A screened-in porch in Metairie can cost a few thousand dollars if you’re screening a patio that already has a sound roof, or well into five figures if the porch and its roof are being built new along with the screens. HomeAdvisor’s June 2026 guide puts screening an existing porch at $5 to $20 per square foot and a new screened porch at $25 to $120, while HomeGuide’s February 2026 guide runs higher at $10 to $25 and $50 to $175, and the spread between those numbers comes down to a handful of decisions you can make before anyone hands you a quote.
We build and screen porches across Metairie and the rest of Jefferson Parish, so this guide walks through what those national figures cover, what moves a Metairie price up or down, and how to compare quotes once they arrive. Every dollar figure below comes from a named national source, and your own written estimate is the only number that applies to your house.
Key takeaways
- HomeAdvisor’s cost guide, updated June 2026, lists $5 to $20 per square foot to screen an existing porch and $25 to $120 per square foot to build a new screened porch.
- HomeGuide’s guide, dated February 2026, runs higher: $10 to $25 per square foot to add screens and $50 to $175 per square foot for a new screened porch.
- The biggest single cost driver is whether you already have a roof over the space.
- Screen type, doors, electrical work for fans and lights, and the condition of the slab all change the total.
How much does a screened-in porch cost in Metairie?
There isn’t a published Metairie-only price, so the honest starting point is the national data, read with a local eye. HomeAdvisor’s June 2026 guide says screening an existing porch costs $5 to $20 per square foot, while building a new screened porch averages $25 to $120 per square foot. HomeGuide’s February 2026 guide puts the same two jobs at $10 to $25 and $50 to $175 per square foot. The two sources don’t agree, so treat the overlap as a rough band and expect your quote to land wherever your specific porch puts it.
Most Metairie houses we see are slab ranches, and that works in your favor. If the back patio already has a concrete slab and a solid roof over it, you’re mostly paying for framing and screen, which is the low end of those ranges. If there’s no roof yet, the screens are the smallest part of the bill.
What does a 12×12 screened porch cost?
A 12×12 porch is 144 square feet, and HomeAdvisor uses that exact size in its table: about $2,000 to enclose an existing 144 square foot porch and about $7,200 to build a new one. Run HomeGuide’s per-foot figures across the same 144 square feet and you get roughly $1,440 to $3,600 to screen an existing space and roughly $7,200 to $25,200 for a new build. That gap is the reason we never quote a porch from a phone call.
Size isn’t perfectly linear, either. In HomeAdvisor’s own table, screening an existing porch works out to about $13.90 per square foot at 144 square feet and about $12.50 at 400 square feet, so a bigger porch can cost a little less per foot to screen.
What does a screen room cost compared with a screened porch?
People use the two names for the same thing, and the price logic is identical: a screen room is screened walls on a roofed structure. Where cost really splits is the structure under the screens. A screen room built on an engineered Metairie patio cover carries the cost of that cover. Screening a porch that’s already roofed doesn’t. If you’re still deciding whether screens or glass make more sense, our guide to enclosing a patio in the New Orleans metro lays out the options.
What raises or lowers the price on a Metairie porch?
These are the line items that move a quote, roughly in the order they matter:
- Roof or no roof. HomeAdvisor lists $4,600 to $22,000 just to build a porch with a roof, before screening.
- Slab condition. Much of Metairie sits on ground that was drained and filled over the last century, and slabs settle unevenly. A cracked or tilted slab may need repair before a frame can sit on it.
- Screen type. HomeAdvisor prices fiberglass screen at $0.25 to $0.50 per square foot, aluminum at $0.35 to $0.70, solar screen at $0.75 to $1.50, and motorized retractable screens at $2,000 to $4,000 per unit.
- Doors. The same guide puts a screen door anywhere from about $100 to $2,500 depending on material and quality.
- Electrical. Ceiling fans and lights mean an electrician, and HomeAdvisor lists electricians at $50 to $100 per hour.
Our article on choosing the right screen material covers the screen decision in more depth, and if you want screens you can raise on dry evenings, compare motorized patio screens and a full screen room before you commit.
Does Jefferson Parish weather add cost?
It shapes the frame more than the screen. Hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, and anything attached to a Metairie house has to stand through it. We build every screen room on an engineered, wind-rated frame and cover, and each opening gets its own tensioned panel, so a torn section is a small repair instead of a full rescreen. That framing costs more than a light kit, and it’s the part we’d never cut.
Heat and humidity matter too. Ceiling fans are close to standard on Metairie porches because moving air is what makes a screened room bearable in August. Plan the wiring at the start, since running it after the ceiling is closed in means opening finished work.
Do you need a permit, and does it add to the cost?
Jefferson Parish’s permit guidance states that no work may be done before a permit is obtained, and a screened porch is construction. Permit fees vary by project, so ask whoever quotes your job whether the permit is included or billed on top. Ours is part of the written scope. If you’re wondering what a new room means for your tax bill, our article on screen rooms and Jefferson Parish property taxes explains how the assessor’s office works.
How to compare two screened porch quotes
When we walk a Metairie yard, the first things we check are the slab and the roof tie-in, then where water goes in a hard rain. Ask every company you talk to the same questions so the quotes line up:
- Is the price per square foot or a fixed total, and what’s the square footage used?
- Does it include the door, the permit, and electrical work?
- What screen material is specified, and can single panels be replaced?
- Is the frame engineered for wind, and who pulls the permit?
A low number that leaves out the roof work or the wiring isn’t a low number. For a sense of what homeowners get out of the space once it’s built, see the benefits of adding a screen room, and our Metairie screen rooms page shows the work we do here.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to screen an existing covered patio in Metairie?
Yes, usually by a wide margin. Both national guides price screening an existing porch well below building new, because the roof and slab are already paid for. The roof has to be sound and the slab reasonably level for that to hold.
How long does a screened porch take to build?
HomeGuide estimates 2 to 7 days to add screens and a simple roof to an existing base, and 4 to 6 weeks for a new build. Permit review time is extra and varies.
Do national prices apply in Metairie?
They’re a starting range, not a quote. Local labor and the condition of your slab decide where you land, which is why a site visit matters.
Thinking about screening a porch on your Metairie home? We’ll measure the space, check the slab and roof, and give you a written price. Call (504) 285-2659 or learn how we work on our Metairie service area page.
