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We have all dreamed of those early, peaceful mornings with a coffee or tea on the porch. Or maybe you’re a night owl and you enjoy quiet time under the stars. Sunrooms are a great addition for any homeowner wanting more living space and the ability to enjoy the sights of the outdoors while remaining indoors.
While there are a lot of different uses for a sunroom, there are a few big things to consider as you’re planning your addition.
The terms “sunroom” and “four-season room” are used interchangeably, but is there a difference? Although the overall concept is the same, there is a slight difference between sunrooms and four-season rooms, along with two other common types of transitional indoor/outdoor rooms. Before you can dive into any more details of your sunroom, you first should understand the differences between the types of sunrooms.
While it is an enclosed attachment to your house, a true sunroom doesn’t have heat or air conditioning. These types of rooms, also called solariums or conservatories, rely on the sun coming in from the windows to heat the room.
Although these types of rooms do cost less without the HVAC hookup or level of insulation, they are not as comfortable to use during Iowa’s harsh winters or extreme summer temperatures. Either way, they can still offer protection from the outside elements, and with so many windows, you’ll still feel like you’re surrounded by nature.
Four-season rooms and sunrooms are very similar, which is why people use them interchangeably. While four-season rooms are also enclosed with numerous windows, they’re temperature-controlled with heat and air conditioning.
So, as the name suggests, someone can comfortably use them any time of the year. Even with the regulated temperature, the numerous windows found in four-season rooms still make it feel like an outdoor oasis.
An attached greenhouse is a more extreme sunroom built for plants and designed to trap in the heat and humidity. Even though it’s designed with plants in mind, it’s still a great space to spend time in. Your plants will probably take up a majority of the space, but you can still include some comfortable chairs for reading and enjoying the warmth and sunshine.
A screened-in room or porch is the most blended indoor/outdoor space one can have attached to their home. Typically, these rooms or porches use mesh windows or walls instead of glass, keeping out bugs but still exposing you to the outside elements.
Without heat or air conditioning, these rooms get the most use during fair weather conditions. While they don’t regulate temperature, they still provide shade and protection from pesky bugs while you’re trying to enjoy the outdoors.
Now that you’re aware of the different types of sunrooms, there are a number of factors aside from the materials and your budget you should consider when you’re deciding which type is the right fit.
It’s important to pay attention to the location of your sunroom, both inside and outside of your home. Your sunroom’s main function is to bring in light while enjoying your backyard, so you should consider what the view is and the amount of sunshine that hits this part of your yard.
Inside, you’ll need to consider what room or space you want to walk through to get to your sunroom. Maybe you want it as an extension of your living room, or maybe you want it off of your kitchen for entertaining purposes.
Either way, you need to strategically place this room to make it functional and cohesive with the rest of the house. By combining both your ideal indoor and outdoor spots, you’ll be able to narrow down the overall best spot for a sunroom in Iowa.
How you want to use your sunroom plays a factor in deciding what type of sunroom to build and where you should build it. For example, if you want to use your sunroom comfortably year-round, then you’ll have to build a four-season room with heating and cooling.
If you want to build an attached greenhouse, you probably won’t want to build this off of your living room, so you don’t potentially track dirt to your furniture, carpet, or rug. Furthermore, if you want a more private sunroom, consider building this off your master bedroom.
Your ideal sunroom ultimately depends on your budget. For example, a four-season room requires heating and air conditioning, which would obviously cost more than doing without. The material you use also plays into your budget — a glass-wall sunroom would cost more than a mesh-wall screen porch. It’s important to talk to a residential contractor to discuss what materials and features would work with your budget.
Get in touch with a general contractor who provides superior design and construction services to homes in and around Des Moines.
At Premier Construction, we specialize in stick-framed, four-season sunroom construction. We build your sunroom to fit the style of your home, matching all materials so the addition looks original to the home.
Contact our team, and we can help design a sunroom or patio space that best suits your needs and budget.