Today's sunrooms aren't the glassed-in porches of your grandparent's house - or even your parent's house. Advancements in design, glass technology, and energy efficiency make the modern sunroom a truly integrated part of your home.
Homeowners are now offered an array of choices that weren't available even a few years ago, including numerous flooring options, vaulted ceilings, and year-round climate control.
What should you be looking for when considering different companies that offer sunrooms?
The sunroom should be designed and built as an integrated system. Each component should work with the next, versus a "cookie cutter" approach that often forces parts to operate together.
An integrated door and window system that allows components to glide open and shut, and helps prevent air leaks, security risks and jammed doors.
Sunrooms that are code-compliant, using an engineered wall and roofing system that withstands weather conditions through all 4 seasons.
Where's the best place for your new sunroom?
It depends on your current home's layout, and your lifestyle.
According to the National Association of Realtor's Sunlogic.com, "one ideal spot for a sunroom is off of the kitchen, since that's where so much of a home's traffic is - and because the sunroom is likely to become your preferred eating spot. But if not the kitchen, make sure it's adjacent to some major public gathering space, such as the family room, living room, or dining room."
Sunlogic.com also points out that if you're able to take advantage of an existing exterior door or window opening to access your new sunroom, it can offer significant cost savings, since fewer changes will be needed to the exterior wall.
And of course, there's the view. Think about the vantage point you're most likely to enjoy throughout the year, and depending on the climate in which you live, how you can best take advantage of sunlight and shade through all four seasons.
The modern sunroom doesn't just expand your home's footprint; it truly brings the best of the outdoors, indoors (and leaves the bugs, wind, rain and snow behind).