Houstonians know that right around the time the days start getting longer and the weather is the best it will be all year, the mosquitos emerge to ruin everything. In the middle of the day when the sun is shining its brightest, even the bugs don’t want to be out in it. And then there’s the rain! Ultimately, the best solution for enjoying some rays when you live along the Gulf Coast is to bring the sun inside to you.
Known to some as a Florida room, solarium, or screened porch, a four-season sunroom is the perfect way to…
- take advantage of natural light from the comforts of your air-conditioned home
- relax and view the outdoors, rain or shine, cold or hot, year-round
- add value to your home
- gather with friends and family
- boost your home’s square footage
Legal Eagle Contractors are experienced sunroom builders that can craft a sunroom for you that perfectly matches your existing architecture and that you can enjoy for many years!
Sunroom vs Screened Porch vs 3-Season Room
We can build whatever you like, but because there’s a lot of confusion around what a sunroom is, let’s define it first:
A Legal Eagle sunroom is a room attached to the house as an extension to your living space with no doors to pass through to enter. It’s “four season” because it’s heated and cooled and can be enjoyed year-round, but the windows usually can’t extend all the way to the floor because HVAC ducts and wiring must be run through the walls, which will also be insulated.
A screened porch or three-season room are similar to each other in that they’re physically distinct from the rest of the home; you’ll pass through a door to enter them. They’re typically climate controlled only with fans, and a screen porch includes mesh-screened windows, so both will be quite warm in Texas heat. (And because Texas heat lasts more than one season, you almost certainly won’t enjoy “three seasons” in them.) However, in mild weather they are the closest you can get to being outside without actually being there. They’re also lower cost to build than a sunroom.
Helping You from Design to Completion
Sunrooms are such a popular home addition that companies have cropped up offering three-season sunroom kits as a low-cost DIY method. And while we’re all for homeowners tackling projects themselves, much like giving yourself a haircut, there are just some jobs you need to let professionals handle.
Source: David Cedrone
Source: Martin Howard
Legal Eagle can design and build for you a customized, structurally sound and up-to-code, seamlessly incorporated, “stick-built” (i.e. made on site from “real” materials with traditional building techniques) sunroom…all qualities a kit will struggle or downright fail to provide.
A kit can’t provide you with an in-house architect/structural engineer to guide the design, secure all necessary permits, and guarantee safety.
A user manual can’t advise you on sunroom materials, sizing, or placement. And a full air conditioning system certainly for the space certainly doesn’t come in a box.
By letting us handle the project, you can still be thoroughly involved without bearing the responsibility for an excellent outcome. That is what we do!
Choose Legal Eagle Contractors for Our Expertise, Experience, and Passion
In our nearly 40 years of business, Legal Eagle Contractors’ skill at building and renovating everything from sunrooms to second stories has earned us industry awards and, more importantly, the trust of countless homeowners across the Greater Houston area.
Our expert team is led by owner and president Dan Bawden, a leading aging-in-place specialist and past Chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Remodelers division.
We are passionate about giving homeowners more than they could have dreamed possible with their home improvement projects.
Sunroom Considerations
These are some of the important factors to consider about a new sunroom build or renovation, which we can guide you on during the design phase:
Placement
Although there’s no set-in-stone place for a new sunroom in every house, there are some best practices to guide us. The sides and back of the house are the most common locations, although the front of the home is not unheard of (as long as your HOA doesn’t mind).
If you prefer to watch sunrises or sunsets, that may determine whether your sunroom faces east or west. The south side may get the most sun, but that can end up being too much of a good thing at times, so the north side might work better. Of course, the practical limitations of your property will factor in, but sometimes your home’s unique features can work in your favor. For example, it may be possible to build the sunroom over an existing deck, if the framing and foundation are up-to-code.
Windows
A sunroom is all about those windows. There are lots of options available, some of which are more important than others. For example, choosing windows that are energy-efficient thanks to multiple panes, low-e (low emissivity) coatings, and/or gas injections is recommended to keep heat out without blocking light.
In general, large windows with narrow frames work best in sunrooms; this might be casement windows, stationary windows, sliding windows or awning windows for airflow, or skylights (so long as you don’t have trees overhead that will constantly be dropping debris on top of them).
Flooring
Most homeowners today want flooring that’s easy to maintain. Laminate or vinyl plank floors give you a ton of options for looks of imitation wood grain or stone while being quite durable. Carpet may fade from the sun over time and, like tile, can absorb heat from the sun and make it difficult to keep the room cool.
Other Features
- A new sunroom makes a fantastic place to add a fireplace to your home if you’ve always wanted one.
- We can run wiring for any electronics you want to power in your sunroom. A TV may be difficult to see given the amount of sunlight streaming in, but something like surround sound could be the perfect complement to your relaxing gazing-out-the-window time.
- Curtains or shades can augment your privacy in the room, if there is a clear view in from the outside world, and help keep the room cool while no one’s in there.
We Also Provide Sunroom Remodeling
Legal Eagle Contractors doesn’t do just new sunroom builds. If you currently have a sunroom and it needs updating, we can repair or replace roofing, windows, siding, flooring, and more. If you have a screened porch, we can convert it to a “three-season room” by replacing the mesh screens with glass, adding fans, TVs, and outlets, and recessed lighting.
