Home additions are an amazing idea for Ottawa residents. If you are planning on expanding your house and don’t know which type of expansion you should have, Ottawa Home Pros can guide you through the choice between building from scratch vs adding a sunroom. Home Additions in Ottawa is an excellent option if the space in your home is not sufficient anymore. If you are not sure if you should build out or add a premade sunroom, keep reading.
Building an Addition From Scratch
Known as stick-built construction, this regards any type of house or room additions built from wood, concrete, glass and all things used to build a home from zero, adding official square footage to the house. A room addition like this should have a foundation built beneath it and have electrical and HVAC service.
Sunrooms
A sunroom is usually a space created to connect indoor and outdoor areas. It usually has a big part of the walls made of glass to enable natural light to come. It would function as a second living room with a great view to the outside. Sunrooms are mostly constructed on floating concrete plates with superficial perimeter foundations, similar to those used for garages.
Custom-built or pre-fabricated?
When you decide on a sunroom addition, you have two options: a custom-built or a prefabricated sunroom. For the first one, your contractor will plan and build the addition to your specifications. Traditional stud-and-truss framing and shingle roofs are used in these sunrooms, but the walls are mostly glass, shaped by patio doors or full-length windows.
As for pre-made sunrooms, they are made from prefabricated kits. These kits contain the steel, fibreglass or aluminum framework pieces and the glass panels you will need. Some homeowners attempt to DIY their sunroom, but we suggest you also hire a contractor to assemble it to make sure everything is perfectly constructed.
Costs
The costs for sunroom additions can vary greatly depending on the method, the size and the other specifications, like if it will be a four-season room or a simple screened porch. Contact us if you want a quote for home additions in Ottawa.
Additional elements
For a while, there were notable differences between stick-built additions and sunrooms in terms of additional elements. For example, most prefabricated sunrooms were not electrically wired, and now this is a possibility in most kits.
Electrical service
Although sunrooms are not obligated to be electrically wired, custom-made usually are. Many pre-made sunrooms nowadays have supplies for adding electrical settings. On the other hand, stick-built room additions must follow the same electrical code specifications as the rest of the building, which is one of the reasons they are more costly.
HVAC
It is not required that sunrooms have HVAC. While custom-built sunrooms often have at least a heating system, room additions need to have the same central HVAC as the rest of the home.
Space
The main reason people decide on a sunroom is to add space and natural light to their home. Additional space to the living room, a place for growing plants or reading, a sunroom is an excellent option for Ottawa homeowners that want to expand their house. But note that if you want to add equity value to your home, a sunroom will not make as much of a difference as a proper room addition, as the sunroom will not be counted as the house’s official square footage.
Before diving into your build-out or sunroom project, note that you will need a building permit. Many types of home additions in Ottawa need permits, and that includes a simple prefab sunroom addition. But don’t worry, we can help you out with that.
Finding an Ottawa contractor
A sunroom is an incredibly appealing alternative to a traditional room addition. Sunrooms are generally less expensive than stick-built extensions, and Ottawa Home Pros can have it built quickly. If you have any questions about additions and sunrooms, talk to one of our construction experts. We serve Ottawa, Kanata, Nepean, Orleans, Stittsville and the Ottawa Valley areas.
