Connect With The Outdoors
The addition of a sunroom, also commonly referred to as a solarium, patio enclosure, or enclosed patio, is a great way to enjoy the outdoors without actually being directly in them. A sunroom gives you the feel of being outside with its expansive windows and and filtering in sunlight. The benefit is that you don't have to fight the elements and insects! You are provided an outdoor experience minus all of the hassle! A sunroom is also a great way to enjoy the outdoors even in the winter months. Sunrooms add light to a home and are a superior asset you will come to love and enjoy within your home. In addition, sunrooms are a wonderful way to add extra living space to a home. If you are considering a sunroom addition there are a few tips and key factors you should know before you begin the process.
First of all, know that sunrooms are multi-functional rooms that can be transformed into more then just a lounge area. They can serve as a dining area, family room, home gym, home office, entertaining area, and much more! The uses are endless! Keep in mind that when designing the sunroom, for whatever purpose it may serve, it needs to blend in nicely with the rest of the home, on both the inside and out. Coordinate colors, style, trim, and flooring with the rest of the home's interior. You should also make sure that the addition melds with the home's already existing structure. To begin the process of a sunroom addition you need to first consider what features of a sunroom best suit your home and the desired function. There are various options when it comes to the specific type of sunroom addition to add to your home.
A traditional sunroom, solarium, or conservatory, is a glassed in living space. It is an addition that is attached directly onto the home and is accessible and often times even opens up to the rest of the home's interior. Traditional sunrooms are convenient additional living space areas during mild weather months. They are most often used and function best in the spring and fall. In the summer the room may become too hot and in the winter too cold for comfortable usage.
An advanced version of the traditional sunroom is a four season room. The four season room is very similar to the standard sunroom, the only difference being that is an ideal living space year round versus just two seasons. Four season rooms are designed to be both heated and cooled so it can function in the winter and summer as well.
An attached greenhouse is another sunroom addition option. The basic structure and shell of the greenhouse are the same as a traditional sunroom. The difference is that the room is designed for plants not humans. The light, temperature, and humidity levels are geared to the growth and nourishment of plants and their comfortable needs versus that of humans. A reading area or lounge can still be included in the greenhouse but the times in which it can be used will highly depend on the weather and outside temperatures.
Screen rooms are another very popular type of sunroom addition. The walls in a screened room are constructed of mesh versus glass such as in a regular sunroom. A screen room is a great way to offer fresh air into the home. One downfall is that a screen room is only habitable during good weather. Screen rooms are cheaper to build and are a sensible solution for those looking for a sunroom addition on a smaller budget.
Now that you have decided on the exact type of sunroom that is suitable to your home and needs you must consider the right placement of the room. Determining the location of the sunroom is a critical step in getting the most out of your addition. Exposure to different levels of the sun determine the function and exact use you will have with your new sunroom addition.
A sunroom with southern exposure receives the most light each day. Although this southern exposure is great during cooler months due to all of the warmth from sunlight, it can become very costly to cool. A southernly exposed sunroom will quickly become a very warm and expensive room.
A solution to an overly sun exposed sunroom is to situate your room facing east. This eastern exposure eases cooling needs within the sunroom. An east facing sunroom provides sun in the morning and then shade the rest of the day.
Western exposed sunrooms are not an ideal option. They have no direct sunlight in the morning when the temperatures are cooler and then are faced with very harsh afternoon sun that quickly makes the sunroom hot. When choosing the locale for a sunroom addition avoid a western facing room.
A northern exposed sunroom offers much lower levels of direct sunlight. There is mostly shade in a northern facing sunroom. This is not a good option for sunroom additions, especially in northern climates because this tends to make the room very cool and damp. You will however have low cooling costs, but your heating costs will be high and your sunroom will not be very bright and welcoming.
Another factor that needs to be considered when planning your sunroom addition are the structural material elements. There are a few different options to choose from and pick when it comes to building a sunroom.
