Cozy Retreat

Patio With Gable Roof Porch in Cumming, GA

We replaced a basic concrete slab with a 245-square-foot screened porch, positioning the fireplace in the corner to leave enough room for a dining table.

Before

Nothing Back Here But a Slab

What the builder left was a square of concrete just big enough for a bistro table, with the grills parked at the edge of it under covers because there was nowhere else for them to go.

The yard itself was good, with a playset and room for the kids to run around, but the patio was the part of it nobody stayed on for long.

After

Why the Fireplace Went
in the Corner

Two hundred and forty-five square feet is not much room, and a hearth on a flat wall would have taken the best of it. Centre a fireplace on a wall and it splits that wall in two, leaving neither half deep enough to put anything substantial against.

So we set it into the corner. That keeps two full walls clear, which is what lets a dining table sit on one side and a seating group on the other without either of them feeling wedged in.

At 245 square feet you don’t get to waste a wall. Putting the fireplace in the corner handed them back two.

The Two Spaces

The Screened Porch

Two hundred and forty-five square feet under a gable, screened on three sides, with the rafters left exposed and finished in cedar. The wood burning fireplace sits in the far corner in stone.

The Stamped Patio

Around four hundred square feet of stamped concrete running out from the porch, which is where the grills live now and where the overflow goes when there are more people than chairs.

The Details

It Burns Wood

This fireplace takes real wood rather than gas, which is what the family asked for. It means a proper chimney, and it means the porch smells like a fire in October.

No Steps Anywhere

The porch sits level with the patio and the patio sits level with the lawn, so kids come in off the grass without anyone opening a gate or watching a threshold.

It Matches The House

We carried the same siding and trim onto the porch so it reads as part of the original build. From out in the yard the only obviously new thing is the roofline.

Everything That Went Into This One

Component	Product
Screened porch	Gable roof, 245 sq. ft.
Ceiling	Exposed cedar rafters
Fireplace	Wood burning, corner set, stone
Patio	Stamped concrete, approx. 400 sq. ft.
Enclosure	Full screens

This one runs about $53,000 to build in the north metro today, which puts it well under most covered porch projects, largely because it sits on grade with no deck framing underneath.

245 Square Feet Was Enough

It takes the right layout more than it takes a big footprint. Come see us in Woodstock and we’ll show you what would actually fit in the space you’re working with.

or visit us at Woodstock Design Center 135 Village Center W, Suite 100