Ask most Dunwoody homeowners why their beautiful new deck sits empty on a July evening, and the answer is almost always the same: gnats, mosquitoes, and the occasional pop-up thunderstorm that ends the evening before it starts. A screened porch or lanai solves both problems at once — a solid roof overhead keeps you dry when the sky opens up, and a properly built screen wall keeps every biting insect on the other side of the mesh. We design and build screened porches and lanais throughout Dunwoody and the surrounding DeKalb County communities, either as standalone structures or as an upgrade to a deck you already have.
The two terms get used almost interchangeably here, and honestly the distinction matters less than getting the layout right for your yard. What matters is a structure built with real footings, a properly flashed roof, and screen panels installed tight enough that bugs can't find the gaps a lot of cheaper installations leave behind.
Screened Porch vs. Lanai: Which Layout Fits Your Yard
A screened porch typically sits directly off the back of the house, under an extension of the main roofline or a matching gable, which makes it feel like an added room rather than a separate structure. That layout works especially well on the traditional ranch and traditional-style homes common in neighborhoods around Dunwoody Village, where matching the existing roof pitch keeps the addition looking original to the house.
A lanai more often reaches further into the yard, sometimes wrapping an existing patio or connecting to a pool area, with a lighter free-standing roof structure that doesn't tie as directly into the home's rafters. Either approach can be screened floor to ceiling, and during your on-site consultation we'll walk both options against your actual lot before recommending one.
Building for Sudden Georgia Thunderstorms and Year-Round Pollen
Metro Atlanta's summer storm pattern is part of why this service exists in the first place — a clear sky can turn into a heavy downpour with almost no warning most July and August afternoons. We pitch every roof to shed water fast, tie gutters into your home's existing drainage where possible, and flash the roof-to-house connection carefully so wind-driven rain during a storm rolling in off I-285 doesn't find its way behind the siding.
Spring pollen is the other constant here, coating every screen panel in a fine yellow film for a few weeks each April. Screen mesh handles that better than open deck boards do since a quick hose-down clears it completely, but it's worth planning for if your porch backs up to heavy tree cover, which describes a lot of lots near Brook Run Park and the wooded neighborhoods surrounding it.
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📞 Call 470-327-9145Permits Through the City of Dunwoody and DeKalb County
A screened porch is a roofed structure, not just a screen wall bolted onto an existing deck, so it always needs a building permit — from the City of Dunwoody if your property is inside city limits, or from DeKalb County if it isn't. Engineered drawings covering the roof framing, footings, and any electrical for lighting or a ceiling fan are typically required alongside the permit application. We prepare the drawings, file everything, and schedule every inspection ourselves.
Homes closer to Chamblee-Dunwoody Rd and other older sections of the county sometimes have existing decks that were never permitted for the load a roof structure adds, so part of our process is verifying the existing framing and footings can actually carry the new weight before we ever recommend building on top of it rather than starting the substructure fresh.
Cost, Timeline, and Screen Material Choices
Screening in an existing deck or open porch typically runs $6,000 to $14,000 in the Dunwoody area, while a fully built screened porch or lanai with new roof, footings, and framing usually lands between $18,000 and $42,000 depending on size, roof complexity, and finish level. We install fiberglass or aluminum screen mesh rated for high UV and humidity rather than standard hardware-store screen, which sags and discolors faster under sustained Georgia sun; pet-resistant and fine no-see-um mesh are also available.
Once permitted, a full screened porch build typically takes 2 to 4 weeks depending on roof style and whether we're building fresh framing or upgrading an existing deck. Simple screen-in conversions of an already-built covered porch move faster, often wrapping up within 1 to 2 weeks. Our supply relationships near GA-400 and the Perimeter mean specialty screen mesh or roofing material is rarely a bottleneck once your project is scheduled.
Maintenance and Turning It Into a Room You Use Year-Round
A screened porch needs less upkeep than an open wood deck by a wide margin. The screen panels get an occasional rinse to clear pollen and windblown debris, and the roof and gutters deserve the same yearly look any other part of your home's exterior gets. If the floor is composite decking rather than wood, maintenance drops even further, and a lot of our screened porch clients pair the two specifically to minimize upkeep across the whole project.
