Once you've decided that you'd like to add a sunroom to your home, and ascertained that you can do so as far as the zoning laws of your community are concerned, you'll have to decide if you want to build the sunroom yourself, or if you'll hire a contractor to do it.
Many companies provide do-it-yourself sunroom kits. They have a number of standard sizes and types already pre-built in modular fashion. These do-it-yourself kits are the most inexpensive option of sunroom, because they are mass-produced. The manufacturers are th us able to pass along the savings to their customers.
Just because the kit is mass-produced, it doesn't mean that you won't be able to alter it in any way, although of course making customized requests on certain material will increase the overall price of the sunroom.
Before you purchase your sunroom kit, you'll have to ask the manufacturers a few questions, and provide them with as much information, so that you might get as accurate a quote as possible . You'll want to compare quotes before you decide on which kit to order.
Conducting proper measurements is perhaps the most important process preparatory to ordering your sunroom. If you give the contractors the wrong dimensions, and thus get the wrong material, and put it up and then find that it's not right, it is you who will be out of pocket. So always follow the old adage: measure twice to cut once.
What materials will you want for the frame? A variety of qualities will be available, from the good to the best. Considering how important an investment your home is, chances are you'll want only the best, but if you have to work within a budget there are issues to consider.
What type of windows do you desire? If you're going with an unusual roof - such as the cathedral style or split-level California style, the cost of at least a few of the windows will be that much more than the majority of them. Do you want to be able to open any of these windows, and if so, how many? That also will affect the price.
Apart from the window frame - wood, aluminum or vinyl, the type of glass is important also. Glass comes in all sorts of qualities and glazes, to ensure that just enough light enters the room but not too much, that warm air is allowed in and cold air kept out, and so on. If a high wind has a tendency to blow around the corner of your house you don't want windows that are going to rattle all the time. If it rains a great deal, or even if it rains at all, you don't want windows that will allow leaks around the frame. You'll want windows designed securely so that someone with a screwdriver can't come along and pry them out of the frame.
Sunroom manufacturers will be more than happy to answer your questions on the best materials for your particular sunroom - but it's always a good idea to talk with two or three manufacturers so you can compare the vast range of information given.
Another helpful tool are the websites of these manufacturers. Quite often they'll have the lists of specifications for their glass and their frames, and even design pages to show you what can be done.
Finally, the end result, the kit based on the design you created, will be shipped to your home. The plans needed to built the room, complete with your customizations, will include as well.
Do It Yourself Dangers
Have you ever purchased an intricate model of a ship or a car, intent on building it yourself. Have you worked on the project for all of an hour before deciding that the level of work needed - the care, the precision, the attention to detail - is simply not you?
Believe it or not, many people with no experience in building anything of any kind, believe that they will be able to build their sunroom addition with no problems, and simply with the help of a few friends. Well, if you're a great one for attention to detail, this is perhaps true.
But think about this carefully before you begin the process. You are adding on a room that is costing you a minimum of ten thousand dollars, it's going to affect the tax value of your home, it's going to affect the re-sale value. Do you really have the skill to know that the foundation has been properly poured and will withstand the weight of the new structure? Do you have the skill to ensure that all wiring is done up to code? Do you have the tools necessary to do the job in a professional manner? Perhaps most importantly, if something happens and you or one of your friends get hurt on the job, do you have insurance to cover it?
Many companies provide do-it-yourself sunroom kits. They have a number of standard sizes and types already pre-built in modular fashion. These do-it-yourself kits are the most inexpensive option of sunroom, because they are mass-produced. The manufacturers are th us able to pass along the savings to their customers.
Just because the kit is mass-produced, it doesn't mean that you won't be able to alter it in any way, although of course making customized requests on certain material will increase the overall price of the sunroom.
Before you purchase your sunroom kit, you'll have to ask the manufacturers a few questions, and provide them with as much information, so that you might get as accurate a quote as possible . You'll want to compare quotes before you decide on which kit to order.
Conducting proper measurements is perhaps the most important process preparatory to ordering your sunroom. If you give the contractors the wrong dimensions, and thus get the wrong material, and put it up and then find that it's not right, it is you who will be out of pocket. So always follow the old adage: measure twice to cut once.
What materials will you want for the frame? A variety of qualities will be available, from the good to the best. Considering how important an investment your home is, chances are you'll want only the best, but if you have to work within a budget there are issues to consider.
What type of windows do you desire? If you're going with an unusual roof - such as the cathedral style or split-level California style, the cost of at least a few of the windows will be that much more than the majority of them. Do you want to be able to open any of these windows, and if so, how many? That also will affect the price.
Apart from the window frame - wood, aluminum or vinyl, the type of glass is important also. Glass comes in all sorts of qualities and glazes, to ensure that just enough light enters the room but not too much, that warm air is allowed in and cold air kept out, and so on. If a high wind has a tendency to blow around the corner of your house you don't want windows that are going to rattle all the time. If it rains a great deal, or even if it rains at all, you don't want windows that will allow leaks around the frame. You'll want windows designed securely so that someone with a screwdriver can't come along and pry them out of the frame.
Sunroom manufacturers will be more than happy to answer your questions on the best materials for your particular sunroom - but it's always a good idea to talk with two or three manufacturers so you can compare the vast range of information given.
Another helpful tool are the websites of these manufacturers. Quite often they'll have the lists of specifications for their glass and their frames, and even design pages to show you what can be done.
Finally, the end result, the kit based on the design you created, will be shipped to your home. The plans needed to built the room, complete with your customizations, will include as well.
Do It Yourself Dangers
Have you ever purchased an intricate model of a ship or a car, intent on building it yourself. Have you worked on the project for all of an hour before deciding that the level of work needed - the care, the precision, the attention to detail - is simply not you?
Believe it or not, many people with no experience in building anything of any kind, believe that they will be able to build their sunroom addition with no problems, and simply with the help of a few friends. Well, if you're a great one for attention to detail, this is perhaps true.
But think about this carefully before you begin the process. You are adding on a room that is costing you a minimum of ten thousand dollars, it's going to affect the tax value of your home, it's going to affect the re-sale value. Do you really have the skill to know that the foundation has been properly poured and will withstand the weight of the new structure? Do you have the skill to ensure that all wiring is done up to code? Do you have the tools necessary to do the job in a professional manner? Perhaps most importantly, if something happens and you or one of your friends get hurt on the job, do you have insurance to cover it?
