OT: anybody has a sunroom addition to their house?

[boys2enough]

We are thinking of adding a sunroom addition to our house. I wonder whether anybody here can share with us your experiences and advice. The thing is our house has a lot of unused space: high ceiling with huge dining room/living room that nobody ever stays in; a Great room (big family room) with minimum furniture, lots of toys and a Kangaroo climber in the middle.

We also have an unfinished basement. Should we finish the basement before even thinking about the sunroom? Which company did you use? and all sorts of knowledge that you could share with us.

TIA!

Cheers, Lin
Mom to 2 wild boys
D 3/98
G 11/02

http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/pnoodles.gif

[cric]

My mom had one done - it's supposed to be a 3 (or maybe all?) season sunroom. I wish I knew the company, I could ask her next time I talk to her if you wish. She's not happy with it. There is a problem in the winter when she heats it up (she's got a little gas stove/fireplace in there). I'm not 100% sure of what the exact problem is, but I know it's damaging the room. She's contacted the company to have them fix the problem, but they not being helpful at all. She loves the room in the summer, even though she's using it as a sort of storage room now (she's a clutter bug). Her recommendation is to see if it's possible to look at other rooms they have done or talk to references that have had their room for a while (not just a year). Of course, if you don't live in a snowy area it might not matter.

Personally, I would finish the basement first. When your kids get older, it would be a good place to hang out with friends, etc. Sun rooms are nice though.

[ddmarsh]

We are in the process of adding a porch after much debate over whether to go the sunroom or screened porch route. I finally concluded that I wanted something more outdoor feeling and that we have a large home and didn't need more actual space as far as a room goes. BTW, I picked up a couple of books with great ideas and pictures at Lowe's and they were very helpful.Our basement is already finished but if it were not I would definately go that route first since my kids use it constantly.

Good luck whatever you decide -