Rafter Lane

Sunroom Kit, Stick Built or Solarium: How They Differ

By Onur T.Updated

A sunroom is a glass room built new, not a porch closed in step by step. It comes three common ways, and they differ mostly in the roof and the walls.

Three ways to build a sunroom

Same slab and house wall; different roof and walls

SheetS-1
Section through a sunroom, the two parts that differ between the three ways to build one in peach A sunroom on its own slab against the house. The roof and the outer wall are drawn in peach: a kit, a room framed on site and a solarium differ mainly in these two. The slab and the house wall are the same for all three. roof: panels, framing or glass walls: frame, glass, base INTERIOR GRADE

The three options share the slab and the house wall. The roof and the walls, where they differ.

Option Typical use
ASunroom kitFactory-made wall and roof panels
 Three or four seasons, by the panels
BFramed on siteBuilt like the house, shingled roof
 All year, when insulated
CSolariumGlass in the roof as well as the walls
 Three or four seasons, by the glass

About this sheet

Drawing
Typical section, not to scale
Seasons
Typical use; shifts with your climate
Revision
Rev. 0, Sep 2026

Will you use it in January?

What matters most?

ASunroom kit

Sunroom kit wall and roof In peach: a roof of factory-made panels with foam insulation between metal skins, and a factory wall frame holding glass above an insulated base panel. foam-core roof panel glass in a factory frame insulated base panel INTERIOR GRADE
Differs in
Factory-made wall and roof panels
Use
Three or four seasons, by the panels

Detail of option A on sheet S-1

A sunroom kit is a system of factory-made parts: aluminum or vinyl wall frames that hold the glass, and roof panels with foam insulation between two metal skins. A dealer or contractor puts it up on a new or existing slab or deck.

Three-season and four-season versions of the same kit differ in the glass and in how thick the roof and wall panels are. Quotes don't always say which one they are for; ask.

BFramed on site

Framed sunroom wall and roof In peach: a wood-framed roof with insulation between the rafters and shingles on top, a header over a window, and an insulated wood-framed knee wall, built on site like the rest of the house. framed roof, shingled window framed knee wall INTERIOR GRADE
Differs in
Built like the house, with a shingled roof
Use
All year, when insulated

Detail of option B on sheet S-1

A framed sunroom, or 'stick built' in contractors' terms, goes up on site like any addition: a wood-framed knee wall and roof, shingles that match the house, and windows set into the walls.

It takes the same insulation as the rest of the house, so it can be heated and cooled as a year-round room. Of the three, it is the one that looks most like it was always there.

CSolarium

Solarium wall and roof In peach: a glass roof in a frame of glazing bars running down into glass walls that reach almost to the slab, above a low base rail. glass roof glass walls base rail INTERIOR GRADE
Differs in
Glass in the roof as well as the walls
Use
Three or four seasons, by the glass

Detail of option C on sheet S-1

A solarium puts glass in the roof as well as the walls. It lets in the most light, and it also gains and loses the most heat, so glass coatings, shades and heating and cooling matter more here than in the other two.

Many solariums are sold as kits. What sets them apart is the glass roof.

Or step by step Closing in a patio or porch you already have is a different path, from a roof to screens to glass: Patio Enclosures, Screened Porches and Four-Season Rooms.

Everything on sunrooms

Written by

Onur T. compiles Rafter Lane's cost data by hand, from contractor quotes homeowners post and from manufacturer spec sheets. The section drawings are made in code from those spec sheets, not generated.