Sunroom additions are one of the most popular additions people make to their homes. We do several sunroom additions each year and there are many options when considering this type of addition. The first thing to consider is; will a sunroom addition adds value to my home. Another thing to think about is how the addition will be used, and does it need to have climate control. Lastly, will the sunroom addition look like it matches the aesthetics of my existing home?
The two main types of sunroom additions are prefabricated sunrooms and what we call a stick-built or conventional sunroom addition. Prefabricated sunrooms are made out of panels that are built in a manufacturing facility, shipped to a job site, then assembled on the job site. This type of sunroom addition is usually sold by a high-pressure salesperson, who is paid a nice commission on the sale. Prefabricated sunroom additions typically cost considerably more than a stick-built sunroom addition for this reason.
Prefabricated sunrooms are often built on top of a deck without the standard foundation found on your house or stick-built sunroom addition. For all of the reasons just stated, a prefabricated sunroom costs more, is less appealing, and doesn’t match your existing architecture. This all causes this type of addition to depreciating at a fairly rapid rate.
Stick-built or conventional sunroom additions are more design flexibility. The foundation is like the rest of your house. Siding can match the existing siding, whether it’s brick or vinyl. The roofline style can match your existing architecture. In a stick-built sunroom addition, you can put electrical outlets wherever you want, whereas, in a prefab sunroom they have to be put in the track between the panels. With a conventional sunroom addition typically the rear wall of the house is opened up to make the sunroom more open to the rest of the house as well.
In the end, a conventional sunroom addition always adds more value to your home. It also gives you more flexibility in design, matching it to your existing décor, and the ability to more custom designs from start to finish. If you have any questions, or comments or need an addition to your home, don’t hesitate to call us. J & S Builders is a veteran-owned business located in Virginia Beach behind Oceana Naval Air Station.
For more information about the history of sunrooms, click here.