Hiring a Sunroom Contractor – What You Need to Know
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sunroom is normally an ideal addition to any housing property, regardless of the locale. Having it allows you to enjoy the lush scenery of your backyard (and beyond!) without actually going out of your house! You’ll enjoy the natural light and see the sky whenever you step into the space. You could evade the heat, the cold, and the insects – imagine that! The sunroom would also be a versatile space that you can use for a variety of purposes – you can turn it into your personal reading nook, into an entertaining area for friends and visitors, you can even put a jacuzzi or a hot tub and lounge in it while enjoying the greenery. Whatever your reason for putting up a sunroom, it sure would be as special a place in your house.
A sunroom is a possible DIY project, but you can always hire professionals who can do it for you and not worry about gathering materials, watching youtube videos, and spending the time. A contractor would be able to foresee possible problems and would be more equipped and experienced to address them properly. In fact, you can ask them how to build a sunroom and they’ll gladly incorporate your thoughts into the design easily. You would only have to sound off on what you need done, and they’ll get things done for you. They’ll probably save you on costs, too.
Pros and Cons of Having a Sunroom
As we have mentioned, sunrooms are a great addition to any property as they provide you the convenience of enjoying the outdoors without being actually outdoors. Here are some of the advantages that we believe would be among the many considerations that you can think of why you should put a sunroom in your houses:
Additional Space. It’s quite obvious that getting a sunroom added to your house would result in additional floor area that you can use for a variety of purposes. There’s a lot of possible uses for a sunroom, and you can always change the layout any time you wish. What’s important is there’s a lot more square footage that you can tap into to suit your particular needs.
Bring the outdoors inside. Without even stepping outside, when you have a sunroom, you can enjoy the view and the sun easily. Imagine having that additional feature for your house. We’re sure that you’ll like it.
A venue for your creativity. While you can just as easily leave a sunroom like it is, you would also have to be able to decorate the space to suit your particular tastes. You can put up drapes, move furniture into the space, make room for potted plants, the possibilities for redecorating the space are endless. We’re pretty sure you’ll find a way to express your creative side.
CONS?
While there are advantages, we cannot underscore that there would also be some disadvantages to having a sunroom. Here are some of the more obvious disadvantages that we can think of:
Lack of privacy. We all know that every person wants and needs privacy. Having a sunroom, since it is mostly made of glass, may be a violation of privacy for some. However, it can easily be turned into an opportunity to decorate with drapes, curtains or blinds – you could easily retract them to provide you the view without feeling you’re being viewed as well.- Possible higher property taxes. In some areas, property taxes are based on the square footage of your houses. An additional sunroom definitely increases the area of your house, so it would mean higher dues. We, however, believe that it is a necessary expense that you can bear because of the benefits you’ll surely enjoy.
- Higher utility expenses. The cost of cooling down or heating a bigger space (depending on the season, of course) would invariably get higher because of the bigger footage. But as we see it, it would be another necessary add to your bill because of all the benefits you’re going to get out of the sunroom.
- An insurance adjustment may be needed. If you’ve got your house insured, chances are you’ll have to have an adjustment because of the increased area. The company would probably ask you for a little bit more premium because of the increased area. But as you guessed it, we believe that the pros would definitely outweigh the costs.
What are the types of sunrooms?
There are several types of sunrooms based on the design and materials that you would use to build them. Each type provides a certain kind of charm, so try to choose the one which would fit the overall aesthetics of your property.
Three-season sunroom
A three-season sunroom is supposed to be occupied during the spring, summer and fall. There is little to no insulation and ventilation can be had with the use of fans or portable air conditioning units. They are usually made of lightweight materials that would let the sunlight in and keep rainfall out. They also would normally have a sturdier door to keep the cold air from transferring to the main part of the house.
Four-season sunroom
Four-season sunrooms are just exactly as the names suggest – they can be used year-round. These sunrooms are thermally insulated and properly heated and cooled depending on the locale. They are usually made with energy-efficient glass and because of the better insulation, they can accommodate the HVAC system inside your house. Homeowners usually add a French door as part of the aesthetic.
Gable sunroom
The difference with having a gable sunroom from the previously mentioned sunroom designs is that when you opt for it, you would have the option to use screen walls instead of glass. This feature would allow for better outside ventilation to come in. The drawback of course, is that this wouldn’t be advisable for locales which have intense winters. A gable sunroom also boasts of a cathedral ceiling as the roofing structure is supported by a central beam.
Shed or studio-style sunroom
If you opt for a roof that slopes away from the house, then you can choose a studio-style sunroom. Similar to a gable sunroom, if you’ve got mild winters, you can choose screen walls instead of windows. The air from the outside would provide occasional natural ventilation but you can obviously hook up a fan system to cool yourself.
Conservatory
If you prefer a more traditional looking sunroom, then you might prefer a conservatory. This structure boasts of a lean frame with glazed glass walls and a polycarbonate roof – which is great because you would be able to enjoy natural lighting most of the time. You can also incorporate the existing property aesthetic with the knee-high walls.
Solarium
A solarium looks similar to a conservatory as it also has a polycarbonate roof and glazed glass walls segmented by either wood or aluminum beams. They have a gable or single slope roof design and the wall and roof are incorporated with a continuous slope design.
Cost of Constructing a Sunroom
So, how much would it set you back if you want to add a sunroom for your house? We give you an idea with regards to the budget. Again, we recommend hiring the services of a reputable contractor as they would not only know how to build a sunroom but would also be able to help with the documentary requirements you would need to get the job started.
Acquiring a building permit would set you back between $400 to $1800 depending on your location. If you want to change it and not get a building permit, you’re risking the insurance company denying a claim should something happen to it. Allocate somewhere between four and eight weeks for the application process to go through.
If you want to build a sunroom but you don’t have any foundation yet, expect to shell out from $500 to $5000 to get things done. The cost of a sunroom would depend on the dimensions you have in mind but you would have to budget anywhere from $50 to $75 per square foot. Factor in the cost of insulation, which would cost you anywhere from $1 to $1.30 per square foot. You would also have to consider the costs of the roof structure ($3000 for low-end structures - $8000 for high-end structures) and interior finishing to make your sunroom fully functional.