Adding a Sunroom to Your Home

If you’re looking to add space and value to your home, but are on a tight budget, then a sunroom is likely the best option. Just imagine enjoying the beauty of the outdoors without full exposure to bugs and the elements. HA Construction has optimal experience with sunroom additions and can help you to create a space that is all your own.

The Planning Process
While HA Construction can help you plan every last detail of your sunroom addition, there are a few things you should probably think about in advance. First of all, you need to have a budget in mind. The cost depends on several factors, including where you put the sunroom, how big it will be, the design you want, the type of glass used and extras you may desire. Typically, sunrooms cost anywhere from $5,000 to $15,000.

Once you’ve established your budget, consider the following to help determine the design you’re looking for:

• Do you prefer screens (used only from spring to fall) or windows (for all year use)?
• If you do windows, do you want them to open with screens or to be solid, stationary glass?
• Would you like to have ceiling fans installed?
• How about a skylight or two?
• Is security an issue?
• Do you want to install French doors or a slider?
• Do you prefer floor to ceiling windows/screens or knee-walls (a wall from floor to the bottom windowsill)?

As you consider where you would like to put your sunroom, keep in mind that it can easily be built on an existing deck or on concrete slabs (such as an existing patio or porch). There are other options that you will discuss with HA Construction during the initial consultation and throughout the building process; however, a general idea of the design and layout you’re looking for is nice to have in advance.

Types of Sunrooms
There are a few types of sunroom designs available for your consideration:

• Seasonal Sunrooms have single-pane windows with screens and are tempered by natural weather conditions (i.e. no heat/air-conditioning), which means they are used from spring to fall in most locations.
• Solariums (Conservatories) provide a panoramic view of your outdoor surroundings, usually with nothing but windows or a full composite roof. This style is best with heating/air-conditioning installed for year round use.
• Screened or Patio Rooms are used from spring to fall. All of the walls are made with mesh screens, allowing you to enjoy the outdoors without having to deal with insects.

The Materials
HA Construction can build a sunroom with materials that match the rest of your home’s exterior, providing the appearance that the sunroom was built with the rest of the home, rather than as an addition. This adds square footage to your home and usable value.

Sunroom companies (or even the DIY sunroom kits) often install aluminum products combined with composite or fiberglass materials, and the end result looks nothing like your home. These low grade materials are often marked up so high that a sunroom company will offer to install the room for free. The end result can actually detract value from your property in the future.

One reason why many people opt to do a sunroom rather than a home addition is because of the expensive of a roof. However, HA Construction recommends building a roof on your sunroom that matches the style and materials of the roof on the rest of your home. It is a bit more expensive than a flat roof or a roof of windows, but it will last much longer and will, again, look as though it was an original part of the house (and add value).

Options for the Future
As you plan your sunroom, keep the future in mind; HA Construction likes to leave all options open for progressive building. If your ultimate goal is to put on a full addition to your home, but your current budget won’t allow that, then HA Construction can build your sunroom ready for future renovations. For example, you may want to run heat and air-conditioning to the sunroom down the road. In that case, HA Construction can build a knee-wall so that you can easily add vents and outlets later.

Should you choose to build your sunroom on a concrete slab, have HA Construction pour the slab with an 18 inch footing (foundation). That way, it is already on par with building codes for future conversion to a year-round livable space.

Sunrooms are a great way to expand your home and enjoy more of what nature has to offer, without the full-blown expense of adding on. HA Construction can help you to envision your dream space and make it happen.