects, so screened permanent structure for me!

Sure, I see your point about head room...the ground slopes away from the house so it's 8 ft clearance furthest from the house, but more like 5-6 close to the house. So it's not like level flat ground we could use right now, excavation would be required. I'll think some more about the shade sail, I see what everyone's saying about the size of the covered space and that potentially being awkward with the windows. It's just me and my husband, family of 2 for now, so we were thinking casual place to read and chat more than full alfresco living or dining room.

@nnigrt, do you the brand of this spray?

We've have a motorized awning , Sunbrella fabric, with a remote for 7 years, never a problem, looks like new. We use it year around where we live so it gets almost daily use 365 days.

i'm sorry, i can't remember... cedar or marigold based cannot recall which.

the organics are more than the non, both per treatment and that they have to do the organic every 3 weeks, non organic every 4.

thanks! I will look into it here and see what I can find out

another company (not the one we use) says on their web site: This program consists of 5 monthly applications scheduled from spring to fall. These organic sprays consist of Cedar Wood Oil and a blend of organic botanical extracts. The sprays kill mosquitoes and ticks on contact and serve to repell biting insects for up to four weeks. These applications are completely safe and do not require that you keep off of your lawn afterwards. This program provides results that are consistently excellent for our 1,500+ customers that receive these safe sprays each month, they regularly refer their friends and family.

which pretty much matches my recollections of what the handout from our company said. i can vouch for bees not being harmed as our flowers are swarming with them.

one last note, its important not to mow your lawn right after if you bag the clippings, or you have really expensive clippings....

Glad to hear the motorized awning has worked so well for you for so long! I guess I need to keep an open mind. I'm also seeing that you can get manual crank awnings so if I'm spooked about the motor, it doesn't mean a retractable awning wouldn't be a good fit. I feel like I can make a pergola canopy or retractable awning work for my needs right now without diving into the screened in porch territory, though we might go that route someday.

Still not sure about covering the entire deck vs. half the deck. Now that I step back and look at that picture of the rear of the house, I can see that the deck center rail doesn't line up with the middle of the four windows into the living room, so cutting the deck in half might look kind of lopsided where it joins the house and splits the windows unevenly. A pergola that covers the full deck is going to force us to move and rewire some light fixtures, though, which would be a pain...

Thanks! I found the safer lawns site. I will read about it.

https://www.backyardcity.com/Retractable-Pergola-Shade.htm

We can make the slide wire shades in 5 different styles

Nothing beats a screened porch in a buggy area like NC.