A new screen room with an insulated roof in Monroe, LA typically costs $10,000 to $35,000 installed, or about $50 to $175 per square foot per the 2026 HomeGuide screened porch guide, while screening in an existing patio cover runs $2,000 to $5,000. Mosquitoes, gnats and the sun are what keep people off a Monroe, LA patio, and a screen room with a Structall insulated roof fixes all three. Donnie Grubbs builds them with aluminum framing and our own crews, and has since 1976.
What should screen rooms cost in Monroe, LA? That depends on how far you take the scope, the materials you select, and what condition things are in now. This page lays out typical local pricing, the cost drivers that matter, and the way we manage the job end to end.
Monroe is the seat of Ouachita Parish and the larger half of the Twin Cities, sitting on the east bank of the Ouachita River with West Monroe and our Cypress Street showroom directly across the bridge. The 2020 census counted 47,702 residents in about 21,317 housing units, and the housing stock leans old: Census ACS estimates put the median year built at 1971, with 45 percent of occupied homes owner occupied and the rest rented. The Garden District and the streets around the University of Louisiana Monroe hold many of the older homes, and it is common for us to find original wood sash windows with rotted sills on houses from that era, which is the one case where a full frame window replacement beats an insert. The climate is the other half of the story. NOAA's 1991 to 2020 normals from the Monroe Regional Airport station show a July average high of 93.2 degrees, about 91 days a year at or above 90 degrees, and 55 inches of rain, which is why an uninsulated metal patio cover here is unused from June through September and why every cover and screen room we build in Monroe starts with an insulated roof panel. Homeowners here tend to plan an outdoor room in two steps, a cover first and screens or glass a year or two later, so we size the posts and beams for the second step at the first estimate. Permits on this side of the river run through Inspections and Permitting in the Department of Engineering at 400 Lea Joyner Expressway, 318 329 2200, with applications filed on the mgoconnect.org portal. We submit the plans, pay the fee and schedule the inspection so the paperwork never becomes your problem. The submission has to show the wind uplift path from the roof panels down into the slab, which matters more than homeowners expect on a flat roofed structure that behaves like a sail in a spring storm. The age of the housing stock shapes the work too. On a home built around 1971 the patio slab is often sound but the fascia sits low, so the cover needs a riser to get enough pitch for drainage, and on the rental heavy blocks near the university the decision usually runs through an owner or a manager rather than the person who answers the door.
Census figures put the median Monroe home at about 55 years old, built around 1971. The market covers about 21,317 homes, and the median value sits near $174,800. Most of Monroe went up in the postwar decades. The structure on these homes is usually sound, but venting, flashing, and insulation details are dated enough to be worth revisiting while the screen rooms work is already open and the access is already paid for. A large share of occupied homes here are rented, so scheduling and approvals often run through an owner or a property manager rather than the person who answers the door. We are used to that, and we keep both parties on the same email so nothing stalls. Values in Monroe sit toward the lower end of the markets we serve, so the question is usually which option returns the most service life per dollar, and we will show you the point where spending more stops paying for itself. By housing count Monroe is one of the larger markets we cover, with enough variation street to street that two homes a mile apart can need genuinely different work, which is why we measure rather than quote from a map. That local mix shapes how we scope and schedule screen rooms work here. Figures are U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates.
Typical installed ranges from the 2026 HomeGuide and Angi cost guides, sized for common Monroe, LA patios. Your price depends on the footprint, whether the roof is new or existing, the screen type, and electrical, and comes from a free in home estimate.
| Screen room project | Typical installed range |
|---|---|
| Screen in an existing patio cover (panels, kickplate, door) | $2,000 to $5,000 |
| New screen room, 12 by 16 (192 sq ft) | $10,000 to $24,000 |
| New screen room, 14 by 20 (280 sq ft) | $14,000 to $35,000 |
| Rescreen an existing room (new mesh only) | $800 to $5,200 |
Figures are typical ranges and vary by project. Your free estimate is exact.
Donnie Grubbs measures your project and gives you a clear written estimate at no cost.
We are a local home improvement contractor and we stand behind every job. You are not handed off to a subcontractor. Every job follows the same disciplined process:
Ask anyone in Monroe, LA what keeps them off the patio from May through September and the answer is mosquitoes, gnats and the sun. Louisiana's warm wet climate gives mosquitoes most of the year to breed, NOAA normals put summer highs in the low to mid 90s with about 91 days at or above 90 degrees, and an open porch is unusable at exactly the hours you want to be out there. A screen room with a Structall insulated roof solves all three at once: tight mesh keeps the bugs out, the foam core roof keeps the heat off, and a ceiling fan keeps the air moving. Donnie Grubbs has built screen rooms in this climate since 1976, and the rooms get used from spring through football season.