Vinyl is the most popular material used for the supports in a sunroom. Vinyl is the least expensive material option and requires very minimal upkeep. Not only are vinyl supports cheaper, but they provide the best overall strength and insulation making them a very wise choice. Vinyl supports are multi-walled and have an internal reinforcement of either galvanized steel or aluminum.
Aluminum is another structural option, although not the best selection, for sunrooms. Aluminum doesn't insulate as well as vinyl does. And, although aluminum is less efficient it is actually a more expensive material to use. Instead of using aluminum to build supports within a sunroom, many rooms with vinyl coated vertical supports use aluminum roof structure for added strength.
Wood is another possible material selection for sunrooms. Wood is the most expensive option for building materials in sunrooms. Wood tends to be a better choice for screen porches or screen rooms. This is due in fact that the mesh of the screen can be directly attached into the timber. Wood requires periodic maintenance and can become a hassle to a home owner.
There are also roofing and wall options to choose from when building a sunroom.This may seem like a simple task but there is actually a lot of consideration that goes into the roofing and walls of a sunroom.
A traditional sunroom is walled with glass and roofed with either glass or polycarbonate. A glass roof is significantly more expensive then a polycarbonate roof but it provides much more clarity. When choosing the glass or polycarbonate for your sunroom be sure to factor in the U value. The U value is the rating on how much heat will pass through the glass. The lower the number the less heat that passes through. Also, always remember that all glass walls should be silicone double sealed, A rated, and tempered safety glass.
Double glazed glass is a durable option for glass. It provides great insulation and has a glare reduction. The U value sits at about 2 to 2.5. The glazing options come in clear, solar bronze, or opal.
Double glazed glass with low emmissive coating (Low E) is another option. This is the same as the plain double glazed glass except that applying a Low E helps glass reflect heat and UV rays. In turn this knocks down the U value to about a 1.7 versus the 2.5 rating of the standard double glazed glass.
Double glazed glass with an argon filling and a Low E coating is also like the standard double glazed glass except that it reduces the U value even further. Argon, which is an inert gas, is added to the glass and brings down the U value to about a 1.48.
When it comes to polycarbonate options for the roof a 6 millimeter trim wall polycarbonate is the most popular glazing selection. The U value on this particular choice is about a 2.3.
Polycarbonate options of 20 millimeter and 25 millimeter trim wall polycarbonate make for a much stronger roof. These polycarbonates insulate better and are excellent choices to create and make a sunroom addition that is used in all four seasons. These options provide a low U value of about a 1.6.
The final building key factor to really look into and consider with your sunroom addition is the heating and cooling selections. Once you have decided the type of patio enclosure you are building, and the functions you wish the room to serve, you must then figure out exactly what heating and cooling options you will need,
One great upgrade in a sunroom is to add operative sky lights. These sky lights act as heat dumps when a room gets to warm. Since heat rises, by opening the skylights the warmth in a room with escape through the openings and help keep a sunroom from becoming too warm.
Another great option to consider is to intersperse prefab insulating roof panels among the glass roof panels. This helps keep the room insulated and save some energy on heating and cooling.
Some other simple options to help control the temperature in the sunroom is to construct the walls so that several of the windows open. Although the walls are made of glass panels you can choose options where some of the windows open. This allows for circulation of air to flow through the room. Also, the installation of ceiling fans aids the air circulation and helps keep the room cooler. Installing exterior roof shade tracks that hold rigid exterior screens allows you to control the levels of shade and direct sunlight that enter the sunroom. Be sure to choose window treatments that can be raised and lowered completely along troublesome walls. If the sun is too strong in the afternoon you can pull down the window treatment and prevent the sunroom from overheating. Window treatments also act as an added insulator during the cooler months. To help keep a sunroom warm in the winter consider adding a small gas wall heater or install radiant floor heating.
If more information on sunrooms or help designing and walking through your sunroom addition process contact a professional remodeling contractor like Alcoa Construction of Delaware!
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