A starting job
Pick a common call to fill the spans, roof, ceiling, and mesh. Changing a kit never overwrites hours or material costs you have already typed.
The porch
Width is along the house. Depth is the projection. An attached porch screens three sides; a wrap screens four. These are starting points, not a code opinion.
Hours and counts
Perimeter, wall-screen, panels, knee wall, roof, and ceiling start from the geometry. Mesh hours apply to wall screen plus a screen roof. Change them when the site disagrees.
Materials and your costs
Payroll burden covers employer taxes, workers’ compensation, liability insurance, and paid time off. A square-foot special written on the floor never sees it — or the screen.
Your bid
- Floor
- Wall screen / panels
- Knee wall
- Roof / ceiling
- Screen share of direct
- Crew hours
- Loaded labor
- Materials
- Travel, mobilization, extras
- Overhead
- Total cost
- Profit
- Price per floor sf
- Effective hourly rate
- Walk-away price
Where the hours go
Transparent arithmetic from your own inputs. The starting spans, panel widths, hours, and material rates are common ballpark figures, not a building-code opinion, a permit, a warranty, or an engineering stamp. Time your own crews and replace them.
Common questions
Why does a screen roof (lanai style) cost so much more than screening under an existing roof?
“Existing roof” only screens the walls of a porch that's already covered, while a screen roof frames and mesh-panels the entire top of the enclosure — a separate structure with its own hardware and span limits. The roof dropdown prices these as distinct scopes so a pool-cage-style quote isn't built off wall-only numbers.
Does upgrading to hurricane or pet-resistant mesh actually change the bid much?
Yes, proportionally to your total screen square footage — both cost more per panel than standard fiberglass, and hurricane mesh is heavier and slower to install and tension correctly. Switch the mesh dropdown to see the material and labor difference on your actual dimensions rather than guessing at a flat upcharge.
Does this tell me if my knee wall height or screen enclosure meets code?
No. Knee wall height, structural attachment, and enclosure permitting are set by local building code and vary by jurisdiction — this calculator prices the wall height and roof type you select, it does not verify compliance. Confirm requirements with your local building department before framing.
Where do the starting spans and hours come from?
They're common ballpark figures used on residential screened-porch bids, not a building-code opinion, a permit, or an engineering stamp. Time your own crew on a job and replace the defaults in calc.mjs so future bids reflect how your shop actually builds.
Hand the customer a proposal
The price above is for you. This is the page you print or save as a PDF and give to the customer — your details, their details, the scope, the deposit split, and a line for them to sign. Your business details are saved on this device so you only type them once; the customer’s details are never saved.
Everything on the printed page is text you typed or a number this calculator worked out. It contains no warranty, lien, or cancellation wording — those depend on your jurisdiction and your contract, and this tool is not the place to invent them.