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Remodeling

What Does A Sunroom Addition Entail?

If you want to add to the value to your home, build that sunny relaxing room to drift away in, or simply make your home more beautiful, a sunroom addition might be just what you need. Lovely, efficient, and generally more inexpensive then adding a full room, a sunroom will help you get the most out of your precious time at home.

Varieties of Sunroom Additions:

Screened Room or Screened Porch – is an economical option for your sunroom. It has completely meshed walls that are meant to allow a natural air flow sans the insects. Typically considered only for spring through fall use, unless you are situated in a very warm climate.

Seasonal Sunrooms are typically built to be used from spring to fall in most climates, and use either a simple pane glass or some manner of screen for their walls. As far as budget would go, these sunroom additions are going to be of the least expensive. They are not designed to be air conditioned or heated, so throwing in a space heater would likely be inefficient.

Knee-wall Rooms are an increasingly popular option, and consist of a short, generally decorative wall up to windowsill height, and then continue into large insulated glass windows. This allows privacy, wall outlets, but maintains a wide open view of your surroundings.

Conservatories and Solariums represent the higher end of the cost scale. They are fully incased rooms that allow a panoramic view, but made of insulated glass and are heated and air conditioned. These sunrooms need permits in full accordance with a room addition. Ceilings are glass, often sloping, to allow a stream of soft light in all day long and a view of the stars at night.

Other Elements of Sunroom Additions:

Wall Materials

Aluminum- Not very good for insulation, but fairly strong and relatively inexpensive.

Clad- A composite metal that usually runs in the middle of the price-range. It is a good insulator and low maintenance than wood.

Wood- Generally considered the most beautiful, traditional look. However, depending on the kind and quality of the wood, it can require heavy maintenance and a lofty price tag.

Vinyl/PVC- Is rather inexpensive and a pretty good insulator. However, it lack strength and usually requires some sort of steel or aluminum support.

Types of Glass

Single Glazed- is simple single pane glass. It is basically a very bad insulator and only meant to be used in seasonal sunroom additions.

Double Glazed- is made up of two separate levels of glass filled with either air or gas. This is the most basic form of insulated glass and it is the standard minimum for any home or building.

Triple Paned- is, unsurprisingly, three layers of glass. It is much more energy efficient then lesser levels, and contains twice the insulation.

Low E-Glass- are glass panes coated with incredibly thin layers of a metallic oxide that provides a window “sunscreen” which blocks most harmful ultraviolet rays.

Argon Filled Glass- is double or triple glass, filled with the dense, non-toxic gas argon. It will improve the energy efficiency room with a greater level of insulation.

Tempered Glass- is more popularly known as safety glass. It is a heat treatment that has the effect of breaking into little pieces rather than dangerous shards, if the window is damaged. It is exactly like your car’s windows.

Sunroom additions are more than just a way to better utilize your home and property space, they also add value and give you a unique custom feature to set your home apart.

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Home Maintenance

Getting A Second Story Room Addition

When your family is starting to grow, the first thing that you would think is accommodating each member of the family in your home. That is providing each and everyone his or her owns place. There are things to consider though in house expansions. First is the area of your house, whether you expand out or expand up. If your house has a limited ground floor area, then consider the idea of getting a second story room addition. When you can’t expand out, and then just expand up. There are certain risks most especially in expanding up.
Below, we will give you a bird’s eye view on what to expect in this type of expansion and also what could be the advantages amidst the risk. In here you will find out if getting a second story room addition is all worth it.
A second story in your home can give you more privacy. In this part of the house you can situate your master’s bedroom and your children’s rooms. And as for the ground floor, it will house your living room, dining area, kitchen and entertainment area as well. You can max out your resources and not just getting a second story room addition but you can situate the other bedrooms while adding up one or two more rooms.
Why do you think it is practicable to do it this way? We have mentioned earlier about risks in adding up. Here’s the fact. In adding up, you need to open up the roof area of your house, so while doing so, and maximize the time element and the cost of opening up this area. You have to consider safety precautions in this manner because opening a certain part of your house temporarily would mean possibility of burglary.
Talk to your contractor regarding ensuring this safety. Another in getting a second story room addition or additions, the weather is of prime consideration. While making this expansion in your house, do it on a summer or when it is not a rainy or snow season. The construction should be done when weather cannot damage any fixture or appliance in the house with raindrops or the fall of snow.
Always seek professional help in materializing your ideas. These professionals will give you a better picture, a timetable and a cost effective project. You must also remember that before taking the plunge into getting a second story room addition or additions, would equate to incur cost in your budget. Although some would say that adding up is less costly than expanding out, but actually there is a small margin difference in these types of expansions. Be ready for it and you have to remind yourself over and over that the costs will be for your family’s long term comfort benefit.