A custom Craft-Bilt vinyl-film stacking window system designed to frame breathtaking Asheville mountain views from a new-build third-story porch in Transylvania County.
A new build in the Mills River area of Horse Shoe, NC presented a rare opportunity. The home featured a third-story rear porch with sweeping views of the Asheville mountain ridgeline, and the builder's client wanted a space that would let them soak in every bit of that scenery.
The challenge was straightforward but important. An open porch at that elevation is exposed to the wind, spring pollen, summer humidity, and the unpredictable afternoon rain showers that roll through Transylvania County. Leaving the porch fully open meant giving up comfortable time outdoors for a large portion of the year. The solution needed to protect the space without boxing in those jaw-dropping views.
Valverax was brought in by the builder to design and install a 3-season vinyl film porch enclosure that would solve that exact problem. The system needed to keep bugs, rain, and seasonal pollen out while preserving the wide-open feeling that made this porch worth building in the first place.
The design philosophy behind this 3-season vinyl film porch enclosure in Mills River was simple. Every element of the system should open up to the view, not compete with it.
We installed the Craft-Bilt Aluminum Wall System with an integrated tempered glass knee-wall running along the base of the porch railing area. The glass knee-wall keeps the lower portion of the view completely unobstructed. Instead of a solid wall or opaque rail, the homeowner looks right through to the mountains below.
Above the knee-wall, we installed Craft-Bilt vinyl-film stacking porch windows. These panels use a flexible clear vinyl-film that rolls or stacks up and out of the way when you want full open-air access. When closed, the vinyl-film panels seal out rain, block pollen, and keep insects outside, without the visual bulk of a traditional window frame arrangement. On a spring day in Transylvania County when the pollen is heavy and the breezes are gusty, the panels can be dropped in minutes to close off the space completely.
We also carried that same design approach to the very top of the porch wall, above the operable stacking panels and over the header. Rather than leaving that upper band as a solid framed section, we added matching fixed glass lite panels. The result is a full floor-to-ceiling wall of transparency. From the inside looking out, the view stretches from the ridge at the top of the frame all the way down through the knee-wall below. There is virtually nothing between the occupant and the mountain scenery.
The Craft-Bilt aluminum frame system ties everything together with a clean, low-profile structure. The narrow aluminum members between panels mean less interruption to the sightlines, which was the top priority for both the builder and their client.
Craft-Bilt stacking vinyl-film windows roll up neatly when the weather is perfect. The porch feels fully open on clear days and fully protected when conditions change.
The tempered glass knee-wall runs along the base of the system so the view starts at your feet. There is no solid wall hiding the mountain slopes below the windowsill.
Adding matching fixed glass panels above the operable stacking windows carries the view all the way to the roofline. The full porch wall becomes transparent from top to bottom.
When the vinyl-film panels are closed, rain, wind, bugs, and seasonal pollen are kept outside. Residents of Horse Shoe and the broader Mills River area know how intense spring pollen season can be. This system handles it without sacrificing the view.
This video was filmed during the detailed measurement visit for this project, before installation began. It captures the porch structure, the surrounding ridgeline views, and the site conditions that shaped the enclosure design.
The builder's client now has exactly what they envisioned when they chose this lot in Transylvania County. The third-story porch delivers those Asheville mountain views through a wall of clear vinyl-film panels and glass that puts virtually nothing between the homeowner and the ridge.
During warmer months the stacking vinyl-film panels roll up and the porch breathes like a fully open deck. When the weather turns or the bugs come out in the evenings, the panels drop down in seconds and the space becomes a protected 3-season room. That transition is fast, effortless, and exactly what a mountain home porch should offer.
As the homeowner put it, they are now enjoying those views in an outdoor feel with the indoor comforts. That is the goal of every 3-season vinyl film porch enclosure we build, and this project in Horse Shoe delivers it at elevation with a view to match.
Completed August 2025 by Valverax LLC, serving Mills River, Horse Shoe, and all of Transylvania County NC.
Valverax installs 3-season vinyl film porch enclosures throughout Mills River, Horse Shoe, and Transylvania County NC. Let us design a system around your views, your space, and your lifestyle.