Shh, don't tell my wife, Kathy. She thinks IF we build it, it is for her!

I wouldn't think all you southerners would need sunrooms !

We added one onto our house -- with good insulation and heat -- and it was one of the best ways we've ever spent money (a pile of money, actually ). Our main reason was the fact that pretty often in the summer we can't sit outside because of the mosquitoes, so now we can open all the windows in the sunroom and be almost outside... and in the winter it's a pleasant place with all the houseplants out there, and a view of the entire yard and bird feeders.

Sandy, you'd be surprised ! Our early morning low was 37º and it's not unusual for our "highs" during the day this time of year to be in the lower 50's. It would be nice to have a Sun Room on those days !

Yep, that's the reason we enclosed that porch with screening and then enclose it further with clear, marine vinyl panels during the cold months. If there is a mosquito within a mile when my wife goes outside, it will find her! I also want double the size of the room (more plants!) as well as have it with central AC/heat.

Further south of me, those rooms are called "Florida-Rooms". It is a sun-room here, and yes, if for no other reason than to have it with the central AC/heat, it will then truly be used twelve months a year.

Welcome Michelle, 60x100' would cover my garden and GH with some room to spare. Seriously you could install interior walls and run 3 zones with a swamp cooler on one (I'm not sure how well they work in Georgia). There's plenty of info floating around here.

Gosh, darn, Michelle, I wish you lived here in Starkville. I would rent out half your space!

My GF's sunroom was built on the north side of her house. She gets wonderful morning sun in the summer but it stays cool all day, shaded by the trees. I think that is the only way we could have a sunroom here in the South or we'd be putting up shade cloth defeating the whole purpose.

Hardly. I don't know how that northern exposure allows for any plants. Perhaps she doesn't grow plants in that room.

There are probably ten's of thousands of "Florida-Rooms" and many more than that throughout the rest of the south. There are excellent glass options available that not only reduce heat penetration (infrared) but also eliminate the vast majority of UV. I may have to use Aluminet in the late spring and summer. Only time will tell, but that's no big deal. It would only be on the 8' deep roof. I would still have 31' Lx8' H glass looking out onto an eastern exposure. This is by far the best exposure to have spring and summer, because it gets morning sunlight but no sun (depending on the time of year) in the afternoon.

Ken, just a thought since you don't already have a sunroom, and I know you want to fill it with plants -- we have low-E glass in our windows and I've found that plants that need a lot of light (I'm thinking in particular of the rosemary plants and pelargoniums that I bring in to over-winter) get pretty leggy growth. (I've started putting them in DH's "workshop" instead, where it's cooler and the south-facing window just has normal glass.) Lower-light houseplants do fine, I have a pretty good-size jade tree, ponytail palm, schefflera (sp?), stuff like that... Of course, in the winter our sun is pretty low in the sky compared to the summer, not sure how much different that would be where you are. (Ours also faces the east, with the shorter sides on the north and south.) I've also realized that a sunroom has an awful lot of glass for a person that hates washing windows...

Good points, Sandy. IF I have it built (man, its going to cost a lot. The materials just for the glass comes to over 20K and there is still flooring, electrical, heat/AC, and labor to add in!) I would just have to see what plants do well. I do know a little bit about what does well in lower light and what doesn't, so some of my experience will be helpful there. During the spring, summer, and early fall, 90% of what I grow are outdoors anyway. During the late fall and winter, some tropical plants are completely dormant and many are semi-dormant. Lower light is of little importance since less light is required. Just like anything else, compromise might be needed. I do have my two greenhouses, so its not like I don't have a place to put the majority of my plants. When it comes to window-washing, again, time will tell. I might end up having to hire it done if it is too difficult for me to do. Who likes washing windows?

I'm in the deep South (just north of New Orleans) and I'm freezing my duff off. If it's below 80, it's too freakin' cold and it was 28 yesterday morning. I'd love a Southern exposure sunroom. I'd be like a lizard on a rock out there every day.

New Orleans, and Louisiana for that matter, are dear to me. I finished Loyola School of Dentistry there and both of my parents were born and reared in NW Louisiana. All my childhood/teen memories of Christmas were at my grandmother's house in Many, Louisiana.

There are lots of beautiful homes with gorgeous sun rooms in New Orleans. The Garden District and the Lake Shore area have numerous sun room-homes and I am quite sure there are sun rooms in towns and cities most everywhere else.

I will ask Jim and Ursula, who both have large "glass enclosures" for their plants, what sort of glass they used.

Holly,

It really is all relative, isn't it! At 80 degrees I pretty much just want to sit in the shade with an icy drink in one hand and book in the other; much higher than that and it's just WAY too hot for me...

I do windows. I have to, when I designed our 24x28' great room, (living and dinning room), I included 18' of floor to ceiling glass. It has an almost black tile on 6"s of insulated concrete floor and faces SW. The sub-contractor that installed the original glass put in low E Anderson, dumb arse. We have since replaced it with Appleby, which works much better.
As to cleaning, I bought a good commercial squeegee, which made the job so easy. Just scrub them with a few drops of dawn and a cup of vinegar in water with a handled scrubbie and squeegee them clean and wipe the frames. Out-side I hose it off after scrubbing and then squeegee. Wiping your squeegee on an old towel between swipes leaves a streak free-window.

BayouBeadery said:I'm in the deep South (just north of New Orleans) and I'm freezing my duff off. If it's below 80, it's too freakin' cold and it was 28 yesterday morning. I'd love a Southern exposure sunroom. I'd be like a lizard on a rock out there every day.

Save me some room on that rock !

I am envious of you Michelle!
That sounds great!
And welcome to ATP!
We hope that you will post pictures of your new greenhouse,
and continue to post when you are growing plants in it.

Seriously folks, IF I can afford to do this project, I am not worried about either heat or cold. After all, I will have central AC and heat. The reason for using this "fancy", expensive glass is to make the room more economical to heat/cool, greatly reduce the infrared (I and my plants don't want to sunburn) and UV (I sure don't need any more of that. I have enough skin damage already!), and give some privacy.

Ken, just to remind you, if your dear wife thinks the sun room is hers, you may have to rethink all your plans.

Though she won't admit it, she understands what this room will become. It'll still have couch, chairs, etc. but it will probably end up looking like we are having our evening wine in the jungle.

Ken, I'd love to live over there but the crime is too awful these days. I love old houses and there are some truly beautiful ones in the City. And the gardens!!