Is a Sunroom Cheaper Than a Room Addition?

Have you found yourself wishing for a little more space in your home lately? Maybe all you need is one more room with a specific purpose to finally feel that your house is big enough. And if you’ve decided that now is the time to do something about it, you have two choices: building a sunroom or building an additional room. Believe it or not, these two things are not the same! Sunroom with adjacent hot tub and backyard deck

With that in mind, surely one of the first thoughts to pop up in your head is a great question: “Is a sunroom cheaper than a room addition?” Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly a “yes or no” question; the answer is yes and no.

The Most Important Thing to Consider With Your Home Addition

Because each type of addition carries such a wide range of usage and customization possibilities, no one can definitively say you’ll always save money by choosing one option over the other. But that also means it is possible for a sunroom to be the more wallet-friendly option of the two. It all comes down to what you want.

Determine Your Needs First

Whether you’re planning to build a sunroom or a room addition, do not even think about getting started if you don’t know what you want to use the extra space for. This is the most important thing to consider, as the way you’ll utilize the space will affect the way nearly every square inch of the structure is built. For example, if you want a home office or workspace and live in Wisconsin, you’re going to want an insulated space with temperature control, air conditioning, and electricity (which will increase the cost). In that case, go ahead and rule out a three-season sunroom. Would you like plenty of natural light to flood the room? You’ll want an all-seasons sunroom. But if you can do without the daily sunlight and outdoor views, a room addition is the way to go.

When Materials Matter

Once you know what you want to use the new space for, you’ll be able to get an idea of how you want the layout to look. You can have some degree of customization whether you want a sunroom or a room addition, but if you’re looking for a more cost-effective project, you may have a better chance with a sunroom. Not only do sunrooms not require as many materials to build as a room addition, some sunrooms can also take less time to build than a full room addition. For example, a three-season room won’t need to be insulated, powered, or connected to an HVAC, so if you don’t need any of those elements, you’re quite likely to get a sunroom for a lower cost than a room addition.

Find a Contractor You Can Trust

No matter which addition would best fit your wants and needs, you’ll need to hire a good contractor to ensure you get the most out of your investment. Look for contractors that have plenty of experience, a great reputation, and a habit of working with top-quality materials to give yourself the best chance of success. And if you’ve settled on either kind of sunroom for your home in southeast Wisconsin, Bear Sunrooms is the contractor you need. We’ve served homeowners throughout the region since 1977 and are still going strong with our custom sunroom design-build service to this day.