Should You Add A Sunroom To Your House? (2024)

Sunrooms have long been considered one of the worst home improvements that homeowners can make for a handful of reasons. Most people only recoup about half of the money invested in the home addition at sale time, and even worse: They don’t always add to the total square footage of your home. That said, sunrooms can bring a lot of joy to a house if you’re looking to find a new favorite (and, of course, sunny) nook.

Still convinced you want a sunroom? Here’s what you should know about sunroom additions.

Types of Sunrooms

Traditional Sunroom

Sunrooms come in different designs and functions, but a sunroom is generally considered an additional room attached to the home. They typically have a door between the room and the house. Sunrooms take on different names depending upon their functionality, such as three-season and four-season porches.

Four-Season Room

A four-season room, or four-season porch, can be used all year long because it has heating and cooling elements. A four-season room or porch comes with challenges in certain climates. In a colder climate, they can be an energy drain because they have little insulation and require more energy to heat.

Three-Season Porch

A three-season porch, or three-season room, is used in the spring, summer and fall. It typically doesn’t include heating elements, thus making it unviable during the winter.

Greenhouse/Solarium

A sunroom with glass walls is a greenhouse or a solarium. These spaces are ideal for those with green thumbs or those in search of a panoramic view of the outdoors.

Screened-In Porch

Screen-in porches function as three-season rooms and offer the pleasures of sitting outdoors without the nuisance of bugs. Screened-in porches have a timelessness to them that harkens to days of Chevrolet and apple pie.

Where to Place a Sunroom

Sunrooms typically get built off the end of a house toward the backyard. If they are built in front of the house, people tend to refer to them as porches. But a sunroom can be placed on whatever side of the house has the most light. When determining the best location for your sunroom, be sure to also consider the following factors:

• Climate: When deciding where to put a sunroom, remember the climate you live in. Will you need it to be a four-season room because you experience cold winter weather?
• Direction: Sunrooms with southern exposure will have more light during the winter and sunrooms with northern exposure will have less light. Depending on your geographical location, it’s an important consideration for heating and cooling decisions. Southern exposure sunrooms will remain warmer while northern exposure sunrooms will tend to remain cooler.
• Trees and items that may hang above a sunroom: You’ll face shadows and glare in a sunroom so it’s important to consider if existing trees will need trimming. Tree removal typically runs $700 per tree.

Sunroom Materials

Sunrooms are typically built with four materials: Vinyl, aluminum, wood or glass. Vinyl will provide better insulation and is usually cheaper than the other materials. Aluminum provides additional strength but at more of a cost. Wood is typically used for screened-in porches on older homes, but often runs more expensive than vinyl and aluminum. It also needs more TLC than the others but its look is unparalleled.

For those going the greenhouse or solarium route, you’ll want glass. You can find pre-fabricated solariums at home improvement stores, but they can run between $30,000 to $75,000 if you choose to have someone build it.

Sunrooms vs. Full-Room Additions

A sunroom can appear as a cheaper alternative to a full-room addition. While that can be true, it certainly will not have the same return on investment as a full-room addition. Sunrooms usually don’t get included in a home’s square footage total, which appraisers use to help determine home values. But a full-room addition will add square footage to your home and has a higher return on investment.

A sunroom’s cost vs. value of a sunroom addition dropped below 50% in 2015. A full-room addition is one of the most expensive home improvement projects but if it’s adding a bedroom, your chances of recouping most of the cost can increase.

Costs of a Sunroom

Depending upon the size of the project and the building material, a sunroom can cost up to $80,000. The cost of a sunroom addition to run from $80 per square foot for an average sunroom up to $300 per square foot for something swankier. Having a pro complete the construction can cost between $5,000 to $25,000 after the purchase of materials or a prefab kit.

Sunroom construction usually requires building permits from municipalities or counties. Permits can cost between $400 to $1,800. If you plan on pouring a concrete slab for the sunroom, expect to pay between $500 to $5,600 to clear the area and build a foundation.

Other Sunroom Costs

• HVAC: Adding heating and air conditioning can add between $300 to $6,000, depending upon how expansive the project gets. Connecting to existing ductwork or adding a ductless mini-split system is the most expensive option whereas a window AC unit is the cheapest.
• Electrical wiring: Adding electrical can range from $130 to install an outlet to $1,400 to install home automation systems, like blinds that automatically open and close.
• Insulation: Adding insulation will typically cost between $500 and $1,500. Four-season rooms are notoriously expensive to heat so don’t skimp on insulation if you choose to add a four-season room.
• Windows/doors: Sliding glass doors can cost between $1,000 to $3,000 but there are more expensive door options than that. Windows will range in cost from $3,500 to $15,000 depending on the insulation level and labor costs.
• Interior finishing: Once the sunroom is finished, you’ll need flooring and furniture. Flooring can cost between $1,500 to $4,300 while painting can run $2-$6 per square foot. Furniture costs will vary depending upon choices.