Sunroom remodeling in Rancho Santa Margarita CA - a room you'll actually use
Screen room too hot, leaking at the tracks or just sitting empty? We rebuild it into a room your family wants to spend time in.
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Can you turn an old screen room into a real room?
Yes. Sunroom remodeling in Rancho Santa Margarita means taking the screened porch, enclosed patio or tired sunroom you already have and repairing it, changing it or fully closing it in with all-weather windows so you can use it more of the year, and at Lightcraft Rancho Santa Margarita Sunrooms that's most of what we do.
Most people who call us have a room out back that bakes in the afternoon, lets water in or never really got used, and they want that space back without taking on a full remodel of the house. What moves the price is mostly what you want the room to do and what's under it, because a room you plan to heat and cool, like one of our four season sunrooms, needs better windows and insulation, and a bigger room or one that needs a new foundation costs more. The schedule turns on what we find once the old room is opened up and on what the city's building office needs before work starts, and your estimate lays out the plan and the price in writing.
How do you know your sunroom needs more than a cleanup?
Puddles along the door tracks
If water sits along the bottom tracks after a rain or a sprinkler run, the ground around the room is usually higher than the slab or slopes toward it. Left alone, that water works into the tracks and the floor, and you end up with rusted hardware, stains and a musty smell.
Too hot to sit in
A room that bakes after lunch usually has single-pane glass or plastic panels and nothing in the roof to slow the heat down. Waiting won't do much damage, but it costs you the room, because nobody sits in it.
Cracked or lifting concrete
A few thin cracks in an older slab are common, but a crack that keeps widening, or concrete that's heaving or sinking, means the base is moving. New glass and framing set on a moving slab will crack right along with it, so it's cheaper to fix the base first.
How we handle a sunroom remodel
Most remodels are about making an old screened porch or patio room more usable, so I start with what's already there, especially the slab and how water moves around it. Sunroom makers want the foundation sitting higher than the ground around it, because standing water gets into the window tracks and then into the room, so if dirt, planters or pavers have crept up over the years we sort that out before anything else. Hairline cracks are usually fine, but buckled concrete gets repaired before we build on it. Once the base is sound, we plan the windows and insulation for the room you want now, and then our crew frames it, sets the glass, closes it in, finishes it and cleans up.
If the old room isn't worth saving, or you'd rather keep the breeze and just keep bugs out, screen room installation may suit you better than a full enclosure. If all you have today is a slab and a cover, a patio-to-sunroom conversion is the closer fit.
Four-season room
This suits you if you want a home office, a den or a place to eat that works in July and December alike. It's the one to pick if you'd otherwise end up avoiding the room on hot afternoons.
Three-season room
This suits you if you mostly want shade, a break from wind and bugs, and a spot to sit on mild days. Leaving out heating and cooling keeps the build simpler and the price lower.
Get a written plan and price for your sunroom remodel
Send us a few details and we'll get back to you within one business day. Your estimate is free and done on site, and there's no pressure to book. I come out, measure and look at what's there now, then put the plan and the price in writing for you.
(949) 353-6626Sunroom remodeling in Rancho Santa Margarita: what changes the job here
In Rancho Santa Margarita, the place to ask whether your job needs a permit is the city's Building and Safety Division. Its list names additions, renovations, re-roofing and heating and cooling work, but it doesn't call out sunroom remodeling by name, so the list alone doesn't settle your room and the city makes that call. We 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. The city also reports that its draft fire hazard maps put portions of Rancho Santa Margarita in Very High, High and Moderate Fire Hazard Severity Zones, so we check where your house falls when we plan the job.
Most of the rooms we open up around here started as screen rooms or patio covers on a slab, and over the years landscaping has crept up against them while the afternoon sun hits them hard. We see the same thing on jobs in Mission Viejo and Ladera Ranch, and we do this work in Coto de Caza, Irvine and the other cities around Orange County too.
What happens when you call about a sunroom remodel?
Call and talk it through
Call or send the form, and we'll talk about how you want to use the room. I'll ask plenty of questions, because the answers decide which kind of room makes sense.
I come out to measure
I come out to measure and look at what's there now, whether that's a slab, a deck or an old cover. While I'm there, I check the foundation and the ground around it.
Get the plan in writing
You get the plan and the price in writing, so you can see what's driving the number before you commit to anything. I check what the building office will want and settle the design with you before anything goes in for review.
We build and walk it together
Our crew builds the room. When it's done, I walk the finished room with you before we call it complete.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to choose between a three-season and a four-season sunroom?
Choose by how you'll use the room in the hottest and coolest months. A four-season room is fully enclosed with all-weather windows and is heated and cooled, a three-season room has no heating or cooling, and a screened porch has screens only. If you picture working or reading out there on a summer afternoon, I'd steer you to four-season, because that's when a room without cooling gets too warm to enjoy.
How much does a sunroom cost in Rancho Santa Margarita?
A sunroom in Orange County usually costs about $120 to $200 per square foot, which is the going rate for the room as a whole, not our price. Larger rooms that need a foundation and have heating and air conditioning sit toward the top of that range. On a remodel, how much of your existing slab and framing is sound makes a real difference, and your estimate puts your own number in writing.
Do I need a permit to remodel a sunroom in Rancho Santa Margarita?
Your remodel may need one, and the city's building office makes that call for each job. Its permit list doesn't name sunroom remodeling on its own, which is why we check with the city before plans go in, as we cover in the local section above.
Who can remodel a sunroom in California, and what should the contract include?
In California, the work is home improvement, and the Contractors State License Board licenses contractors for it, including remodeling or converting patios and porches. The contract has to carry information, notices and disclosures that protect you, and any change to it has to be in writing, easy to understand and tell you about your right to cancel. We write every change that way, so you always know what you've agreed to.
How do I make sure my sunroom can be heated and cooled later?
Plan insulated windows and insulation in the walls, floor and roof now, even if you won't run heat or air right away. They're much easier to put in while the room is being built and can often cost more to add later. If there's any chance you'll want it, I'll usually suggest building it ready.
Is a sunroom considered living space?
Under an industry spec, a heated or cooled sunroom that opens to the main house counts as habitable space. A room kept separate from the house, with its own heating or cooling, counts as non-habitable conditioned space instead. Whether you want the room open to the kitchen or behind a door you can close is one of the first things we'll decide together.
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Tell us about the room you have
Have the room's rough size, what it is now and whether you want it ready for heating and cooling, and we'll get much further on the first call.