Three Season Rooms
Article courtesy of Today's Custom Home Magazine - Download PDF version 
Brick patio before remodeling.
Here in the Carolinas, we are blessed with perpetually blue skies and weather that allows us to spend time outdoors nearly year round. Yet how often can you really use your screened-in porch?
Does it bake in the afternoon sun in the summer? Do those chilly autumn breezes drive you inside? Then there's springtime - the ideal time for being outdoors - except when pollen permeates the screens and seemingly every fiber of your furniture.
Palmer Custom Builders creates custom three-season rooms designed to fit the architectural character of each residence. Ponderosa pine French door panels are fitted to the space. They have interchangeable glass and screen panels that are available with or without grilles and held in place with two easy-to-adjust clips. The result is a beautiful living space that can be enjoyed year-round.
Gary Palmer, owner of Palmer Custom Builders, has devised an innovative solution. "I believe we're the only company in the area designing and building custom 'three-season rooms'," he explains. "We custom build French door panels in a variety of architectural styles that coordinate with the character of each house." With frames made from Ponderosa pine and painted to match the home's exterior, these are the type of structures typically seen in regions like Cape Cod. They have interchangeable glass and screen panels that are available with or without grilles and held in place with two clips. Those panels can easily be changed as the weather or your mood dictates.
"Clients can leave in the glass panels and put screens on each end to create a gentle breeze," Palmer says. "So instead of a screened-in porch that you can't use, it really transforms the space into a functional year round room and an extension of your house." Indeed, Palmer has run HVAC systems to these areas, but many homeowners opt for natural temperature control by opening interior doors or switching out screens.
These three-season rooms are flexible enough to suit any application. "We recently built a three-season room in Providence Country Club on top of an existing brick patio and built a roof over it," Palmer says. Another home had a screened in porch that fronts a major road. Palmer retrofitted the space with proper insulation in the ceiling and enclosed it with glass panels, virtually eliminating the road noise and creating a haven for the homeowners.
Creating havens is where Palmer Custom Builders excels, whether tackling a whole-house renovation, a small remodeling project or building new custom homes.
Trade secret tip
"One of the most important things we've learned over the years is to use materials that are resistant to water and insect damage for exterior projects. Composite materials won't rot, warp or twist," Gary Palmer advises. Aesthetically, these high-tech materials look as good as their natural counterparts and will continue to do so for longer. "Just because it's a composite material doesn't mean it's cheap. It costs a little more on the front end, but lower maintenance costs ultimately will save clients over the life of the product.
