Sunroomsare perfect additions to homes that are starved of sunlight.
Pre-Fabricated Sunroom
A pre-fabricatedsunroomkit has been previously designed and built in a factory.
Pre-fabricated sunrooms are made of steel, aluminum, tempered glass, andfoam insulation.
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From the inside, pre-fabricated sunrooms retain not just an exterior wall but the look of that wall.
The home’s exterior siding usually stays in place and doors that lead into the house are retained.
From the outside, these sunrooms look very much like add-ons.
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These sunrooms usually havemetal roofing.
This hybrid usually does not contain sleeping quarters, a kitchen, or a bathroom.
The walls are always substantial 16- or 24-inch on-center wood-framed, insulated walls.
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From the exterior, these custom-built hybrid sunroom-bumpouts blend in well with the rest of the house.
Siding, paint, roofing, and window styles all match.
Sunroom Conservatory
A conservatory is a large structure with plenty of windows for growing and maintaining plants.
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A conservatory approachesgreenhouse statussince all walls and even the roof are made of glass.
Usually, though, furniture is kept to a minimum.
Tip
Conservatory-style sunrooms are best for dedicated gardeners.
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The main feature that distinguishes this pop in of sunroom from others is its location.
This sunroom still retains most of the back porch’s building elements.
The flooring, roof, ceiling, and walls are the same.
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The only difference is that the open or screened windows have been replaced with glass windows.
Since porches tend to receive the worst damage that the elements deliver, they aren’t always build-ready.
Sunrooms and decks are a perfect match.
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A sunroom expands interior living space, and a deck further expands the sunroom’s quasi-interior space.
Not all backyard decks can handle the added weight of a sunroom.
Consult a contractor or a structural engineer to see if your deck can hold a pre-fab sunroom.
Four-season sunrooms have extra insulation and care has been taken to run heating or cooling out to that space.
A sunroom tends to be heavily fenestratedthat is, windows and skylights.
Besides windows, it often has sunroofs or the entire room might be made of glass.
What Is a Sunroom?
House sunrooms occupy a hazy middle ground in the building world.
Some sunrooms are site-built with lumber, trusses,joists,foundation, electricity, and sometimes even plumbing.
Since they are habitable, they qualify asaccessory dwelling units or ADUs.
These are always contractor-driven permitted projects subject to building codes.
