I've given a lot of thought lately to this screened-in back porch idea of Mare's. (Y'all know how I obsess about things.) At first, it seemed like a really good idea. Now, not so much.
First off, I ran the idea past Charlie. He did that thing he does when he's trying not to say something mean: he raised his eyebrows, said "Huh", adjusted his ball cap, and then gave me the side-eye. "Y'all are gonna build a little porch over the top of all that busted-up concrete in back?" Oh. Hadn't thought of that. The back patio is in baaad shape. It's cracked and stained and it's sinking in the middle. Not pretty. The back stoop was poured separately from the patio and it's balanced over the sinkhole, which makes standing on the stoop to talk to someone a little like surfing. You constantly have to adjust your weight for the tilt. (Remember that Charlie is a concrete man, and if this post were a mystery novel, this might be foreshadowing...)
Then there's the Historic Preservation Commission. I'd have to get another Certificate of Appropriateness to build that porch, and I'm really not sure they'd grant me one. I don't know if I'd grant me one. See, the back of the house is already an addition--it was originally an open back porch--and I'm thinking an addition onto an addition would look awkward. Really awkward.
So, no screened-in back porch.
However, Charlie's writing up an estimate for a nice new patio with stamped concrete to look like cobblestones.