A fully build addition will be more livable all 4 seasons plus it will add more value to your home than a sunroom (assuming you're talking about a prefab glass-walled construction type of thing).

My husband and I recently bought a house with a prefab 4 season
sunroom (built in 2005 for ~$38K)
and if given the choice I would prefer an addition over the sunroom we currently have.

We
do
love our sunroom and use it as our primary TV/reading/lounging/entertainment area. The extra living space was a major factor
in choosing this house over others. However, because our sunroom has a
separate AC/heating unit built into the side of the room, it adds
significantly to our electric bill and the room temperature is still
not comfortable during the most extreme winter and summer weather.
Certainly newer AC/heat combo units are more efficient, but I would much
prefer an addition that was better insulated and integrated
into the main HVAC system. If you live in a milder climate, perhaps
this isn't as much of a concern to you.One other downside to our
sunroom is that it has vinyl walls/ceiling, which isn't as
elegant as a true addition would be. It also just doesn't feel like
it's built to last a lifetime. We live in a sturdy 1925 tudor style
house and the sunroom has a somewhat flimsy feel compared to the rest
of the house.

Our neighbors have a 2 story addition to the back of their house which matches perfectly with the Dutch colonial style of the main/original part of their house. I dream of some day having a 2 story addition like theirs.

We live in an area where the retired folks like to put on these types of additions.

What these additions do is darken your living room, so it's sorta like a cave. Then you want to live in the sun room, and the living room doesn't get used. Many of these living rooms were turned in to junk rooms - boxes, stuff, piled around.

Any way my wife used to have a window fashion business. Sometimes I would ride along, especially for sun rooms.

As purpleisland above said: The heat/ac is not adequate.

I hate 'sun rooms'. Some are partially pre-fab, others stick built. The real problem is where to hang the blinds. It doesn't go well screwing in to vinyl window frames, and many times the mounting is impossible when there's no depth. Then also are large sliding doors. Some of these rooms have 12 windows and a sliding door. It can cost easily $2,000 for quality / good looking blinds. Most people don't budget for it, and are aghast at the price.

Once in a while, a year later, when in the neighborhood we would drive by some of these homes - some had no blinds - can't stand to be in there when there's direct sun, others had the temporary 'paper blinds' tacked up - on a $38,000 addition.

This is the midwest, where it can get pretty darn cold. The sunroom manufacturers tell me their rooms will stay warm as long as I just have a portable heater! (because they are well insulaed?) I don't know for sure. I'm still checking that out. But I do like privacy, and would have to have closed curtains on all sides of the sunroom at night for sure. I wasn't planning on putting heat or AC in the sunroom other than the portable heater. The AC would come from our living room.

Thank for your comments. They are VERY much appreciated. I am NOT good at this type of thing. Any and all comments are so welcome. Keep them coming.

@steelskies: In the winter, you will need blinds, on cold nights and condensation on the glass. Similarly in the summer you will roast without blinds.

Portable heat and no A/C will not work. Take my word for it. You should have some sort of blue prints, and get a HVAC pro to figure out the requirements (Heat and Cool) for the room. With a lot of windows I doubt your home system can keep it warm/cool enough because of all the windows with heat loss/gain.

I would forget about prefab - plastic sun rooms. If you really want this, get a regular room built with insulation, and duct work from your home. Use your common sense and get a reasonable number of windows (Marvin, Pella, Low-E glass etc), with enough space between them for curtains / blinds. Get an 'entry door' - not a sliding door. If you don't want the blinds to overlap the window - then the window frame has to be deep enough to mount brackets (about 1 1/2 - 2").

I was a builder in the Midwest for decades, and could just about match the price of a 4 Seasons sunroom with a full addition that included conditioned air and a real foundation. I'd always recommend a real addition over them. I certainly don't think anything is wrong with them, quite the contrary--they are very high quality. But the profit margin is so high that I could easily (as a builder), do one step up with my usual P and M.

Thanks for your much appreciated comments.

oh thanks a lot I will try that.

I got 2 estimates from "sunroom" mfgrs. Both in range of $35-$40K. I can't afford $40K, I know that. I was hoping in the low 30s. both mfgrs tell me the windows are so good that they will NOT cause condensation, and they will NOT be too hot in the summer (because of the superior windows and insulation they provide). Also, if I do an addition, I cannot have too many windows (unlike the sunroom, - mostly windows) because wood is not as strong as aluminum and cant hold a lot of windows.

I do think that if I do the addition, I would want a lot of windows, so I better find out more about this. I don't want the addition which is right next to the LR, to make my living room dark.

Thanks all for your great comments. Keep them coming. I am so ignorant about all this. Never had anything built for me before.

@steeiskies: "I got 2 estimates from "sunroom" mfgrs. "

As I said, I've helped my wife with window fashions. I've never seen a manufactured sunroom that appealed to me. More like modular RV / trailer home - a plastic room just doesn't appeal to me. Be sure to visit a real person who has one of these. I don't see what the big deal is having 3 1/2" (the width of a stud, between the windows?)

Also, have you considered, will it add anything to the resale value of your home?

