Introduction
Diamond Sunrooms wants to give you an exact estimate and the exact vinyl sunroom or porch enclosure that you want. Here are some of the things that you should consider before our initial visit; construction materials, roof styles, the foundation or platform it will be built on, yard exposure, insulating R factors, glass application, window quality, door styles and swings, heating and cooling, electrical circuit, flooring, and house wall finish. Use this page to help with your initial design. Some of the topics cover sunrooms only, but for those of you who are looking for a porch enclosure, please read through all of the topics and we will give you answers to your questions at our visit with you, or by contacting us.
Construction Materials
What style of sunroom are you looking for? Your choice of materials is varied depending on which style you would like; the standard rectangular "home" style or the conservatory style. The "home" style fits in with your homes' design and will compliment it well. The conservatory style looks remarkably different, somewhat like a greenhouse, and might give a different look to your home. The "home" style is built using three main groupings; wood and drywall, aluminum, or vinyl. Wood and drywall is a very nice style, allowing for different designs, high insulation values, and various finishing materials; but it is hard to keep clean, takes much longer to erect, and doesn't quite have a sunroom look. Aluminum sunrooms are quick to go up, but that is about their only good point. They are not insulated well and they easily scratch and dent. Cleaning is somewhat easier than wood construction, but use only non-abrasive cleaners as you will take the paint off. Diamond Sunrooms builds only vinyl sunrooms because they are the only product that is excellent in all categories. There are many designs you can use, employing all glass or vinyl panels or a combination. Insulation values are very high, with up to R-25 roofing, R-15 walls, and up to R-10 windows and doors. Cleaning is a breeze; use any cleaner that you want to. If you choose the "home" style, then our vinyl sunroom is your best pick.
Roofs
A sunroom roof must blend in with your home's roof. What determine this are the slope and the type of the roof. The slope is the slant of a roof, and you want your sunroom's roof to match your home's roof, with certain reservations. As with most types of construction, you have two basic roof type choices;
Shed/Lean to or Gable.
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Concrete Pad, Deck, Patio or Foundation
Do you have a present deck or patio or will you need a new one? A vinyl sunroom can be built on an existing platform, utilizing possibly needed modifications; an existing concrete pad might need new footers, or an existing deck would need it's support system approved. If an existing concrete pad is used, you must consider; is it level and smooth, and does it have footers? Do you want a pad that will give you years of sloppy use, or would you like a new, flat pad? Depending on your needs, you can also install a new deck or foundation.
Directional Exposure
Is a scenic view important to you? Would you like the sun to shine directly on your room? These are two considerations that must be made. The sun causes lighting and heating/cooling situations; the less sun, the less light and heat. A northwestern exposure will cause higher winter heating and lower sunshine quality and a southern exposure will cause higher summer cooling and a lot more sunshine. You will need to balance the view with the exposure and decide how these will affect your enjoyment and heating/cooling needs.
Insulation
Will you use your sunroom or porch enclosure year-round? Insulation values are important for this determination. Our product has some of the highest insulation R-values in the industry. Compare different companies and demand to see written documentation on their advertised R-values. The higher the R-values; the better. Our values are up to, R-25 roofing; R-15 walls; and R-10 windows.
Window Quality
Windows are the central design feature of your sunroom. Their construction is obviously important as the largest part of your sunroom will be the windows. Diamond Sunrooms uses the Vista Sunrooms’© Panorama vinyl series, which employ Vista Windows© that are manufactured to exacting, computerized standards. They utilize the Seal Smart © Glazing System and each one has two locks, not just one. These qualities greatly improve the operation and the length of service of your windows which are backed by the Parts and Labor Warranties. Other companies will buy generic windows to install in their sunrooms; Vista Sunrooms© designs the sunroom around their own windows, which makes the package perfect together. When getting other estimates, you will want to study their windows literature and ask them where their windows come from.
Glass Selection
Glass selection is done considering the view, sun and wind exposure, privacy, and aesthetics or design. There are five glass applications available; windows, knee walls, transoms, gable trapezoids, and sky lites. Windows can be stationary or operational. Sliders are the operational windows of choice and are between 60 and 70 inches high and 36 to 72 inches wide. Double-hung windows are also available. Knee walls are 18 inches high for the standard sunroom design. A transom is the remaining distance above the window to the top of the wall. Gable trapezoids are the distance from the top of the wall, usually eight feet, to just underneath the sloped roof eave. Sky lites can be designed into the roof system to give you more sunlight and moonlight. Knee walls, transoms, and gable trapezoids can be either stationary glass or vinyl. You will want to determine whether R-2, R-4, R-5, R-6.5 or R-10 insulation rated windows will be needed. The glass and vinyl applications can better be seen on the Sunrooms and Home pages. Use these pictures to help develop a preliminary design.
Door Selection
There are three different styles of doors that can be used. Sliding doors allow for a 30 or 36 inch opening with no sacrifice of the interior space that a swing door takes. They come in 5, 6 and 8 foot sizes. French swing doors come in the same sizes. Single 36 inch swing doors, are the third style. Our doors have three locks that answer your security needs. Your choice should be based on your comfort with sliders or swing doors and the space that a swing door occupies when open.
Heating and Air Conditioning
Heating and cooling should be included; if not for you, then for resale value. The two general systems to look at are either a separate unit or a connection to the existing house system. A heat pump is a very efficient system that heats and cools. Single electric heating/cooling units that mount in the wall are available. Electric baseboard heat and an accompanying wall mounted cooling unit can be used. Connection to your home's HVAC system depends on whether it can handle the increased loads. Often, a heating engineer should be consulted. You can do this simultaneously to getting your estimates, and so prepare yourself for an important aspect of construction design. We can help you with contacting one.
Electric
A standard electrical system will be applied, unless you stipulate otherwise. Electrical outlets along the walls, an entrance light at the through-house door and the exterior door(s) and a switch, or switches, going to each. A fan and a light can also be installed on a ceiling beam or the ridge beam. Phone, computer, cable and/or security lines can also be installed.
Flooring
Your floor can be finished with any surface you choose. Some examples are tile, wood, carpet or concrete with an appropriate surface finish. This is another part of planning, besides heating/cooling, that you might want to get outside design help on. The finished floor is a very subjective item and you could benefit from sitting down with a flooring professional. We can also advise you on this.
Interior Wall Finish
The house wall of your sunroom will be striped of siding and covered with drywall, paneling, cedar or any material that you specify. This will give your sunroom a spectacular finish.
Job Completion
At it's swift conclusion, Diamond Sunrooms will furnish a room that is complete and ready to enjoy.
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