Sunroom home renovations are a cost-effective way to increase your family’s living space, the value of your home, and its curb appeal. If you are planning to add a sunroom to your home, here are some practical tips to help you achieve a successful home improvement you’ll be able to enjoy for years to come.
Select a type of sunroom suited to your lifestyle.
Types of sunrooms include:
- Four-season
- Three-season
- Screen rooms
- Solariums
- Conservatories
Select a type of sunroom suited to your lifestyle. If you’re constantly busy trying to keep on top of your home maintenance list, choose a sunroom that doesn’t have a glass roof (higher maintenance).
If you want to add another “living room” too your home that has lots of natural light, select a four-season sunroom you can use all-year round.
Do you entertain often? Consider building a conservatory, a unique space for hosting celebrations. Choose a solarium if you love gardening – it will be the perfect place to showcase special plants and enjoy your garden when the weather isn’t cooperating.
Outline each stage of the project and estimate the costs.
Sunrooms can be added to a patio or deck as an enclosure (three-season, screen room) or built from the ground up as a new addition (solarium, conservatory). Three-season and four-season rooms can also be constructed as a new-build.
Costs can start in the mid-thousands and go higher. Depending on the type of sunroom, size, its construction, and complexity, sunrooms range from $10,000 to $80,000 for a three or four-season renovation; solariums cost anywhere from $35 000 to $75,000; and conservatories will cost between $50,000 000 and $150,000. The total costs of a sunroom renovation are impacted by size, location, features (sliding doors, ceiling fans, radiant floors), materials, and labour.
Create your budget by dividing it into stages – foundation, frame, roof, windows, doors. Factor in the cost of permits, and the price of additional services such as landscaping, then add 30% of the estimated total for overruns and delays.
Choose a location.
When deciding where to add your sunroom, consider how you want to use the room, the amount of privacy you need, or if you want the focus to be on a specific outdoor view. Sunrooms can be placed at the front of the house, in the backyard, or at the side.
Factors to consider choosing a location for your sunroom or conservatory include:
- Accessibility
- Size
- Lots of natural light, but won’t become too hot during the day
- How light will move through the room throughout the seasons
- South-facing rooms receive the most light in the day
- Traffic flow when adding doors
- Can’t be built over a septic tank or interfere with other types of drainage systems
When to add gutters.
Whether you’re enclosing a patio or deck or building a sunroom as an addition to the house, gutters and downspouts are necessary in protecting the it from moisture issues and the foundation from water damage. Add gutters to the roof of the sunroom when:
- Runoff is being directed toward the foundation
- Water pools near exterior walls of the sunroom
- There is evidence of soil erosion
- The appearance of wood rot on siding near the sunroom
A well-installed gutter system contributes to the overall functionality and aesthetics of the sunroom.
Are you thinking about DIYing your sunroom?
It might be tempting to take on the challenge of a sunroom addition – more budget-friendly; work at your own pace; a sense of real accomplishment. But before you decide to DIY, some things to consider include:
- Kits are pre-fabricated, intended as enclosures to a patio or deck – come with frames, doors, roof, glass, and screens
- If the sunroom won’t be installed over an existing patio, you will need to pour or build a foundation
- Customization is limited
- You will still need applicable permits since a sunroom kit is a new construction or an addition to your home
When you hire a contractor, everything is included – materials, schedule, labour, permits, etc. Hiring a professional ensures your sunroom, conservatory, or solarium is installed correctly and is constructed with quality materials.
