Building a sunroom can be hard work, expensive

Dear Jim: I want to add a solar sunroom for inexpensive extra living space and so it will help heat our house. I would like to build a kit myself or make one from scratch. What things should I consider? Mike F.

Dear Mike: A sunroom can provide wonderful living space for your family.

Although it is typically less expensive per square foot to have a sunroom built as compared to a typical room addition, it still is not inexpensive.

Many companies sell sunrooms which are often basically in kit form, but most want to also do the construction. This is not only to make more profit, but building one is typically not as simple as it looks. Most of these sunrooms use extruded-aluminum frame members.

I convinced a sunroom company, which always does the installation, to send the components to me since I am an experienced do-it-yourselfer. It took me three weeks of hard work to build it. They told me it typically takes two of their factory-trained workers only three days to build one.

In order to use the sunroom to capture enough solar heat to help warm your house, it should face south or southwest. It should be open to the house or have fans to move the solar-heated air into the house. Adequate mass, from bricks, stone, water barrels, etc., is needed to store the solar heat.

A sun room, which is designed and oriented properly to capture solar heat, will typically overheat in the summer. Since you plan to use it for additional living space, it will need summertime ventilation and movable shading. Even so, it will likely be uncomfortably warm on the hottest days.

Building a sunroom yourself from scratch is the best way to keep costs down and capture the most solar heat. Depending upon your orientation to the sun, trees, lot size, etc., you will have the design flexibility to build a non-rectangular sunroom to accomplish your goals of heat and space.

For most do-it-yourselfers, using 2x4 lumber framing is easiest and least expensive. Draw up a basic design you desire. Visit local window contractors and home centers stores to see what size windows they have.

Often, someone will have returned or did not end up buying their custom-size windows and you can buy them at a deep discount. Plan your final size on them.

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Building a sunroom can be hard work, expensive