Huntsville Screened Porches - Poolside Structures
Let us be straight about something, because it saves everyone time. The full screen cage over the entire pool, the kind you see across Florida and the Gulf coast, is rare in north Alabama and is usually not the right spend here. Our climate does not have the year-round pool season that justifies it, and the structure is expensive relative to how much of the year it earns its keep.
What does work here is a structure beside the water rather than over it: a screened cabana or pool house you can sit in without being bitten, or an open pavilion that gives shade over loungers and a table. That is what most Huntsville and Madison pool owners actually want when they call us, and it costs a fraction of a full cage.
What We Build Poolside
Screened Cabana
A small screened room set beside the pool. Somewhere to eat, sit out of the sun, and escape insects without going back indoors dripping.
Open Pavilion
Roof and posts, no walls. Maximum airflow and shade over seating. The most popular poolside structure we build here.
Screened Pool House
Larger, often with a changing area or storage for pool equipment and furniture. Fully screened.
Attached Screened Porch
Where the pool sits close to the house, screening the back porch often beats a separate structure on both cost and use.
Why Screening Beside the Pool Works Here
Madison County's tree canopy drops leaves, seeds and pollen from late September into May, and a poolside structure gives you a clean, covered place to sit that a bare deck does not. On insects, the specification detail that matters locally: the dominant residential mosquito here is the Asian tiger mosquito, which bites in daylight rather than only at dusk. A screened cabana is therefore useful at two in the afternoon, not just in the evening, which is the opposite of what most people assume when they picture a bug problem.
A Note on Safety and Screens
A screen enclosure or a cabana is not a pool safety barrier. Alabama and local codes have specific requirements for fencing and barriers around pools, and screen does not satisfy them. Anyone who tells you a screen structure replaces your pool fence is wrong, and we will not design one on that basis. Confirm barrier requirements with your permit office before planning any poolside build.
Poolside Structure Costs in Huntsville
An open pavilion over a seating area typically runs $9,000 to $18,000 depending on size, roof style and columns. A screened cabana runs $12,000 to $25,000. A full screen cage over a 15x30 pool, if you genuinely want one, runs $14,000 to $22,000 and we will build it, though we will usually show you the cabana option first. All poolside structures need a building permit and must meet setback rules. Request a free in-home estimate and we will measure, review your HOA rules and give you a fixed written price.
Permits and Licensing in North Alabama
Which office you deal with depends on where you live, and there is no single North Alabama answer. The City of Huntsville, the City of Madison, the Town of Owens Cross Roads and unincorporated Madison County each run their own review and inspection schedule, and Huntsville takes submissions through ePlans. If the property sits in a FEMA flood hazard area, a flood development permit is issued before any other permit, which catches out homeowners near the Flint River, Aldridge Creek and Big Cove. We handle the filing.
Worth knowing before you sign with anyone, us included: Alabama's Home Builders Licensure Board requires a licence once the cost of the work, labour and materials combined, exceeds $10,000. The statute covers remodelling and repair, not just new houses, so plenty of porch work sits right on that line. Check any builder's licence on the Alabama Home Builders Licensure Board site before you pay a deposit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I screen over the whole pool or build a cabana?
In north Alabama, a cabana or pavilion beside the pool is usually the better value, because our pool season does not run long enough to justify the cost of a full cage. If you are set on a full enclosure we will price it honestly, but we will show you both.
Does a screen enclosure count as a pool fence?
No. Screen is not a safety barrier and does not meet barrier requirements. Keep your fence and confirm the rules with your permit office.
Will a poolside structure cut my chemical costs?
Only a structure over the water reduces debris going in, and that is the argument for a full cage. A cabana beside the pool improves how usable the space is, not how clean the water is. We would rather tell you that than sell you a cabana on a chemical-savings promise it cannot keep.
Can you build over an existing concrete pool deck?
Usually yes, but the deck has to be checked for thickness and condition first, since posts put point loads through it. Sometimes footings need cutting in.
What about wind?
Roofed structures beside a pool take real uplift in a north Alabama storm, so post anchoring and rafter connections are engineered rather than eyeballed. This is one of the places where a permit and inspection genuinely earn their fee.
Related Services
Where the pool is close to the house, compare screened porch installation. For pure shade with no screens see pergolas, pavilions and gazebos, or patio covers for a solid roof. We serve Huntsville, Madison, Decatur and Athens.