Both covered porches and patios and sunrooms are excellent ways to improve the value and comfort of your home. However, lovely as covered porches are, they don’t offer some of the benefits sunrooms do. While they give you some protection against the elements, they are still outdoors, and as such, your use of them is dependent on Mother Nature’s plans.
As such, you may wish to convert a covered patio into a sunroom. Before doing this, it’s good to know what your options are and what the process is like so that you can make the best decision for you, your budget, and your home.
Why Alter Your Covered Porch
Perhaps you had a porch before and adding a cover to it was a step for improved insulation and protection. There are cases where you may wish to keep a porch or have a patio installed while you convert a covered porch into a sunroom. If you are someone who enjoys al fresco dining or gathering around an outdoor firepit, these are considerations for you.
You could also still keep your covered porch but then add screen enclosures for more enjoyment. Screens and solar shades give you some more privacy outdoors. However, if the weather and temperatures keep you from using your porch as often as you’d like, you may wish to convert it into a sunroom.
Factors To Keep In Mind
You will need to look into building permits and budget accordingly, as sunrooms are more expensive. Sunrooms no longer officially function as a porch, as they are indoors, but they can add considerable value to your home and give you extra space all year round.
Sunroom Or Solarium?
Sunrooms are sometimes also called solariums. They are not always the same, as solariums have predominantly glass designs and can be freestanding or home attachments. Sunrooms are made of mostly windows. A solarium is defined as a glass-enclosed room or porch, especially for sunbathing or therapeutic exposure to light.
Benefits Of Sunrooms
Sunrooms give you abundant daylight and views of the landscape with shelter from the weather. They are good for relaxing and sunbathing. These are often seen in cruise ships with pools, lounge chairs, and food services areas, as well as in spas and conservatories.
They come with many, many benefits. Some of which include:
- Increased value of the property and living space
- Spaces can have their own climate control systems or be surrounded on all sides and above with glass
- Sunshine space where you can enjoy the outdoors indoors
- Keep bugs out
- Keep dirt out
- More protection – for you, furniture, and more
- Pest control
- Plenty of light
- Additional space
- Temperature control
- Noise reduction
- Durable structure
- Energy saving, as with insulated glass
- Better comfort
- All the benefits of natural light
- Room to use how you like, for art, hobbies, etc
Sunrooms are aesthetically pleasing, indoors and out, and can do a lot to make your home all the more enjoyable.
How To Convert A Covered Patio Into A Sunroom
If you’re ready to start on the process of converting a covered patio into a sunroom, you’ll want to get quotes from your local companies. Costs vary depending on the size of the patio and your personalizations. Calling around will give you a ballpark idea of how much your project will cost. It will also help you find a trustworthy company to work with, as any company with prices that are either much higher or lower than their competition may be sketchy in one way or another.
Once you have done this and chosen a company, you’ll get into the design process. This includes going over whether or not building permits are needed. It is more likely than not that you will need permits in order to do this. Talk to the company you are working with to determine whether they are taking care of the permits or whether you need to.
You will need to decide whether or not you want to be able to open the windows in your sunroom, as this affects the design.
Once all the details have been finalized, the old screen panels will be removed and construction of the walls and flooring begins. This is why it is especially important to ensure that you hire experienced professionals for the job, as the last thing you want is shoddy workmanship.
One of the final steps is installing the windows and doors. From there, the sunroom is yours to customize and design how you like.
Do You Want To Convert Your Covered Patio Into A Sunroom?
Contact the experts here at Kool Breeze Inc. for a quote! We do all sorts of home improvement projects, from covered patios to sunrooms to awnings and more. We’d be happy to help you achieve the sunroom of your dreams. Let us know if you want to convert a covered patio into a sunroom.
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