What It Takes To Convert A Patio Into A Sunroom

It’s wonderful having a functional patio that you can use to bring your indoor living to the outside during the warmer months. It is great to be able to get fresh air instead of sitting in the air-conditioned interior when you just want to unwind and relax. It’s disappointing then the season is over and everything needs to be packed away, however.

This is when the light bulb moment happens and you realize that it could be turned into a four-season sunroom. This is a great way to add some space to a small house without needing to sell and move. It is also a wonderful room to use for many different uses.

In this article, we will go over some of the things to keep in mind when considering converting a patio into a sunroom.

Work with what you have

There are a couple of things to consider with the space that you already have. First, look at the footprint of the patio and then decide if it is going to work as far as the layout of what you are looking for.

You may only need it to be big enough to handle a sofa with a couple of ​​poufs and ottomans and maybe a coffee table in which case, a small footprint is going to work fine. There would be no need to try to expand.

The other consideration is if you have a cover already for the patio. If you already have a framed roof over it then you could be halfway there and only need to close up the walls. In this case, you could install glass doors that close up the entire wall space that can open up in the summer. Or, you could make permanent walls with big windows.

Think about the sunlight 

The point of the sunroom is to allow sunlight into the space, hence the name. However, there can be too much sunlight. Some patios are unusable because of how they are orientated toward the sun. Full sunlight is uncomfortable and can make the room far too hot. In essence, it can become a greenhouse.

Think about how much sun you will get based on the position of the room and then design accordingly. You may want smaller windows if the sun will beat into the room.

On the flip side, if there is little sunlight if the patio is facing north, then adding lots of windows and possibly even a skylight is your best option.

Go prefab

Constructing a sunroom from a patio can be time-consuming and costly. A good way to speed up the process and make your life easier is to go with some prefab options. There are companies that only need to know the dimensions of the patio and can give you a ready-made structure to put over it.

If your patio doesn’t already have a roof, or the one you have can’t be insulated then a modular room is the best bet. They come already insulated with walls and ceilings and simply fit together. A small patio can be converted with a modular structure for a few thousand dollars.