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fooltergeist

11' x 14' Sunroom for $43K Reasonable?

fooltergeist
16 years ago

I had a salesman from Patio Enclosures give me an estimate for an 11' x 14' screen and glass sunroom to be mounted on a pre-existing deck. The original deck needed a 4-foot extension to make the sunroom wider. Otherwise, everything was standard stuff: screen and glass walls, shingled roof, all made by Patio Enclosures. The estimate came up to $43,000, which I thought was extremely high. I read on this forum that a NJ homeowner had his bigger sunroom done for $17,000 in 2000 by the same company. Would inflation account for more than doubling the cost? Any suggestions on what to tell this salesman to entice him to bring the cost down and still have a quality Patio Enclosures sunroom? I live in Virginia 30 miles south of DC. Thanks for any feedback.

Comments (17)

  • sierraeast
    16 years ago

    If accessible,,i would get estimates from other enclosure outfits and compare. If you have done your homework and like the work that patio enclosures does, show them the other estimates and see if they will compete,(assuming the others come in at a lower bid).

  • glennsfc
    16 years ago

    Wow! That seems high, but what do I know? I priced a simple 24" extension 9' high by 9' wide section from a different company and it came to $6,000 just for the parts.

  • chester_grant
    15 years ago

    $280 per sq ft when there are no foundations needed - WOW is my reaction.

  • florrie2
    15 years ago

    Last year we got an estimate for a 16 x 16 ft sunroom built on an existing deck. The cost was $26K and we ended up not doing it. We're in Maryland.

    Florrie

  • andrelaplume2
    15 years ago

    Get a GC and find out what it costs to put that size addition on...ie a 4 season, well insulated, heated and cooled addition. I bet its far less!

  • furnone
    15 years ago

    I agree with andrelaplume2, get prices on a 4 season room. We had a 16x16 sunroom with full basement, for my workshop, done for about $45,000 in 2004. We had gotten a price of around $32,000 for a prefab sunroom on an existing deck.

    Price includes electrical with new 100 amp. subpanel, tile floor, extend hot water baseboard heat to both floors, extend A/C duct to sunroom, sheetrocking and taping, vinyl siding and 2 skylights, new 12x16 deck with mahogany decking. Both floors have double french doors.

    I did the trim and painting. It is the most used room in our house now. We eat all our meals there unless we have company.

  • lenvt
    15 years ago

    Fooltergeist--

    We just had a replacement sunroom estimate for a 11'6" x 10' gable roofed sunroom for $30,500. That is with the current $1000 "sale" savings. It would be a second story room, with a gable roof with access to our deck. The price includes removal and haul away of the old leaking, nasty sunroom, an additional carrying beam and piers next to the house (long roof overhang). The whole thing would be vinyl over extruded aluminum, including the roof, but the glass is low E, and the windows seem good. The warrantee --I am looking at the estimate as I type-- is 50 year transferrable manufacture's product, lifetime glass against breakage for defects. The price includes tax and installation, no wiring.

    We need to get rid of the current sunroom from the mid-seventies, because the glass has broken seals, it leaks and is moldy, the temp gets to be 120 in the summer, and one window has now shattered. And of course it is one seriously ugly seventies moon bubble. We are still undecided.

    The company that makes the components is called BetterLiving and is located in PA. I've included the link in case it would be helpful to compare products. Good luck with it!

    Len

    Here is a link that might be useful: BetterLiving company

  • craighartsock
    15 years ago

    I'm a local builder down in fredericksburg, that sounds crazy if the deck is already there. I haven't seen the site or the house but to do something like that shouldn't be too difficult, just converting the current deck into a screened porch would be an option.... depending on what you want to use it for.
    e-mail me if you need a "second opinion" craig@hartsockcustomhomes.com

    Craig

  • tmnixon
    11 years ago

    My husband had one done in 2000 larger than that for 14,900.
    I guess it depends on the area and the company you are dealing with. Here is a link you can go to that has a list of prices for different size sunrooms. http://www.theshedlot.com/sunroompricesheet.htm

    Here is a link that might be useful: Sunroom price list.

  • EngineerChic
    11 years ago

    I would look for a decent builder before I trusted one of the prefab kits. Just my opinion, but those always seemed like a shady idea to me. When the same company owns the product and installation crew and salesmen, there is no reasonable 3rd party. At least with a GC, if some aspect of a product is junk he will often tell you because he doesn't want to get called back to fix it 3-12 months later.

    That is, assuming you have a good GC. I'd give you the name of the guy we used this summer but he's near Boston, I think the commuting costs would be huge ;)

    Seriously, you might find you have more and better options, and more control, if you go with a local builder.

  • Jumpilotmdm
    11 years ago

    That salesman may be making $6000. +/- commission on a sale of that size. I'm not expert but it sounds a little high to me.

  • dmaloney24
    8 years ago

    $300/sq ft is way too high. CostOwl.com gives average costs for a glass swimming pool enclosure of $40-$60/sq. ft. Adding electricity can't possibly bring it over $100.

  • kudzu9
    8 years ago

    Hopefully, the OP figured out the need for more estimates after he first posted 7+ years ago....

  • bindy1
    6 years ago

    I had an addition built 25 'x 15' for kitchen. on slab, interior walls finished, roof, plumbing, heating, electrical,tray ceiling. patio door, 4 windows, all finished.(no kitchen) for $68,000. central nj. Sunroom shd be way less.

  • HU-507050472
    3 years ago

    We were in a recession ,houses were worth hundreds of thousands less..building materials were a fraction of cost .

  • Bob F
    3 years ago

    curious what you ended up doing? I can't imagine to frame three sides of that deck is going to cost almost $50,000. was this enclosure place like that place it does your basements quote you a price twice as high as it should be then negotiates down 50% and then you hire a contractor to do it for 50% of that price. this sounds like a $20,000 job at most