Solarium installation in Fontana CA - a glass room you can use in any weather
Patio too hot or too cold to use most days? We build a glass room you can actually sit in, summer or winter.
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Is a solarium the right kind of room for your Fontana home?
Solarium installation in Fontana means adding a fully enclosed glass room to your house, with all-weather windows and its own heating and cooling, so you can use it in any weather instead of only when it's nice out.
Most people who call about a solarium have a patio or deck they hardly use, and they want it to feel like part of the house. That's the line between a solarium and a three season sunroom, which usually has no heating or cooling and uses uninsulated windows or screens, so if you want the room conditioned like the rest of your house, you're shopping for a solarium. The price moves with the size of the room, whether it needs a new foundation, the glazing you pick and the heating and cooling, and the schedule turns on the drawings and the city's review. When I come out, you get a written quote that says what's in the price and what isn't.
How we handle solarium installation
A room made mostly of glass collects heat, so I choose the glass, the frame that carries it and the way the room gets cooled as one plan, not three. We start with the base, whether that's your existing slab, a deck or new footings, and how the room ties into the wall and roofline of your house. Then come the drawings and the permit, and once the city signs off, our crew gets the base ready, sets the frame, puts in the glass and the roof and seals the joints where the room meets the house. The heating and cooling goes in last, and we clean up before we call it done.
Some homeowners figure out partway through that they mostly want shade, and in that case patio cover installation may suit them better than walls of glass. If you know you want a glass room but haven't settled the size, the roof line or which walls get glass, we start with sunroom design and work that out on paper first.
Solarium installation in Fontana and what the city asks for
A solarium is an addition to your home, and the city of Fontana handles it like one. The city requires a pre-alteration inspection before any plans go in for plan check, the step where the city reviews the drawings, and the contractor signs the permit application, which on our jobs means us. If the frame isn't conventional light wood framing, the city calls for a design by a California registered engineer or licensed architect using its wind design rules. Because a solarium is new heated and cooled space, the city's checklist also asks for energy forms or computer energy calculations. We handle the drawings, the engineering, the energy paperwork, the inspections and the back and forth with the city, which keeps the paperwork busy and you out of it.
Most of the homes we see around Fontana have a back slab or patio that takes hard afternoon sun, and that sun is what a glass room has to be planned around. We see the same setup on jobs in Rialto and Rancho Cucamonga, and outside Fontana we deal with whichever city or county office covers your address.
- Call (909) 346-1870
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
- Fontana, CA 92335
What happens after you call about a solarium in Fontana?
Call or send the form
Call (909) 346-1870 or send the form, and we'll get back to you to set a time for me to come out. It helps to know roughly how you want to use the room, since that shapes everything after.
I look at your house
I check the base the room will sit on, the wall it ties into and which way the glass would face. We also talk through how you'll use the room, because that decides the glass and the cooling as much as the house does.
You get a written quote
It spells out what's in the price and what isn't, so the hard conversations happen at your kitchen table and not mid-job. Once you say go, we handle the drawings and the permit and set a schedule that already counts the city's review.
Our crew builds the room
We build to the approved drawings and keep the site picked up as we go. When it's finished, I walk the room with you.
Why Fontana homeowners call Sunscape Fontana Sunrooms & Patios for a solarium
I come out, our crew builds
I do the walkthroughs and estimates myself, our own crew does the building, and we bring in licensed trades for electrical or heating and cooling when the room calls for it, which a solarium usually does. You deal with the same people from the first look to the final walkthrough.
Planning rooms since 2013
I ran the schedule for a busy construction company before I learned to build these rooms, and I started this business in 2013. That's why the city's review is in your schedule from the first day instead of showing up as a surprise halfway through.
Licensed and fully insured in California
In California, adding a room to your home counts as home improvement work, which the Contractors State License Board licenses, and we're licensed and fully insured. Fontana's permit application also asks contractors for proof of state and city licenses, which is worth knowing if you're comparing bids.
A solarium works when the glass and the cooling are settled before the frame goes up. Set up your estimate and I'll come out and take a look.
Request an estimateGet a written solarium quote for your Fontana home
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set up your free on-site estimate, with no obligation. I come out myself, look at the base and the house, talk through how you want to use the room and then send a written quote that says what's in it and what isn't.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Phone
- (909) 346-1870
- Location
- Fontana, CA 92335
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 6 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 7 AM–9 PM
Questions about solariums in Fontana
How much does a solarium cost near Fontana?
A sunroom in the San Bernardino area usually costs about $16,000 to $115,000 per project. That range covers sunrooms in general, and a solarium's size, its base and its heating and cooling decide where yours lands. The written quote from your on-site visit gives you your own figure.
Does glass or polycarbonate last longer on a solarium?
Glass usually lasts longer, with a university greenhouse guide putting it at often more than 25 years, compared with 20 to 25 years for double-wall polycarbonate panels treated against UV. The same guide says glass resists heat, UV and scratches but breaks more easily on impact, and it costs more to buy and install because its weight needs special supports, so it raises both the frame and the budget. Polycarbonate scratches easily but is far less flammable than acrylic, and we'll talk through which one fits how you'll use the room.
Will my solarium need fire sprinklers in Fontana?
It will if your house already has fire sprinklers, because Fontana requires an addition to a sprinklered home to be sprinklered too. If your house has none and the addition is more than 50% of your existing floor area, the city requires sprinklers in both. We check this at the estimate so it's in your quote from the start.
Who should pull the permit for a solarium in Fontana?
In most cases your contractor should, because the city of Fontana says an owner who gets the permit while a contractor does the work takes on the liability, including taxes and personal injury. We don't ask homeowners to pull permits for our work. Contractors on Fontana permits also have to follow the state's workers' comp rules, so it's fair to ask any contractor for proof of coverage.
How do I keep a solarium from overheating in summer?
Plan real cooling from the start, because an Extension greenhouse guide says vents alone leave the air inside warmer than the air outside on a summer day. If you want the room cooler than the yard, that usually means evaporative cooling or another way to condition the air, and that choice goes in your quote before anything is built.
How do I take care of a solarium once it's built?
One sunroom maker's guide suggests checking the roof and gutters once a year, keeping the door and window tracks clean and making sure the weep holes, the small drain openings in the frame, stay clear. It also recommends pure silicone spray on doors and windows instead of oil-based lubricant, which attracts dirt.
Other work that pairs with a solarium
Patio cover installation
A good fit when shade over the patio is what you're after and you don't need a closed-in room.
Sunroom design
Helps when you like the idea of a glass room but want the size, layout and roof line settled before you commit.
Start planning your Fontana solarium
Have your home's floor area handy and know whether it has fire sprinklers, since both shape what the city asks for, then call (909) 346-1870 or send the form.
Request an estimateCall (909) 346-1870