Glass Sunroom Additions and Solariums
A Sunroom Addition or Solarium is a Great Way
to Brighten Up those Cold Winter Days
By: Mark J. Donovan
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Glass sunroom additions and solariums
are a great way to enjoy more of the outdoors without necessarily having to
stand in it. It is like being outside but not having to worry about the
mosquitoes or cold, depending upon the season. Glass sunroom additions add light
and allow you to you enjoy your home more, particularly during the winter
months. A sunroom addition, or solarium, also provides more living space in
your home, and frequently it becomes one of the most popular rooms in the home. |
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Glass Sunroom addition and solariums
also provide an excellent return on investment. Today’s prospective
homebuyers look for homes that are bright and cheery, and have that outdoors
feeling without the side effects of insects and extreme temperatures.
When planning a glass sunroom
addition or solarium make sure you carefully consider the location and
position of it. In many cases people prefer to add a sunroom addition or
solarium off of a kitchen or family room area for maximum utilization. |
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In many cases, homeowners actually
use sunroom additions or solariums as their kitchen dining area, family room,
and home gym space.
Ideally a sunroom addition should be
facing a south / southwest exposure to maximize sunlight exposure in the
afternoon and evenings, particularly if it is to be located off of a family
room. If your sunroom addition is to be located off of your kitchen then you may
want to have it facing south / southeast to take advantage of the morning light. |
When building a four season sunroom
addition or solarium it is important to consider how you will use it. Depending
upon its intended use there are different features that you may want to consider
in it.
Sunroom Addition
Construction
When building a sunroom addition or
solarium it is important that its design blend well into the existing home. The
addition should meld into the existing home’s structure as if it was designed
and built during the home’s original construction. You may want to enlist the
services of a home addition architect to help with this process.
Besides the use of glass doors and
windows, as well as skylights, sunroom additions and solariums frequently
include ceramic tile floors to help absorb the sun’s rays.
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Photo by Les Donovan |
The roof pitch and its position
towards the sun’s track are also important considerations. For example, if you
live in a northern climate the roof pitch needs to be steep enough so that snow
can quickly melt off of it. Likewise, there is no point of having a sunroom
addition or solarium if the roof surface is facing the north.
Hiring a Solarium
or Sunroom Addition Contractor
Once you have a set of sunroom
addition plans, you can then begin the process of finding a contractor to build
it. Selecting a qualified and professional sunroom addition contractor can be
challenging. It is important to find the right one for your sunroom addition
project to ensure that it is built correctly and to your budget and timeline.
One great way to locate a qualified
sunroom addition contractor is to use a national home building contractor
referral company. They have
pre-screened and qualified home addition contractors all around the country
and maintain their names and contact information in a database. In addition,
their services are free to the homeowner. The homeowner simply fills out a free
online form for their specific home addition requirements and they will forward
the information on to 3 or 4 sunroom addition contractors in your area. The
contractors will then contact you to set up a time to meet with you and review
your sunroom addition or solarium plans.
Obtaining Solarium
or Sunroom Addition Contractor Price Quotes
When obtaining sunroom addition price
quotes from contractors it is important to make sure that they provide you with
a complete sunroom addition cost breakdown list of every phase of the project.
The more detail in the sunroom addition cost breakdown list, or bid sheet, the
more likely of an accurate sunroom addition cost proposal.
To help in obtaining accurate and
consistent sunroom addition contractor quotes, see my Room Addition Bid Sheet.
The Room Addition Bid Sheet provides a request for quote section that you can
provide to prospective building contractors. It also includes a comprehensive
room addition cost breakdown table, in Microsoft Excel format, that allows the
contractor to include his projected room addition costs for every phase of the
project.
| When interviewing potential sunroom
addition contractors make sure you check their references. Usually a good litmus
test for evaluating a home building contractor is to see how long the reference
list is. The longer this list is, the higher the likelihood that he has a solid
reputation. A long reference list also helps to get a feel for how long the
contractor has been in business and his level of pride in his work.
Regardless of the length of the reference list, it is still important to
contact at least 3 or 4 of the references.
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Photo by Les Donovan |
Contact a couple of more recent
projects completed by the contractor and a couple 2-5 years out in the past. This way you can see how he has been
trending with his work, as well as to see how his work holds the test of time.
Finally, it is also important to note
that glass sunroom addition construction costs are typically higher than building a
new home. The reason for this is that a room addition requires additional effort
to tie it into the home. In addition, a new home construction project offers
economies of scale. With a sunroom addition, you may be adding only a few
hundred square feet of area, whereas with a new home construction project you
may be building 2,000 to 4,000 square feet of living area. In addition, windows
are expensive and will represent a significant cost in the construction of your
sunroom addition.
A glass sunroom addition or solarium is a
great addition to any home and is well worth the investment. Just make sure you
plan accordingly before breaking ground. By doing so you will increase your
chances of a successful sunroom addition. Good luck with your sunroom addition
project!
For more help on building a glass sunroom addition, see HomeAdditionPlus.com's
Room
Addition Bid Sheet.
The
Room Addition Bid Sheet
provides you with the knowledge and information on how to plan a room addition
project, and what to look for when hiring contractors. It also includes a
detailed cost breakdown table and a spreadsheet for estimating your own new
solarium or glass sunroom addition building costs.
How to Finance your Glass Sunroom Addition Project -
can help provide funds for your new home improvement project if financing is
required.
Related Building Home Addition Articles
Additional Solarium and Glass Sunroom Addition Resources from Amazon.com
Free Glass Sunroom Addition
and Solarium
Price Quotes with No Obligation!
Fill out our 3-5 minute quick and easy form, and receive a free price quote
on a solarium or sunroom addition from one of our prescreened and licensed home addition
contractors. This process is free and there is no obligation to continue once
you receive your sunroom addition estimate.
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