Gnats, damp and hurricane season, answered before we build
Parham Porch & Sunroom builds screened porches and sunrooms for Mobile and Baldwin counties. Every job starts with the three questions Gulf Coast porch owners ask: what keeps the bugs out, how does it stay dry, and what happens in a storm.
Sand gnats and no-see-ums slip through standard screen mesh. A finer mesh stops them, but it also cuts the breeze and darkens the view a little. At the first visit we hold a sample frame of each against your own porch, so you can judge the trade yourself.
Will a screened porch have no mosquitoes at all?
Fewer, never none. A screen is only as tight as its edges: the door sweep, the corners, the gap at the base of the rail. We close those on purpose, and we hang the door on a spring so it shuts behind you.
What do I do about the yellow pollen in spring?
Pine pollen settles on the screen and in the corners every March and April. Rinse it with a garden hose from inside, and skip the pressure washer, which bends the mesh. Finer mesh clogs a little faster, so it's worth knowing before you choose.
Humidity
Will my porch grow mildew?
Some, because it lives outdoors on the Gulf Coast. We build it to dry out: air on both sides of every board, a floor that sheds water, trim primed on every cut end, and nothing wooden touching the ground. You'll still wipe it down once or twice a year.
Which porch floor holds up to the damp?
Composite or PVC decking, outdoor-rated tile and painted pressure-treated boards each handle wet differently. Rain blows through screens, so the floor has to shed water either way. We lay out the trade-offs at the visit and you pick.
Does a ceiling fan help?
Moving air makes a porch feel cooler and makes life harder for small flying bugs. Use a fan rated for damp places under a roof, and one rated for wet places if rain can reach it.
Storms
Is there such a thing as a hurricane-rated screen?
Heavy-duty screening tested for flying debris does exist. It's rated as a whole assembly, with its own frame and fasteners, not as mesh alone, and it costs more. We pull the maker's test report for any product we propose, and your building department and insurer may ask for it.
Does a screen protect the porch in a storm?
No. A screen keeps out bugs, not wind or debris. We build the screen panels so they come out in minutes without damage, and you take them down and store them before a named storm. The roof, posts and connections are what hold the structure.
How is the porch roof held down?
With metal connectors from the roof framing to the posts and from the posts to the footings, set to the plans we file. The permit inspector looks at them before the walls are closed in.
What we build
Six kinds of porch work
Every one is permitted and written down before it starts.
Screened porches
A roof you can sit under, with screen on every open side, framed and trimmed to match the house. The door shuts itself behind you.
A sunroom with a tile floor and sliding doors to the yardSample
A sunroom with a fan, a table and a sitting cornerSample
A bare room with windows on three sides, before furnitureSample
A glassed-in corner with a wood floor and a fanSample
A wraparound porch before screeningSample
Sample photos.
Neighbors
What owners say after the first summer
“They measured the porch twice and asked what time of day we sit out. The screen they chose for the west side is the first one that didn't turn the porch into a dim box.”
MH
Mallory H.Screened porch, Loxley
“We asked about the no-see-ums and got a sample frame to hold up, not a speech. We've sat out through two dusks since and not scratched once.”
MG
Martez G.Porch enclosure, Wilmer
“The panels came down in about twenty minutes before the storm warning and went back up the same way. Nobody had to be asked twice.”
AV
Altagracia V.Storm-ready panels, Mobile
Sample reviews.
Mobile and Baldwin counties, both sides of the bay
Mostly houses from the 1950s on, many with a slab patio or a small deck waiting to become a porch.
Mobile County: Mobile, Tillmans Corner, Mount Vernon, Grand Bay, Wilmer, Eight Mile, Creola, Citronelle · Midtown and west Mobile, out to Tillmans Corner and Grand Bay, up to Wilmer and Citronelle
Baldwin County: Point Clear, Foley, Stapleton, Loxley, Summerdale, Silverhill, Robertsdale, Bay Minette · Point Clear on the Eastern Shore, then Foley, Loxley and the towns out to Robertsdale
We stop at Robertsdale to the east and Citronelle to the north, and we don't build in Mississippi or Florida. If your street is near an edge, call and ask.
Plan a porch visit
Tell us what you're picturing and what bothers you about the space now. We'll call or text to find a time.