Adding a ceiling fan is one of the most common upgrades we install, since a screened space loses some of the natural cross-breeze an open deck gets, and moving air makes a real difference on a humid August evening. If you're weighing whether to enclose the space fully into a sunroom down the road instead, mention that during design — sizing the footings and roof structure for that heavier future load costs little extra now and avoids a full rebuild later.
Comparing a Screened Porch to Just Adding a Fan and Citronella
A lot of homeowners try the cheap fix first — a couple of oscillating fans and citronella candles on an open deck — before calling us, and it's worth being honest about why that approach falls short here. Fans and repellents cut down on mosquitoes at best; they do nothing for a sudden downpour, and they don't stop gnats, which tend to hover in still air right where the fan isn't reaching. A screened structure solves the insect problem completely rather than just reducing it, and a solid roof means the space stays usable even when a storm rolls through unannounced, which happens often enough in a Georgia summer that it changes how much you actually use the space over a full season.
Screened Porches & Lanais FAQs — Dunwoody, GA
Screening an existing deck or porch typically runs from about $6,000 to $14,000 in the Dunwoody area, while a fully built screened porch or lanai with a solid roof, footings, and framing usually falls between $18,000 and $42,000 depending on size, roof style, and finish level. Every quote we give is itemized and free.
The terms overlap a lot in everyday use. A screened porch typically attaches directly to the house under its own roofline, while a lanai more often describes a screened structure that extends further into the yard or wraps a patio, sometimes with a lighter roof structure. We build both, and during your consultation we'll help you land on whichever layout actually fits your lot.
Yes, a properly built and sealed screen system keeps out mosquitoes, gnats, and the biting flies that make a lot of Georgia evenings unbearable outdoors. The key is a tight frame with no gaps at the corners or door sweep, which is where a lot of DIY or budget screen jobs fail within the first season.
Yes. A screened porch is a roofed structure, so it needs a building permit from the City of Dunwoody or DeKalb County along with engineered drawings covering the roof structure, footings, and any electrical work for lighting or fans. We handle the drawings, filing, and every inspection as part of the build.
Yes, when it's built with a proper solid roof, correctly flashed where it meets your house, and screen panels rated to hold up against wind-driven rain. We design the roof pitch and gutter tie-in specifically to shed water fast during the sudden, heavy downpours that roll through DeKalb County most summer afternoons.
Often, yes, if the existing deck framing and footings are sized to carry the added roof load, which we verify before recommending it. In many cases we reinforce the existing structure rather than tearing it out completely, which keeps the project faster and less expensive than starting from scratch.
We typically install fiberglass or aluminum screen mesh rated for high UV and humidity exposure, since standard hardware-store screen material tends to sag and discolor faster under Georgia's sun. Pet-resistant and no-see-um mesh options are also available if fine gnats or an active dog are a concern.
Yes, we regularly wire screened porches for ceiling fans, recessed lighting, and outlets as part of the build. Moving air matters more in a screened space than an open deck since you lose some natural breeze, so a fan is one of the more common upgrade requests we get.
Most screened porch and lanai projects take 2 to 4 weeks to build once the permit clears, depending on roof complexity and whether we're building new framing or working off an existing deck. Simple screen-in conversions of an already-built porch go faster, often inside 1 to 2 weeks.
Less than an open wood deck. The screen panels need an occasional rinse to clear pollen and debris, and the roof and gutters should get checked yearly like any other part of your home's exterior. If the porch floor is composite or a sealed material, maintenance drops even further.
In many cases yes, if the original structure was built with that upgrade path in mind, which is worth discussing at the design stage even if you're not ready for it now. Framing, footings, and roof structure sized for a heavier future enclosure cost only a little more today and can save a full rebuild later.
Yes, every estimate is free with no obligation anywhere in Dunwoody and the rest of DeKalb County. We walk your property, discuss layout options, and leave you with a written, itemized number.