How to Design a Sunroom

1. HOW TO CHOOSE A SUNROOM

When choosing a patio or sunroom for your Maryland home, you should consider the best choice to meet your needs and comfort. Your plans to use the room should determine your choice of materials and size. Choose a sunroom style that is both versatile and also matches the architecture of your home.

Quality is probably the most critical aspect to consider when choosing a sunroom. Ensure you find a contractor (or manufacturer) who can demonstrate that they will use quality materials to construct your project. Your sunroom is an extension of your biggest investment - your home - and you need to ensure it will provide many years of trouble free use.

2. COMMON USES FOR A SUN ROOM.

Sunrooms are the perfect way to use your deck without interference from the weather.

Some of the many additonal uses sunrooms can give you:

• Dining area
• Breakfast room
• TV / Music Room
• Family Room
• Game/Spa room
• Playroom for children, grandchildren
• Place to read, relax, retreat and nap
• Additional work space for home business
• Entertanment area for special occasions, birthday parties or holidays

3. PICK YOUR SIZE AND SUN ROOM LOCATION

Think first about how you will use your new sunroom. After that, decide on the best location. With those two in mind, decide on a size that will best fit your needs. Developing an overall budget may you help further with these decisions.

Your regional area location will help you decide on the optimum location for your sunroom. Sunlight exposure varies throughout the day and year and directional orientations will yield different effects. Most homeowners install their sunrooms to the back of their homes for both privacy and security.

While many people use sunrooms for leisure, relaxation, and casual dining, many sunrooms are built off the kitchen or family room. This is to extend their use as the most often used rooms in the house. Also consider the traffic flow of your home when deciding where to position a sunroom.

4. VINYL OR ALUMINUM?

Since these have two different bases, when you understand the materials that go into a sunroom, this can help you select the product that is right for your project. While aluminum patio and sunrooms have been on the market for decades, vinyl sunrooms have been introduced more recently and tend to cost more.

Your choice depends on how your family will use the room, and the climate in which you live. For heating or cooling your sunroom during extreme temperatures, vinyl may be the better choice. Vinyl is strong, durable and thermally efficient offering double pane glass for the best insulation for year-round use.

Aluminum provides structural support, is cost-efficient, strong, and light-weight. Aluminum patio rooms utilize single or double pane glass and are commonly used as 3-season rooms. Aluminum is a strong material and can stand on its own.

5. CHOOSING A SUNROOM COMPANY

Selecting the right dealer.
One of the best ways to find a reputable company is to seek referrals from people who recently had sunrooms installed. Interview and meet with the recommended contractors to discuss your plans and ideas. Ask them for references and see the work they have done. Check their references but realize that contractors usually provide a list of their most satisfied customers.

Focus on quality and trust when you meet with a contractor instead of budget and timeline.
It is important to trust the contractor who will be working on your home - your largest investment. Be cautious of lowball bids. When considering quality, “you get what you pay for” applies here.

Make sure that the contractor is licensed and insured with a reputable firm.
Ask if they are a member of local or national homebuilder’s and remodeling associations. Ask how long a company has been in business. Choose an established company who will be around to provide you with assistance should a future problem arise.

Make sure the company answers all of your questions to give you enough information to make an educated buying decision.
Check with your local Better Business Bureau to see if there are any complaints on file – and whether those complaints were resolved.

If the contractor has a showroom, check out their workmanship and the quality of their materials.
The company should provide you with accurate to-the-penny pricing, without any hidden costs. Be careful about estimates or bids – they are often unreliable and you may find yourself paying more for the project than you were led to believe.

The company should use their own crews to install the room.
The contractor/foreman should supervise the project with regular on site visits. The company should have a process to immediately notify you of changes or delays in the schedule. The company should take care of obtaining the building permit and arrange for the final inspection. Make sure that the company does in fact pull a building permit; this is their responsibility. Without a valid permit and certificate of occupancy, you might not be able to sell your home with the sunroom in place.

The company should provide you with a complete and thorough walk through inspection of the finished product.
Make sure the company or contractor warrants their materials for several years and wants you to be totally satisfied with your sunroom.

6. MAKING SUNROOMS AFFORDABLE

Your sunroom should be custom-built for your home. Choose a company who can manufacture a variety of styles and any size sunroom to complement your home and suit your needs. Look for a dealer who can provide you with financing options to work within your budget.

Sunrooms can increase the resale value of your home. Homeowners who sell their homes say their sunroom helped their home sell quickly.

7. HOW TO AVOID INSTALLATION AND SERVICE NIGHTMARES

A good sunroom company will educate you about the process they will follow in building your sunroom. This begins with a careful measure and site inspection by the company’s technical staff, to check for concerns that might have an impact on the installation.

Your sunroom company should prepare the engineering documents and permit applications and submit them to the local building department, and arrange for the necessary inspections during the installation process.

The installation crew should be well mannered, hardworking, and considerate of your home and property. A lead installer or foreman should visit the job site every day.

8. CHECK OUT MANUFACTURER AND SERVICE WARRANTIES

Make sure the sunroom dealer offers a Manufacturer’s Warranty and a Service Warranty.
A warranty should cover the parts used in the installation for several years. Labor guarantees should cover at least the first year. A manufacturer’s warranty may be separate from the dealer’s service warranty.

Look for a company who stands behind their products and installations.
Choose a dealer who uses their own crews of factory trained employees and not subcontractors. Be sure there is a parts warranty that is backed by a reputable manufacturer.

A Warranty You Can Count On.
A warranty is only as good as the company who stands behind it. You need to be able to count on the manufacturer to be in business if you ever need warranty service on your sunroom. Visit the manufacturer’s website to find out how long they have been in business, and whether they have a long-term, exclusive agreement with the dealer in your area. A good strong relationship between the manufacturer and the company who installs your sunroom usually means better service and installation.