I've been contemplating screening in the breezeway for a couple years now, but haven't made any progress yet (mainly due to lack of time). It seems like it should be a fairly simple project, but I know from experience that nothing is ever easy!
The openings at each end are 13' 4" wide and 8' 2" high. It has a concrete floor that is 1' lower than the floor in the house. So, I was planning on putting a wooden floor over the concrete floor to make it level with the house floor. I haven't talked to the building inspector about it yet and want to get some idea of what I'll be allowed to do before I do go talk to him. I was thinking that I could just use joist hangers to run treated 2x10's across from the house wall to the garage wall. Will that work? Then, I'll put treated plywood on top of that and probably some indoor/outdoor carpet on top of that. Since it's not a room addition, it seems to me that I won't have to have the normal required distance up from the ground to the bottom of the floor. I don't remember what that distance was, but when I looked into converting the breezeway to a room addition, I was told I'd have to bust the concrete out and dig down some to make the crawl space deep enough. I won't need crawl space, and will probably put some plastic sheeting on top of the concrete first to keep the moisture from coming up and then just fill it with insulation before I put the floor sheeting on. Does this sound doable and within code requirements for screening in a breezway?
As far as the walls are concerned, I was wondering if I could do it so it could be closed in, like a sun room, in the winter. Any ideas on how to do this? Basically, I want the walls to be pretty much screen in the summer and glass in the winter starting from about 3' from the bottom. That way I could put a wood stove in it and use it as a game room (ping pong, air hockey, etc) or something in the winter.
Almost sounds like a room addition to me........ [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Only thing missing is permanent heat.
Danny, I have no idea if the structural pieces you want to use will work or not. I don't do structural inspections. Now if you need help on electric, let me know.
Jerry - "Almost sounds like a room addition to me"
Actually, I'm trying to get as close as I can to a room addition, with having the cost of one! Right now we don't get a lot of use out of the breezeway. In the summer, we have trouble with wasps, bees, and horse flies. In the winter, it's cold due the constant breeze and the floor gets iced over or covered with snow. I was parking my truck in it, but I have the carport to park under now, so I'm ready to get started on making the breezeway a more useful area.
Good news! I went and talked to the county building codes inspector. He said OK to everything I want to do! He said I could put windows on in as long as they're not permanent (or it would then be considered a room addition). I don't even need to use expensive 2x10's for the floor joists. I can just build a wooden floor using 2x6's and have it right on top of the concrete floor. He said I should use treated lumber. A fair amount of moisture does seep up through the concrete every spring during the thaw cycle, so it gets damp. Treated 2x6's aren't really that much more than non-treated ones around here anyway. I used non-treated lumber on a shed floor once and it rotted out, so I don't mind paying a little more to make sure it will last.
Danny,
Sounds good for you........
See..?? The local code officials are not always the bad guy [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
It's a good thing to talk to them first sometimes.
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