An Introduction To 3 And Four Seasons Sunrooms

Overview of 3 season sunrooms, why they are beneficial and what to consider before choosing this type over an all season sunroom.

When you are considering building a sunroom to add to your home, you have probably decided to do so because you would like to spend more time in the sun without necessarily being outdoors. A sunroom allows you to enjoy the sunlight and warmth that it provides without being exposed to the drawbacks of the outdoors such as insects and other pests.

Plus, if you have had the windows properly treated, you can avoid at least a percentage of the sun’s harmful UV rays as well. However, you may have started to do your research on adding a sunroom and have seen that there are a number of different types of sunrooms to choose from, but they all fall into two basic categories; a 3 season sunroom, or a 4 season or all season sunroom. The type that you choose will depend on a variety of factors such as your needs for the room, your local climate and your budget for the construction.

Determining Your Sunroom Needs

When you first begin to design your sunroom, it is important to know what you actually plan to use the room for. If you your plan is to expand the living space for your family and you will be using it often, then you may want to invest in the type of sunroom that can be used year round. Otherwise, you may find that during the coldest or hottest days, your family may be uncomfortable in the room. It would be difficult for you to have the sunroom, if it’s been the location where your children have been playing every day, to suddenly become unusable because it is too uncomfortable to be in the room. Many families find that their sunroom is an excellent room for Christmas to be celebrated because the addition of the Christmas tree doesn’t disrupt the rest of the house operations. If this is the case, then you would probably want to invest in an all season or 4 season sunroom. However, if your plan is to occasionally use the room for entertaining and you would not find the lack of its use during certain times of the year to be a problem, then you might find that a 3 season sunroom would work just fine for you and your family.

Benefits of 3 Season Sunrooms

Probably the greatest benefit of a 3 season sunroom is that they are the less expensive type of sunroom to construct. They do not require that you hook into your home’s heating and cooling system, so the amount of work that is necessary to get them set up is less than that of all season sunrooms. They can be constructed relatively inexpensively on an existing deck or cement slab that you might already have at your home. These sunrooms can be perfect for those people who live in moderate or temperate climates because you will be able to use it without worry for the majority of the year. Since they are not hooked into the heating and cooling system of your home, you will need to alter the environment with other means. Depending on your climate, you may be comfortable for most of the year with simple ceiling fans or a space heater.

However, you could also look into options such as portable or window air conditioning units for the hotter months. And for the warmer months, portable heaters or outdoor fireplaces could be used – as long as there is ventilation possible so that you don’t endanger yourself and your family with carbon monoxide. You can increase the length of the time in which you and your family are able to comfortably use your home by investing in materials that allow for a high level of insulation. That way you can keep the temperature steady more easily. Once you have cooled off or heated the room, having it well insulated will mean that you are expending less energy to keep the room at that temperature. However, realize that there are certain climates where your sunroom will truly only be comfortable for 3 seasons out of the year, even with the supplemental heating and cooling options that you have incorporated.

Another advantage of 3 season sunrooms is that you can order a do it yourself kit to install the new addition. If you are a generally handy person and feel confident in your basic tool using abilities, then ordering a kit may be a great way for you to save money while still building the sunroom that you want. You can either select a standard sunroom design from a manufacturer, which will be the cheapest option for you, or you can design your own sunroom, have the kit custom designed, and then shipped to you. Either way, you will be saving a great deal of money on labor costs by doing it yourself. Yet you might want to have someone in mind to call if you should find that the job is more complicated than you thought. Plus, you will want to be certain that the work you do is within all building codes for your area as well.

About the Author:

Andrew Caxton is the editor of http://www.allsunrooms.com . For additional information on house additions subjects, just keep reading at the following link: four seasons sunrooms

 A.Caxton

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