Donnie Grubbs works across the Monroe area, including:
Screening in an existing porch or patio cover typically costs $2,000 to $5,000, or $10 to $25 per square foot, according to HomeGuide's 2026 data. That covers aluminum screen panels, a kickplate, and a self closing door set into the existing openings. If the existing cover is not structurally sound, Donnie Grubbs will tell you at the estimate and price a proper insulated roof instead.
They are mostly the same thing described three ways. A screened in porch usually means mesh added to a porch the house already has. A screen room is a purpose built room with its own aluminum framing and an insulated roof set on the slab. A patio enclosure is the broad term for either, and it also covers glass rooms where sliding glass panels replace the mesh. Donnie Grubbs builds all three in Monroe, LA.
Often, yes. If the existing cover is structurally sound, we add aluminum screen panels, a kickplate, and a door to the openings without touching the roof. If the posts or beams were never sized to carry panels, or the roof is a thin metal sheet that traps heat, we will tell you and price a proper Structall roof. Either way the estimate is free.
Standard fiberglass screen for most rooms, a finer no see um mesh where gnats are the problem, and pet resistant screen where dogs or cats will be leaning on it. We can mix types in one room, for example pet screen on the lower panels and standard mesh above. A solid kickplate along the bottom is the best defense against mower clippings and paws.
Yes, mainly because of the insulated roof. The Structall panels block the sun and the foam core stops heat from radiating down, which is the whole difference between a room you use in July and one you avoid until October. Add a ceiling fan and the room is comfortable on most Monroe, LA summer evenings, even with NOAA's normals showing about 91 days a year at or above 90 degrees.
Most screen rooms are complete within a few days once materials arrive. The insulated roof goes up first, then the aluminum framing, the screen panels, the door, and finally the electrical for fans and lights. Screening in an existing cover is usually a one day job. Materials are cut to your dimensions after the estimate, so plan on a few weeks of lead time.
Yes. Louisiana enforces the 2021 International Residential Code with state amendments, and a screen room falls under Appendix AH, which treats enclosure walls of insect screening as a patio cover as long as the room stays one story, under 12 feet, and is used for outdoor living rather than as a habitable room. Permits are issued locally by the city or parish, and Donnie Grubbs handles the paperwork as part of the job.
Yes, and it is a common second step. If the framing is sound, sliding glass panels with screens behind them can replace the mesh in the existing openings. Tell Donnie Grubbs at the estimate if glass is the long term plan so the posts and beams are sized for it from the start.
Fiberglass mesh typically gives many years of service before sun and weather make it brittle, and rescreening a room costs $800 to $5,200 per Angi's 2026 data, with most people near $2,900. The aluminum frame, the insulated roof and the door outlast the mesh many times over, so a rescreen refreshes the room without rebuilding it.
Yes. Donnie Grubbs is a local, licensed and insured home improvement contractor, family owned in West Monroe since 1976, and BBB accredited with an A+ rating. Our own crews measure, build and finish every screen room.
Yes. Donnie Grubbs offers military and senior discounts on every project, and we accept cash, check, Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express. Ask at the estimate and we apply it to the written price.
Call Donnie Grubbs or send the estimate form and we schedule a free in home visit in Monroe, LA. We check the slab and any existing cover, measure the openings, and hand you a clear written price for the complete room with no obligation.
The median Monroe home was built around 1971 per Census American Community Survey data, so a large share of the housing stock is 55 or more years old. That is the age where screen rooms and the other big updates come due, and it is the work Donnie Grubbs does every week.
Monroe is the seat of Ouachita Parish and the larger half of the Twin Cities, sitting on the east bank of the Ouachita River with West Monroe and our Cypress Street showroom directly across the bridge. Donnie Grubbs plans around those specifics from the first visit.
Donnie Grubbs has built screened porches and screen rooms in Monroe, LA since 1976, with its own crews rather than subcontractors, from the showroom at 402 Cypress Street in West Monroe. Screening in an existing porch or patio cover typically costs $2,000 to $5,000, or $10 to $25 per square foot, per HomeGuide's 2026 screened porch guide; a new screen room with a Structall insulated roof runs $10,000 to $35,000, and a 12 by 16 room lands near $10,000 to $24,000. Monroe's housing stock has a median year built of 1971 per Census ACS estimates, so many jobs start from an older slab porch with a thin metal roof that traps heat, and the insulated panel roof is what makes the room usable through the roughly 91 days a year that NOAA normals put at or above 90 degrees. Aluminum framing, a kickplate, a self closing door and wiring for a fan are standard. Estimates are free.
Local, licensed and insured, and proud to do the work ourselves. Tell us about your project and we will give you a clear written estimate at no cost.
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