Solarium installation in Colton CA - a bright room you'll use all year long
Your patio or deck sits empty when it's too hot or too cold. We build a heated and cooled glass room you'll actually live in.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
Is a solarium the right kind of room for your house?
A solarium is a fully enclosed glass room with all-weather windows that's heated and cooled like the rest of your house. At Sunbeam Colton Sunrooms & Patios, we handle solarium installation in Colton, CA, and we plan for the hot months as carefully as the cool ones.
Most people who call me have a patio, a deck or an older room that goes unused most of the year, and they want a space they can sit in on any day. A solarium makes sense when you want that room heated and cooled, and if you'd rather keep it open to the breeze, a three season sunroom may suit you better. The price moves with the room's size, how much glass you want overhead, what the room sits on and how it's heated and cooled. The schedule usually turns on plans and the city's review more than on the building itself, and the written estimate I give you after seeing your place lays out what your room will cost.
How we handle a solarium installation
We start by talking through how you'll use the room, because that decides the size, the glass and how much heating and cooling it needs. Then we draw it up and take care of the plans, and our crew prepares the base, frames the room, sets the glass and roof, and connects the heating and cooling. A room that's mostly glass can get too warm in summer, so I plan shade, airflow and cooling right alongside the winter comfort you're after instead of adding them later. If we open a wall into the house, we cover and protect your floors and walls inside before anyone starts cutting.
Some homeowners want help choosing glass, roof style and layout before anything else, and that's what our sunroom design work is for. If part of the yard still needs shade outside the new room, we can build a patio cover over it as part of the same project.
Full glass roof
This suits you if you want the most light and a view of the sky, say for reading or keeping plants through the year. It also lets in the most heat, so it needs the most careful shade and cooling plan of any option.
Solid insulated roof with glass walls
This suits a room you'll use on hot afternoons, because the solid roof blocks the overhead sun while the glass walls keep the room bright. For most backyards I see, this is the one I steer people toward.
What solarium installation in Colton involves with the city
In Colton, the city's Building and Safety office handles plan check, permits and inspections for building work, and its handouts spell out what it expects to see in plans for a room addition. Which solarium projects need a permit is the city's call, so when yours needs one, we confirm which building office covers your address, prepare the plans, handle the paperwork and set up the inspections. It helps to check your lot's zoning early, and you can look it up yourself with the Property Viewer the city points to from its Planning Division page. Because a solarium is an addition to your house, California's Energy Code applies too, with energy, water efficiency and indoor air quality requirements that shape the glass and the heating and cooling we choose.
Most of the rooms we plan here go on a slab patio or a deck off the back of the house, where the new room has to meet an existing wall and roofline cleanly. We see the same setups on jobs in San Bernardino and Redlands, where the building office is different but the planning works the same way.
Why Colton homeowners pick us for their solarium
The owner plans your room
I come out myself to look at the job and give the estimate, and our crew does the building. I'll go over glass, roof and cooling choices as many times as you need, because I want you to understand what you're paying for before you sign.
Building sunrooms since 2013
We've spent 13 years building and remodeling sunrooms, patio rooms and covers. That time has taught us where a new room tends to fight the house, at the wall, the roofline and the floor height, so we plan those spots first.
Licensed and insured, roof included
We're licensed and insured. California's contractor licence board lets a general building contractor build the roof as part of a room addition and only requires a separate roofing contractor when roofing is its own contract, so on a solarium the roof can come from the same contractor as the room.
On a solarium, the choices about glass, shade and cooling matter more than the square footage, so bring every question you've got. Send us a message or give us a call to set up a visit. Your satisfaction, guaranteed.
Request a quoteGet a written estimate for your solarium
We'll reply within one business day to set up a free on-site estimate. I'll come out, look at where the room would go and how it meets the house, and you'll get a written estimate with no pressure and no obligation.
What happens after you ask about a solarium in Colton?
Call or send a message
Call (909) 679-6010 or use the form, and we'll set a time for me to come out. It helps to have your address, the room size you're picturing and whether it would sit on a deck or open into the house.
I look and ask questions
I look at the patio, deck or slab and where the room meets the house, and ask how you plan to use it. You then get a written estimate showing what the room includes and what it costs, so nothing about the price is a surprise later.
We handle plans, crew builds
Once you're ready, we take care of the plans and the permit paperwork. Our crew then builds the room, from the base through the glass, roof and heating and cooling.
Walk through the finished room
When the crew is done, I walk through the room with you and show you how everything works. If anything doesn't look right to you, that's the time to point it out.
Frequently asked questions
How is a solarium different from a three season room?
A solarium is heated and cooled with all-weather windows, while three season rooms, enclosed porches and enclosed patios generally aren't heated or cooled and use uninsulated windows or screens. If you want to use the room on the hottest and coldest days of the year, you're choosing a solarium.
How much does a solarium or sunroom addition cost near Colton?
Sunroom additions in the San Bernardino area usually cost about $16,000 to $115,000 per job, and larger rooms that need a foundation and have heating and air conditioning sit toward the top of that range. That's the area's usual price, not ours, and your written estimate gives the figure for your own room.
Can a solarium be built on top of my existing deck?
Yes, a solarium can be built on a deck, but the deck will typically need extra beams, posts, footings or some mix of these to carry the added weight. Count that upgrade in your scope and budget from the start, and I'll look at the framing under your deck when I come out.
What is the best way to heat and cool a solarium?
One builder says some rooms can run off the home's existing heating and cooling, but larger rooms, or rooms that aren't open to the house, need their own vents or system. That means the room's size and how it opens to the house shape this part of the budget, so it's one of the first things we settle in planning.
How do I keep a solarium from getting too hot in summer?
Plan for the warm months from the start, because one simulation study found sunspaces often work well in the cold part of the year but very often overheat in the warm part. That study came from another region, so treat it as general guidance, and it's the reason summer comfort is the first thing I bring up at an estimate.
How do I take care of a solarium after it's built?
One maker's guide suggests inspecting the roof and gutters once a year and keeping activity on the sunroom roof to only what's needed. When we walk through the finished room, I'll show you the gutters and roof edges worth checking.
Other work that often goes with a solarium
Patio cover installation
Good for the part of your yard that still needs shade, like a grill area or a walkway next to the new room.
Sunroom design
Helpful if you're still deciding on layout, roof and glass and want to see the room on paper before you commit.
Colton, CA
Talk through your solarium plans with me
Call (909) 679-6010 before you settle on a size, because changing your mind on paper costs far less than changing glass and framing after the room is up.