Sunroom addition on DC rowhouse

[Anonymous]

Our 3 BD rowhome in NE DC is starting to feel small, especially with more remote work. We’re exploring adding a sunroom on the back of our home, to be used as an office/mudroom/porch. We’re still very much in the beginning stages of planning, though, and are a bit overwhelmed.

I thought I’d ask here if anyone had undertaken anything similar and anything we should know before going ahead. So far, we’ve been quoted about $50k for the project and about a month of work time, but have been warned that permitting can take a long time. (We are in a historic district.) Also, the space can’t be very big (about 10x12 at most). We’re also supposed to make decisions about the roof (skylights or not), windows (we want it to be all seasons but with lots of light), and design.

Anything we should know/think about as we plan? Thanks all.

[Anonymous]

That's a great price! I would have expected it to be closer to $100K.

[Anonymous]

OP, who was the GC quoting 50k? would have expected 2-3x that cost

[Anonymous]

are you in the Cap HIll Historic District? If so, you have to submit plans - that's as far as my attempt to do exactly the same as you want to do OP, went. My neighbor disregarded the HIstoric District and got slammed for installing much better window frames but not ones that were aesthetically pleasing. She had to yank everything out

[Anonymous]

what do you mean by "sunroom"--like a 3 or 4 season glass enclosure or a framed out room with windows and skylights?

[Anonymous]

We did a 14x14 addition with a lot of windows. We roughed in our HVAC as well. And added a powder room (the main point of the sunroom was to get a toilet on main level of house).

All in with permitting, drawings, finishes, etc. was $190k

We went with a design build firm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We did a 14x14 addition with a lot of windows. We roughed in our HVAC as well. And added a powder room (the main point of the sunroom was to get a toilet on main level of house).

All in with permitting, drawings, finishes, etc. was $190k

We went with a design build firm.

Did you like the firm? Would you share the name? We’re looking to do something similar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We did a 14x14 addition with a lot of windows. We roughed in our HVAC as well. And added a powder room (the main point of the sunroom was to get a toilet on main level of house).

All in with permitting, drawings, finishes, etc. was $190k

We went with a design build firm.

Did you like the firm? Would you share the name? We’re looking to do something similar.

Loved them. Four Brothers. Highly recommend. Not the cheapest but they are great to work with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what do you mean by "sunroom"--like a 3 or 4 season glass enclosure or a framed out room with windows and skylights?

This is OP— that’s what we’re trying to figure out! We want something that can also be used as an office (so is comfortable year round). But it would nice to have a lot of light, too. We’re all over the place right now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:are you in the Cap HIll Historic District? If so, you have to submit plans - that's as far as my attempt to do exactly the same as you want to do OP, went. My neighbor disregarded the HIstoric District and got slammed for installing much better window frames but not ones that were aesthetically pleasing. She had to yank everything out

OP here—yep, that’s exactly where we are. What happened with your planning?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what do you mean by "sunroom"--like a 3 or 4 season glass enclosure or a framed out room with windows and skylights?

This is OP— that’s what we’re trying to figure out! We want something that can also be used as an office (so is comfortable year round). But it would nice to have a lot of light, too. We’re all over the place right now.

it's a 2 or 3 level TH and you're looking to extend just the ground level, is that right?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what do you mean by "sunroom"--like a 3 or 4 season glass enclosure or a framed out room with windows and skylights?

This is OP— that’s what we’re trying to figure out! We want something that can also be used as an office (so is comfortable year round). But it would nice to have a lot of light, too. We’re all over the place right now.

it's a 2 or 3 level TH and you're looking to extend just the ground level, is that right?

Yes, exactly. Essentially, adding a 10x12 room onto the back of the home.

We rented a place that had a similar sunroom, but I do remember it being pretty cold in the winter. So we’d need to make sure it’s well insulated/has adequate heating and cooling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what do you mean by "sunroom"--like a 3 or 4 season glass enclosure or a framed out room with windows and skylights?

This is OP— that’s what we’re trying to figure out! We want something that can also be used as an office (so is comfortable year round). But it would nice to have a lot of light, too. We’re all over the place right now.

it's a 2 or 3 level TH and you're looking to extend just the ground level, is that right?

Yes, exactly. Essentially, adding a 10x12 room onto the back of the home.

We rented a place that had a similar sunroom, but I do remember it being pretty cold in the winter. So we’d need to make sure it’s well insulated/has adequate heating and cooling.

Smaller projects like this usually have a much larger cost per foot. If you want heating and cooling, well insulated, I’d recommend what the poster above said. Pretty much a room added on the house with a lot of windows versus a traditional “sun room or 3 season room”.

I’d guess when all said and done $125k of you don’t need plumbing or anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what do you mean by "sunroom"--like a 3 or 4 season glass enclosure or a framed out room with windows and skylights?

This is OP— that’s what we’re trying to figure out! We want something that can also be used as an office (so is comfortable year round). But it would nice to have a lot of light, too. We’re all over the place right now.

it's a 2 or 3 level TH and you're looking to extend just the ground level, is that right?

Yes, exactly. Essentially, adding a 10x12 room onto the back of the home.

We rented a place that had a similar sunroom, but I do remember it being pretty cold in the winter. So we’d need to make sure it’s well insulated/has adequate heating and cooling.

Smaller projects like this usually have a much larger cost per foot. If you want heating and cooling, well insulated, I’d recommend what the poster above said. Pretty much a room added on the house with a lot of windows versus a traditional “sun room or 3 season room”.

I’d guess when all said and done $125k of you don’t need plumbing or anything.

Makes sense, thank you.

[Anonymous]

Agree this isn’t a “sunroom” — you want an addition.