If you love the outdoors but don’t want to fuss with the heat, humidity, and mosquitoes, you might be thinking about enclosing your porch to create a sunroom as your next home improvement project. With dozens of varieties available, though, it’s important to think your project through carefully. Here are three considerations to make before enclosing your porch. 

Things to Think About Before Creating a Sunroom

1. Enclosure Type

The enclosure you decide to go with largely depends on how you plan to use the space. Porch enclosures made with walls of screens allow temperature and humidity to flow through the space while keeping the smallest insects out. Screened porches are best for people who want to grow plants on the porch but don’t necessarily want to use their porch as an extension of their indoor living space.

On the other hand, solariums or sunrooms typically have fully glassed-in porch walls, allowing light to enter the space but not heat, humidity, and insects. Solariums can also be heated and cooled, creating an all-season area you and your family can enjoy even on winter days. 

2. Material Options 

The screens and windows used for porch enclosures are available in a variety of options, but popular choices in high-humidity states like Florida include vinyl and aluminum to prevent rot and insect damage. If you choose an enclosure with glass windows as a home improvement project, go with double-paned, low-emissivity windows, which prevent unwanted heat transfer to save energy. 

3. Project Cost

On average, enclosing a porch with glass windows costs between $500 and $2,000 per opening, depending on the size of the space and the variety of window you choose. However, the expenses tied to converting a porch into a sunroom could improve your home value, since this type of conversion typically offers a 72% return on investment. 

Create a stunning enclosed porch in your home by working with the team at Clear-Vue, Inc. For more than 48 years, this family-owned and -operated business has been committed to helping homeowners with everything from building incredible home additions and enclosing porches to managing simple home improvement projects to build value and improve quality of life. For a free estimate, call (727) 726-5386 to speak with one of the experts. Learn more about the process online.