Screen Room vs. Sunroom vs. Patio Cover: Which Is Right for Your Evansville Home?

The short answer: a screen room provides bug-free fresh air, a three-season sunroom offers glass-enclosed weather protection and an extended outdoor living season, and a patio cover adds shade and rain protection to an existing patio. Four-season additions are a different type of conditioned space. For most Evansville and Tri-State homeowners, the right choice depends on how they want to use the space and their budget.

Screen Room: The Affordable Way to Enjoy the Outdoors

A screen room is an aluminum-framed structure with screen panels that encloses a patio or porch. It keeps out bugs, pollen, and debris while letting fresh air flow through, so it feels like being outside without the nuisances. It is the most budget-friendly of the three options.

Best for: enjoying spring, summer, and fall evenings outdoors, keeping mosquitoes and pollen out, and protecting patio furniture. Typical cost in the Evansville area: $119 to $124 per linear foot installed, using heavy-duty powder-coated aluminum that will not rot or warp like wood.

Sunroom: Glass-Enclosed Living Space You Can Use in More Seasons

All Weather Products manufactures custom three-season sunrooms with aluminum framing, glass enclosures, and insulated roof systems. These rooms provide protection from rain, wind, and insects while extending the outdoor living season. A three-season enclosure is not designed to provide the same thermal performance as a fully conditioned four-season addition. Actual comfort depends on outdoor temperatures, sun exposure, ventilation, and the project's construction.

Best for: homeowners who want a bright, enclosed place to enjoy views of the outdoors across more of the year. All Weather Products' standard three-season sunrooms are non-conditioned spaces. They should not be represented as equivalent to fully insulated, climate-controlled four-season additions.

Patio Cover: Shade and Protection for Your Existing Patio

A patio cover is a permanent roof structure over your patio, deck, or porch. It does not enclose the space with screens or glass; instead, it provides shade, blocks rain, and protects whatever is underneath, while keeping the open-air feeling. Our insulated aluminum patio covers reduce heat buildup and stand up to Midwest weather.

Best for: homeowners who want to use their patio in more weather without fully enclosing it, shade a hot west-facing patio, or protect an outdoor kitchen or seating area. Typical cost in the Evansville area: about $37 per square foot installed, which works out to roughly $5,500 for a 12x12 insulated patio cover.

Quick Comparison at a Glance

Screen room: open-air with screens, no glass, best for spring through fall, most affordable, $119 to $124 per linear foot installed.

Sunroom: glass-enclosed, non-conditioned, intended for extended seasonal use, mid-range to premium cost depending on three-season versus four-season glass.

Patio cover: a roof only, no walls, provides shade and rain protection while staying open-air, about $37 per square foot installed.

How to Decide Which One Is Right for You

Start with how you want to use the space. If you mainly want bug-free fresh air on nice days and the lowest cost, choose a screen room. If you want a real room you can enjoy in more seasons and control the temperature in, choose a sunroom. If you just want shade and rain protection over a patio you already have, choose a patio cover. Budget and how many months a year you will realistically use the space are the two biggest deciding factors.

We manufacture all three in-house right off Baumgart Road in Evansville, and we have been serving Tri-State homeowners since 1979. Because we build them ourselves, we do not make more money by steering you toward the most expensive option. We install throughout Southwestern Indiana, Western Kentucky, and Southern Illinois, including Newburgh, Boonville, and Henderson, within roughly 50 to 60 miles of our shop.

Side by Side: Every Difference That Matters

	Screen room	Three-season sunroom	Insulated patio cover
What encloses it	Screen cloth in aluminum frames	Glass panels in aluminum frames	Nothing. Roof only
Roof	Flat insulated aluminum panel	Flat insulated aluminum panel	Flat insulated aluminum panel
Keeps insects out	Yes	Yes	No
Keeps rain and wind out	Roof yes, walls no	Yes	Roof only
Heated or cooled	No	No	No
When you use it	Spring through fall	Spring through late fall, plus mild winter days	Year round, for shade and rain
How it is measured	Linear foot of perimeter	Linear foot of perimeter	Square foot of roof area
Attached to the house	Always	Always	Always
Frame	6063-T6 aluminum, 2x2 uprights	6063-T6 aluminum with our own window panels	Aluminum posts and framing
Annual maintenance	Clean frames and tracks, check screens	Clean frames and tracks, re-caulk seams	Clean the roof and clear gutters
Frame warranty	Lifetime	Lifetime	Lifetime
Can be changed later	Can be glassed in to a three-season room	Already the glass version	Walls can be added

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a screen room and a sunroom?

A screen room uses screen panels and stays open to the air, so it keeps out bugs and debris but not the weather. A sunroom uses glass walls on an insulated, engineered structure, so it fully seals out the weather and can be heated or cooled. A screen room is more affordable; a three-season sunroom provides an enclosed space intended for extended seasonal enjoyment.

Which is cheaper, a screen room or a patio cover?

In the Evansville area, a screen room typically runs $119 to $124 per linear foot installed, while a patio cover runs about $37 per square foot installed. For a typical patio, the two often land in a similar range, but they do different jobs: a patio cover only adds a roof, while a screen room fully encloses the space with screens. The best value depends on whether you want bug protection or just shade and rain cover.

Can I use a screen room or sunroom year-round in the Tri-State area?

A screen room is best enjoyed spring through fall, since it is open to the air. A three-season sunroom is not equivalent to a fully conditioned addition; comfort depends on outdoor conditions, glazing, ventilation and construction. Because Evansville and the surrounding Tri-State have relatively mild winters, homeowners should not assume a three-season enclosure will provide the same temperature control as a fully conditioned four-season room.

Related reading: screen rooms, three-season sunrooms and insulated patio covers, all fabricated in Evansville.