Thank you Geoffrey for your comments. And......... I don't worry about the resale value. We will never move from here. My hubby husband is a hoarder.... Can't imagine moving all his stuff.....impossible.....!!!

Hi steelskies. I wanted to just say that we've never had a condensation issue with our sunroom windows and we live in the Midwest also. The windows do seem to be high quality/well insulated. We also have heavy curtains left from the previous owners which also help with temp control/insulation. Geoffrey is absolutely correct that you'll need to plan/budget for some type of window treatment. I'm actually extremely pleased that the previous owners of our sunroom installed curtain rods/curtains and not blinds, buts that's just a matter of personal taste.

Where we live it got to be about -5 degrees this winter on the coldest days. On those cold days, without the sunroom heater on, the room was probably about 50-55 degrees (when we were keeping the rest of the house 65-68 degrees). I would not want to hang out in the room without the heater on. In the summer (which can get up to 105 degrees here) I needed at least the ceiling fan on, but I tend to like warm temps. My husband always turned on the sunroom A/C when he was in the room. Honestly if you go the sunroom route I really do think you need some type of heat/AC plan for it to be a true 4 season room.

Overall, I really do love our sunroom and do think it's high quality. Guests always comment on how great a room it is. While I might have preferred a true addition, we still chose this house over others because the sunroom provided the additional living space we wanted.

Thank you purpleisland for your comments. They are much appreciated. IYou live in some extreme weather, and it sounds like your sunroom does pretty well. Do you know what kind it is or who built it?

Ours is a Champion sunroom. Based on what I've seen online, they have pretty mixed reviews, but I can say our local Champion branch really takes their warranty seriously. Last Spring was extremely rainy and shortly after moving into the house we noticed a small leak in the sunroom roof during heavy rains. I called Champion about this, and after an inspection and attempted repair, they ended up replacing the entire sunroom roof for free. My husband and I were quite pleased with their response!

Thank you purpleisland. Sounds like Champion served you well. The ones I've talked to so far are S.E. wisconsin sunrooms, and Bear Builders. I'm going to look at Four Seasons next.. I'm so torn between a sunroom with all windows and/or a real addition. I know the addition will make my living room much darker.

because wood is not as strong as aluminum

That's not accurate. Either material can be used structurally to build things. I'd call a building/remodeling company and see what they can do for you.

steelskies: Why don't you go over to the Windows forum, and ask them about the 365 glass, etc.

I don't know how important resale is for you, but I would imagine that you'll recoup a lot more of the cost of an addition than a sunroom. If it matters I would suggest consulting a local realtor about that.

@steelskies: "because wood is not as strong as aluminum and cant hold a lot of windows."

How many homes are built of wood? How many are built of aluminum? (hint: trailers).

How many planes are made of wood? How about cars?

It's not the material, it's the spec: dimensions when it comes to wood, and alloy when it comes to aluminum.

Thank you for those comments. Both good points to keep in mind.

I suggest you build a smaller addition: An office for your DH. Get him involved in designing HIS SPACE -- with lots of storage.

Voila! You have your Living Room back!

chisue, your comments are appreciated, but he already has a huge office. It is totally filled with junk, papers, old printers, typewriters, magazines, financial statements from 20 years ago, etc. So now he's taken over l/3rd of the living room, a good portion of our garage (no room for cars) and now he's even moving boxes and papers into my sons vacant bedroom. ( We do have quite a big house, although its older) He wont' get rid of stuff, or very little There is no hope. I keep telling myself that there are worse problems, i.e. bad health, homeless, etc., so I've learned to somehow deal with it. But I deserve to have my own space!!!

I've had experience with this (not my spouse) - they will take it to the grave.

Oh dear. That is sad. You want clean and light and airy. He wants to burrow into a cave of crap. You may have a problem that a sunroom won't fix. I can see you in five years, eating, sleeping and living in your room while your whole house fills with junk. Better put a lock on your sunroom door!

I think I'll be OK.... that he won't clutter up my sunroom or addition. Gees, he's taken over so much of the house already, he sure doesn't need MY area too. I've been dreaming of a tiny house parked on my farm somewhere; that's almost the same price as an addition! But not practical I guess. I LOVE those tiny houses; so cute. But I don't want to use an incinerating toilet!! HAHA

Designate the living room as "your room" and get him to move all of his crap out of it. Save the money on the sunroom because if you build it, he will come ... with all of his crap.

This is not acceptable behavior. Your DH needs help. You need help. Get it.

We have a Champion 3 season sunroom. We live in Indiana it is blistering hot or freezing cold here. And sometimes all within the same week. It was pretty expensive. We thought we would be able to use for at least 3 seasons . No if it is too cool( in the 50s ) and you use heat, it sweats. If it's hot outside. You can't afford to cool it. As it leaks air so bad. We fight wasp out there all the time. And you can't have nice furiture out there because of all the dust. ( we live rural )Ours has turned into a dream turned night mare. I would put my money into a conventional room addition. I wish we had. Now we are trying to decide if we should try to salvage the floor and rebuild the walls and roof ourselves. Or call it a wash and tear the entire thing down. Good Luck with what ever you choose.

Sue, I just came across this and wondered what you decided. Also, here's a link that may help your husband...