Sunroom or Screened Porch? How to Choose for Your NJ Home

When people call us about a sunroom, they usually have a picture in mind of a bright room with windows on three sides. Sometimes that's exactly the right project. Other times, once we talk through how they plan to use the space, a screened porch turns out to be a better fit, and it costs a lot less to build.

The biggest question is whether you want to use the room in the winter. If you only see yourself out there from spring through fall, a porch will usually do the job. If you want to sit out there in February, you're really talking about an addition, and that affects the foundation, the permits, the heating and the overall cost.

There are four options to think about, and they're easy to mix up:

• Open porch. A roof and a floor with no screens or windows. It's the least expensive option, and on the front of a house it can do a lot for how your home looks from the street.
• Screened porch. An open porch with screens added. In New Jersey you can use it from about May through October, and the screens keep the mosquitoes out.
• Three-season sunroom. Windows instead of screens, but usually no insulation or heat. It's comfortable in the spring and fall, but it gets cold in the winter.
• Four-season room. An addition with a lot of windows. It's insulated, heated and cooled, and built on a full foundation, so you can use it all year.

Most of the sunroom photos you see online are four-season rooms, which cost quite a bit more than a screened porch. When we come out, a big part of the visit is figuring out which one fits your house and the way you'll use it. Visit our website today to see some of the sunrooms and porches we've built.

The February Question

It helps to picture how you'll actually use the space and put a month on it. Maybe it's coffee on a spring morning, dinner with friends in July, or reading on a Sunday afternoon in the fall. If you also picture yourself out there in February with snow on the ground, that points toward a four-season room.

If everything you're picturing happens between spring and early fall, a screened porch will probably give you what you want. If you want to use the room in the middle of winter, it makes sense to build a four-season room from the start. A three-season sunroom can seem like a good middle ground, but in practice you'll only get to use it for part of the year.

It's also worth thinking about where the room goes. Putting it off the kitchen or family room often makes sense, since that's usually where the door already is. Before you decide, take a few minutes to think about which side of the house gets the light you like and what you'll be looking at when you're sitting out there.

What Changes the Moment You Heat It

Once a room needs heat, the project changes quite a bit. A four-season room needs a foundation that goes below the frost line, instead of the piers a deck or porch usually sits on. The walls and roof need insulation, and the heating and cooling has to be extended from the house or added with its own system. It also needs a full building permit, with inspections along the way.

A screened porch doesn't need most of that, which is why the estimates for the two can look so different even when the rooms are about the same size.

There's one more thing to consider. Heated, finished space may be assessed differently for property taxes than a porch, and in New Jersey that's worth knowing about ahead of time. It can also add to your home's living space when you sell. A quick call to your town's tax assessor before you decide will tell you what to expect.

What Actually Moves the Number

We don't list prices on our website, because two rooms that look alike can cost very different amounts depending on the house they're attached to. What we can do is explain the things that make the biggest difference, so you know what to expect before we come out.

After heating, the roof is usually the biggest factor. A simple roof coming off the back of the house is straightforward, while tying into a more complicated roofline or working around a second-floor window takes more work. The next factor is how far the electrical and heating have to run to reach the new room. The slope of your yard matters too, because a yard that drops off behind the house means more foundation work. The last factor is the size of the opening into the house. Turning a window into a door is fairly simple, but opening up a large section of wall usually means adding a beam to support the weight above it.

None of this shows up in a photo, which is why we'd always rather look at your house in person before giving you a number.

A Mistake to Avoid

Building a three-season room and then trying to use it year-round with a space heater usually doesn't work out.

Without insulation, the walls and glass lose heat faster than a space heater can replace it, so the room stays cold and the electric bill goes up. Condensation also tends to form on the inside of the glass in the winter, and over time that moisture can damage the window sills and framing.

Converting a three-season room into a four-season room later usually costs more than building it right the first time, mostly because the foundation often has to be redone. If there's a real chance you'll want to use the room in the winter, it's worth building a four-season room from the start. If you don't, a well-built screened porch is usually a better choice than a three-season room.

What We'd Build You

In the end, it comes down to whether you want to add a room to your home or add a comfortable place to sit outside. Once you know how you'll use the space, the right choice usually becomes clear.

If you want a place to eat dinner outside in the summer without the bugs, a screened porch is hard to beat for the money. If you want a room you can use every day of the year, a properly built four-season room is the way to go. Either way, we're happy to come out, look at your house and tell you what we'd recommend. Visit our website today to learn more and schedule a consultation with On The Spot Home Improvements.