Sunroom contractor in Irvine, CA - rooms that fit planned neighborhoods
Lightcraft Rancho Santa Margarita Sunrooms builds sunrooms, patio enclosures and patio covers in Irvine, turning existing slabs, decks and old screen rooms into rooms that fit the house, the yard and the neighborhood's design rules.
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Services in Irvine, CA
Patio enclosures
A lot of Irvine backyards already have a covered patio right off the family room, and that's usually the easiest place to gain a room. Our patio enclosures add walls, windows and doors under a cover that's still sound, so you're building on something you already paid for.
Patio-to-sunroom conversion
When the slab is good but the old cover isn't, we take the patio all the way to a real room with a new roof tied into the house. I check the slab and the house wall first, because a room is only as good as what it sits on.
Four season sunrooms
Families here often want a room they'll use every month of the year, like a home office or a place for the kids, not a seasonal porch. A four season room is insulated and can be heated and cooled, and it's the one to pick if there's any chance you'll want that later.
Sunroom remodeling
Some Irvine homes came with a sunroom or enclosure that's showing its age, with fogged glass, tired seals or a room nobody ever sits in. We remodel it with new glass, roof panels or insulation, and I'll tell you straight if the frame isn't worth keeping.
Patio cover installation
Small backyards and tight side yards are common here, so sometimes a well-placed patio cover is all a house really needs. We size it to the yard and match it to the house, and if you might enclose it later, we build the posts and beam for that from day one.
Sunroom design
In a planned neighborhood, the room has to look like it belongs, from the frame color to the roof line. I work out the design with you at the kitchen table, so it suits how you'll use it and what your association expects to see.
Irvine, CA properties and local conditions
Many Irvine homes sit in planned neighborhoods with an association, and those associations usually care how an addition looks, from the frame color to the roof line to how close it comes to the neighbor's fence. Newer neighborhoods also tend to have smaller backyards, so the room has to leave you some yard to stand in. We design the room to match the house from the start and help put together what the association's review asks for, which is a lot easier than redrawing everything after a no.
In the older neighborhoods we find plenty of aluminum patio covers and screen rooms from decades back, sitting on slabs that were poured for a barbecue, not a room. I check the slab and where the roof meets the house before we plan anything, because that tells us whether we can build on what's there or need new footings.
Working in Irvine: permits, licenses and what moves the price
Building permits in Irvine come from the city's Community Development Department, which issues them for most construction the codes cover, so on a sunroom job the schedule usually turns on the city's plan review and, if you're in an association, on its review before that. Before you sign with anyone, check that the contractor holds a California contractor license and a City of Irvine business license, since the city requires every business working here to have one before it starts. We're fully licensed and insured, and you're welcome to ask to see it.
Once we've settled a design, I find out what the building office needs before plans go in, and when a permit applies we prepare the paperwork and pull it as your contractor, so you're not the one standing at the counter. Price and schedule mostly move with the kind of room you pick, the shape your slab or deck is in and how long those reviews run, and your written estimate puts your own numbers on it. It's the same work we do next door in Lake Forest and over in Costa Mesa, but in Irvine the paperwork and the look of the room usually get more of our attention up front.
A written sunroom plan and price for your Irvine home
Send the form or call, and we'll get back to you within one business day to set up a time. I come out to your Irvine home myself, measure the space and put the plan and the price in writing. The estimate is free, and there's no pressure to book.
(949) 353-6626What happens after you call us about an Irvine sunroom
Call or send the form
We talk through how you want to use the room, whether that's morning coffee, a home office or a spot for the dog, and set a time for me to come out. A few questions now save a lot of guessing later.
I measure what's there now
I look at your slab, deck or old cover, take measurements and check where the room meets the house, so it helps if you're home to walk it with me. You get the plan and the price in writing before you commit to anything.
We settle design and paperwork
We finalize the design with you, then I check what the city's building office and any association will want before anything goes in for review. The city's review sets the pace from there, and we start building once it's approved.
Our crew builds, then we walk it
Our own carpenters and installers do the build, with a lead carpenter running the site day to day. Once the last panel is in, I walk the finished room with you before we call it done.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out if my sunroom project needs a permit in Irvine?
Call the city's permit line at (949) 724-6313, or look at the city's page on which work needs permits, which lists what's exempt. Even work on that exempt list still has to meet the building codes and city, county and state rules, and new online applications now go through the city's PermitsDIRECT! system. If you'd rather not sort it out yourself, that's part of what we do before plans go in.
Does a small patio cover need a permit in Irvine?
Yes, the city's list puts patio covers under permit no matter how small they are. That's different from a one-story detached shed or playhouse on a single family lot, which is exempt up to 120 square feet, so don't go by the shed rule for a cover off the back of your house.
How do I check that a sunroom contractor is licensed in California?
Look the contractor up with the Contractors State License Board, which licenses the people and businesses that build or alter structures in California. A license is required when the job needs a building permit, uses employee labor or comes to $1,000 or more in labor and materials, and a sunroom almost always hits at least one of those. The board also bars a contractor from asking for or taking a home improvement down payment above $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less.
Does a new sunroom roof in Irvine need Class A roofing?
If it counts as a new roof, yes, because the city requires Class A rated material on all new roofs. Replacing less than half of an existing roof in a year also calls for Class A, unless the roofing that stays is Class B or lower, in which case the replacement can be Class B. We confirm with the building office how that applies to your room's roof before we pick the material.
How long does an Irvine building permit stay valid?
For work on a house, an Irvine permit becomes invalid 18 months after it's issued unless the city's Building Official extends it in writing. That's plenty of room for a sunroom build, but it's a good reason not to pull a permit and then let the project sit.
What drives the cost of a sunroom in Irvine?
The kind of room is the biggest driver, since an insulated four season room costs more than a screen room or a simple enclosure. After that it's the size, whether your slab can carry walls and a roof or needs new footings, the glass and roof you choose, and any wiring or heating you add. Association design rules can add to it too, and I'll put your own number in writing once I've seen the space.
About Irvine, CA
Irvine was planned from the start, and you see it on the job, with neighborhoods laid out in sections, each with its own look, and streets of tract homes that share floor plans, finishes and usually an association. Open land matters here too, with green belts behind a lot of yards and the trails of the Irvine Open Space Preserve around Quail Hill and Shady Canyon. Between those trails and the ballfields at the Great Park, plenty of people here spend their free time outside, and a sunroom is often how they keep that view from the couch.
We work in the cities on every side, from Tustin to the north down to our home base in Rancho Santa Margarita. In Irvine, because so many houses on a street were built alike, the room has to look like it came with the house, and that shapes the design as much as the framing does.
Explore the services
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Talk to us about your Irvine sunroom
The cheapest time to pick the right kind of room is before anything's built, because turning a screen room into one you can heat later usually means starting over.