Crowd sourcing ideas - 4 season room options

[Papa bear]

I’m about finished with rough in framing on a 4 season room addition. This is a 12x18 room that is thermally separate (outside the main envelope) from my main home, but will be insulated, waterproofed, air sealed, and built to current new residential standards (and will have ductwork run from the existing furnace/ac).

I’m looking for any and all ideas, even crazy ones, on what you would want out of a 4 season/sunroom before I close this back up.  For instance, would you want cat6 cable run through the place? Should I rough plumb it for an outdoor kitchen someday? Speaker system? Outdoor electrical outlets every 3 feet?  Put in a floor drain and build the entire room as a wet room so I can hose it down after my kids run in muddy?

This room was a screened in porch that was rotting out.  It will continue as use as a “seating area”, will have a desk for some wfh, kids can play in it year round, what else would you want??

Don’t worry mustachians, so far it’s 100% DIY (will most likely hire out drywall and exterior flashing work, I don’t have a metal brake) and permitted.  I’ll have a 30k addition for around 8k in materials. 


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[GoCubsGo]

Radiant floor heat sounds ideal in that setup. Is your existing HVAC sized correctly for this?  I would imagine this would be part of your permit process for conditioned space. It really depends on what level of finish this is and what it will be considered when finished.

I guess my question is, is this basically a nice 3 season room?  I have a 16x20 addition off my house but it is a full family room (full foundation. separate HVAC).  To have it built would be $100K+ minimum.  It adds a huge amount of value to my home as a seamlessly integrated living space (and taxed as such).  I've sold homes that have really nice 3 season rooms that aren't valued nearly as much as if it were deemed conditioned 4 season square footage.  I have seen wood stoves in many 3 season rooms if that's something your into or don't have a fireplace in your existing structure.

You are into the build so cheap I would definitely consider making it as usable and year round as possible which could be a huge value add to your home. 

[chemistk]

My in-laws have a 3 season porch. It gets used very frequently. I've also seen a ton of 3 and 4 season rooms while casually house-hunting on Zillow this year.

The top #1 absolute must-have if it were me would be some kind of fireplace/stove. Wood stove would be most ideal but at the very least, a gas fireplace for the kids to huddle in front of on a cold winter day and watch the snow fall while coloring/reading.

Electrical outlets spaced appropriately would also be ideal - one bummer thing about the in-laws' setup is that there are too few electrical outlets.

A high end ceiling fan that can move a lot of air is also up there for me.

What kind of windows/screens will you be installing? I think if you could have as many windows 'open' in the summer and closed in the winter, you'd be able to best maximize the use of the weather.

My in-laws have outdoor furniture, and one of the couches (wicker/metal frame) folds out into a bed. On a cool summer/autumn night, nothing beats sleeping with a fresh breeze rolling through the room.

In my personal screened in porch, the floor would be carpet - obviously the type designed for porches but also not astroturf. That being said, my in-laws have teak slotted floor "tiles" (similar to these ) directly over the slab on the porch, and then in the sitting area there's a nicer weather-resistant area rug over them.

Ultimately, though, it would really depend on just how you plan to use the space. I think a sound system is a really good idea but these days, bluetooth speakers are more than adequate and less likely to be obsolete in 10 years.

[robartsd]

I'd definitely consider network, TV, and speaker wiring. I'd be very comfortable with this as a DIY project provided access to routes for running the wiring isn't difficult. There have been plenty of times I'd wished such wiring was in place already.

Power outlets every three feet sounds excessive to me. For most rooms I believe code requires an outlet within 6 feet of any point along the wall (except if the wall segment is less than 2 feet wide). While this spacing seems reasonable, I do often wish for outlets were in different locations. They always seem to end up behind large furniture pieces. I'd consider the layout(s) you will use in the room and place an outlet near each desk, tv, end table, or floor lamp location plus at least one outlet in a convenient place for a vacuum cleaner or other temporary equipment (those 2 foot wide exempt segments would often be a great place for such an outlet). After choosing outlet locations based on actual planned usage, you will probably have met the code requirements with just one or two more outlets than the minimum required, but in much more convenient locations.

[Papa bear]

My current hvac will have no problems heating the space during the winter, but I don’t really plan on using it for air conditioning.

The windows are casement windows - I usually go with double hung, but I wanted to maximize the screen space with the windows open. They should be more efficient in the winter as well.  These are all south facing windows and I should have some decent solar gain.

The space is permitted and planned as a “sunroom” which has slightly decreased requirements for insulation and building standards.  However, I am building this to meet or exceed new construction standards in my area.  This will have better air sealing and equal or greater insulation than the existing structure.  I have also raised the floor with 2x8’s over the existing slab for insulation and mechanicals. 

I love the ideas! While a wood burning stove isn’t possible in the space, I would be able to go with a vent free gas fireplace.  I understand their limitations, though, but that would be the easiest to add in. I will discuss this option with the family.

For in floor heat, that’s an idea.  I need to go with vinyl plank floor here due to height limitations for the exterior door.   I’ll look up some products that potentially could work for this.

Already planning on a ceiling fan and I tend to overdo it on my electrical.  Every project I’ve done has maybe even been a bit overkill with the number of receptacles, switch locations, lights, etc.


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[twe]

I put in a vent free gas fireplace in our technically 3 season room. The fireplace makes it 4 seasons. A good dehumidifier, or opening the doors to the house in the winter to allow the humidity to flow, is a requirement to avoid moisture.

In floor heat-lots of different models, pretty easy to install yourself. Works best with tile, but according to most manufacturers will work on wood / plank as well, just not to the same warmth.

Best investment we've made in our home-we use it all year round.

[GoCubsGo]

Not to push it, but if you are already over-insulating and doing permit level electric, why wouldn't you permit it as an addition?  More curious than anything.  If you plan on staying a very long time I understand permitting it as a sunroom but you could get substantial value (but higher taxes) if it's fully conditioned living space.  Your ROI would probably be through the roof based on your low build cost. I'm guessing it's maybe because of the foundation.  I may be over analyzing this based on my town.   A permitted living space that size would earn many multiples of your cost.

If you do need a/c down the road a mini-split sounds perfect in that application.

[Papa bear]

Not to push it, but if you are already over-insulating and doing permit level electric, why wouldn't you permit it as an addition?  More curious than anything.  If you plan on staying a very long time I understand permitting it as a sunroom but you could get substantial value (but higher taxes) if it's fully conditioned living space.  Your ROI would probably be through the roof based on your low build cost. I'm guessing it's maybe because of the foundation.  I may be over analyzing this based on my town.   A permitted living space that size would earn many multiples of your cost.

If you do need a/c down the road a mini-split sounds perfect in that application.

There isn’t much of a distinction in my city.  It’s all just considered a residential alteration as there was an existing pad, footer, and roof.  Made it easy.

Also, trying to reduce the chance of increased property taxes. I would still be able to list it as livable square footage if/when we sell.


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