Sunroom Kit
Whilst it would be really convenient to have a company come and design and build a bespoke sunroom for you, often it is not practical to do so for financial reasons. However, you may be able to afford it if you consider using a sunroom kit and are willing to do some or all of the work yourself.
What is a sunroom kit?
A sunroom kit is a do it yourself sunroom. At its most basic you will get a package containing instructions and materials that will allow you to build your own sunroom. The materials won't just be sheets of glass and some bricks, but instead an actual kit that is designed to be easy to assemble. For most of the work it should not much harder than assembling a piece of furniture. Oh that hard then....
What's contained in the sunroom kit pack?
Depending on the amount of money paid you will at least get a basic framework that can quickly be assembled along with your choice of glass panels (which may or may not have a tint or solar coating applied to them prior to shipping). All components including sealants, drawings and assembly instructions. More expensive models may have air vents and opening windows. Basically almost everything (see supplier for specific details) you will need to build the sunroom.
Do I have to build the sunroom kit?
No. You could hire a contractor to come and build/assemble the sunroom kit for you. Indeed lots of sunroom kit companies have listings of contractors in different areas who are recommended for building their product. However, the more labor you do yourself the less the overall project will cost, although you must factor the cost of your own time into the total cost calculations. Do you earn more than a builder?
But will it look nice?
Yes! If built properly it will be indistinguishable from a sunroom built by a installation based company. One thing to consider is that, whilst the kits can be fairly complex in design, they are by their nature easy to assemble and so the structure are typically simple shapes. which is OK, as most sunrooms are pretty similar to boxes on your house anyway. Seriously though, there are some really nice looking sunroom kits out there with beautiful architectural features.
So the sunroom design is pretty limited?
No, not necessarily. Many companies offer a modular design system so that whilst the overall structure is simple, the final finish can be tailored to your needs in terms of size, number/structure of windows, color of glazing, etc.
How much does sunroom kit cost?
Typically you pay more per square ft for smaller base area sunrooms than for larger ones. As an example you could pay anywhere between $80-160 per ft2 as of 2006.
What else to consider?
Well if you are not very good at DIY then you may be better to stay clear or seriously consider getting someone else to install it for you!
Sunroom kit summary
They can look fantastic and if you are willing to do most of the building yourself be a very economic way of having a sunroom addition on your home.