I'd start by redirecting that downspout away from the patio roof. Overall I think it looks like a wonderful room that with the addition of a good quality roof and some windows all around would be something that you could enjoy year round. Unless that roof leaks, the roof framing should be OK, and the side framing is what you say is rotting. A "three season" room per se might be out of your budget, but you could still have a contractor come in and replace the rotted wood and install some insulated windows. Once you have some good side framing, then look to a peaked roof that drains water and snowfall away from your foundation. Finally, I'd replace that slider with some pretty French doors. I love that room and definitely wouldn't want to tear it down. I think you have a diamond in the rough. Short Story: Years ago we bought a house in Colorado that had an enclosed patio. The workmanship on it was very poor, but we figured we could tidy it up and use it. We found that the previous owner had done the work himself. None of the electrical outlets were live. The patio had a poured concrete foundation, but the roof overhung it by 24", so he laid common wood planks on the bare earth all the way around the slab and constructed the walls on top of them, leaving no overhang for the soffits. To hide the planks, he glued astroturf on the floor of the room. The first winter we were there, every time it rained, the water seeped into the room and flowed across the floor. The floor froze and frost formed on the windows. The windows he used were secondhand and for some reason he hung them upside down, so water gathered at the sash and poured down the inside of the room. Everything about it was done wrong and it was unusable. We hired a contractor to come in and fix everything that was wrong. He eventually had to rebuild the entire structure, and it cost us about 10k. But it was well worth it because it was beautiful. Even without heating, it stayed temperate in there year round due to the sun coming in the large windows. My plants loved it and they grew and flourished at a phenominal rate. I had an angel wing begonia that was 4' across and constantly covered with thousands of bloom clusters. (Side note: At the Denver home and garden show that year my husband and I observed that an angel wing begonia had a lovely blue ribbon, hanging on it that said "BEST IN SHOW". It was about 18" around and had one or two bloom clusters on each branch. We just looked at each other and burst out laughing.) The original room only had an aluminum storm door and it was totally unsuitable for the Colorado weather. We replaced it with a good quality insulated exterior door. there were no drafts in the room once it was finished and we could open the slider to the main house and smell the flowers and the moist earth. So that's my little story, except to add that when we sold the house, the buyer came in full price because she said the patio room was...

My husband and I are thinking about turning our concrete patio (uncovered) into a simple screened in patio. We've been getting quotes and we find them to be very high. We are just outside Charlotte, NC in South Carolina. We don't want anything fancy at all. These are the specs: 1) 14x17 on existing concrete patio 2) shingled shed roof to match home's roofline 3) Simple construction - no interior finishing like beaded ceilings and no exterior finishing like shingles 4) One screen door leading into yard 5) Electrical run so we can have a ceiling fan overhead All our quotes thus far have been for $13K or more to have this screened in patio built. That seems high considering we want a no-frills, very simple screened in patio. What kind of pricing have others encountered when converting a concrete slab patio into a screened in patio?

crystal A very valid question which I have definitely been thinking about. I'm leaning towards permanently attaching some screening on the underside of the roof on the outside of the cross beam. The roof slopes down from the house (which means the side is also going to be a problem) so I can basically attach it to the beam and then to the edge of the roof and it will be level. I'll probably paint it white to match the roof. I'll add the link to my bookmarks - although I'm not sure the retractable screens will work. They all seem to need some sort of frame and I have nothing to anchor the frame to. I did find a website that sells screening material in 9' by 100' rolls - I'm thinking I might try to build some sort of roll-up shade like thing using screening material that is weighted on the bottom to rest on the ground. I'd like something a little bit more professional and attractive looking but considering how much we have already spent on this house and still will be spending on this house, it may be a few years (depending on the cost) before I can have my better quality product. I'd like to enjoy the patio before then!

Of course it depends on how you plan to use the area. It's so narrow that I can't imagine it as much of a gathering space, so I would probably make it comfortable for one or two people...maybe a chaise longue with a small table or garden seat used as a table and maybe a small round ice cream parlor type table with two matching chairs. I would add potted plants and other plantings to screen off the house next door.