Good material to cover screened porch windows during the winter.

[PingSpike]

I have a screened porch and during the winter snow tends to drift into it or even come through the screens and pile up a small amount. When this snow melts it of course leaves water behind which has resulted in some water problems even though most of it drains. I've thought about buying plexiglass sheets cut to the window frames and then holding them in with some kind of clip or something. Then I looked up what plexiglass costs and it seems kind of ridiculous. Plus it gets really windy around my house so I kind of had my doubts those staying put. The windows are probably 3'x3' or maybe 4'x'4' or so.

There are different kinds of clear coverings including plastic sheeting that are cheaper, but the thought of stapling that up every year and then removing it sounds like a big pain in the ass that would also look like shit.

I got to thinking I should buy some wood and build square frames that fit inside the existing window screen frames. I could use those around some cheaper plastic and have a removable window cover that it seems like I could secure a number of different ways and of course reuse every year.

What is a good material for this? I just don't know where to start since there are so many different kinds of plastic. It could be rigid which would be nice but with the frames that isn't a requirement anymore. It couldn't be to wimpy though. It'd be nice if it lasted awhile but with the frames put together with screws it probably wouldn't be to hard to redo the plastic portion when it wore out. It'd be nice if it were clear, but now that I think about it no one really hangs out on the porch much during January so maybe that doesn't even matter so much as long as it lets light in.

 

[Wyndru]

They have plastic kits with both velcro and tape. My brother in law uses the tape kits, and just rips it down each year. But it still might be a pain.

You could buy sheet plastic in big rolls, (google builders film or sheet plastic). It might be pretty expensive though.

My neighbor covered his porch (framed also) with materials he bought from Lowes or Home Depot, it was just a roll of clear plastic. It seems pretty thick/sturdy.

 

[dank69]

Flex Seal

 

[docic]

dank69 :
sexuality is not generic.

 

[JSt0rm]

santa monica is a good material for winter protection.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

The plastic panels used for greenhouses would work but, unless you're planning on hiring someone to install it, it will be at least as much work as stapling plastic up each year. Seariously, if you view stapling plastic up as too much work, the question becomes what is the cheapest way to hire this done NOT, what material they use.