# building a sunroom?



## MtnRob (Oct 4, 2011)

looking into building a sunroom off of house. best bet budget wise would be to use old sliding glass doors as windows. Anyone use sliding glass doors for a purpose like this? id like to put in a couple regular windows that can be opened to create a draft if needed but mostly use the doors.


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## copperhead46 (Jan 25, 2008)

My neighbors use the patio glass for all their windows, they have floor windows all around their house and they seem to work really well. I don't know if the old would work, you want the insulation factor.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> Anyone use sliding glass doors for a purpose like this?


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## MtnRob (Oct 4, 2011)

was thinking more like side by side with 2x4's for frame.


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

I bought new french door panels at a lumber yard liquidation. Paid $15.00 double pane without hinges. Studded the walls and used 1/4 round with caulk to close it in. Leanto greenhouse and sunroom for the jacuzzi....James


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## dirtman (Sep 15, 2011)

I have 13 glass panels from patio doors in the south face of my house. They work great for letting in light. I thought I was building a passive solar house but didn't pay attention to the fact the sun only shines about ten percent of the time here in the winter. Also if you use lumber for your frames be sure to chamfer the sill so that water will run off.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

MtnRob said:


> was thinking more like side by side with 2x4's for frame.


You can use as many as you like, but keep this in mind:

Spacing them out some gives you space for light switches and outlets, and adds *support *to the wall.

Otherwise you'll need a large beam to carry the weight, since the doors themselves don't add any *structural* value


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## Roadking (Oct 8, 2009)

I've got nine a neighbor gave me; planning on a removable sunroom; i.e. enclosing a south facing deck with the doors as the walls and roof. Glass up from fall until spring, remove for the summer.
Will be a green house as well solar heat storage/collection.
Have the plans almost finished, and starting the deck this spring. 
I went and did a solar survey, etc. via an old Heathkit solar hot water system...my location looks very promising.

Matt


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## bignugly (Jul 13, 2011)

This company offers glass panels for this purpose and are reasonable with pricing Arctic Glass Outlet http://kissourglass.com/. That is the real website address.


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## MtnRob (Oct 4, 2011)

that arctic glass is pretty nice, dont quite have the chaching to swing it though with all the other projects and what not. have been stocking up on the doors to build cold frames and have decided to figure a way to build a addition to the living room. good point on added support and room for swiches, outlets ect. wondering how these doors would be for roofing as well. so far planning to use 4x4's for supports then 6x6's on corners and sides.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> wondering how these doors would be for roofing as well


They won't do for a roof.

They would leak terribly


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## MtnRob (Oct 4, 2011)

clear roofing other then insulated glass would be terrible for insulating. maybe arctic glass product could be used for roofing.


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## dirtman (Sep 15, 2011)

I have two skylights I made from patio door glass panels. I wouldn't do this again either. Nice way to light our stairway to the upstairs, but though they are double pane argon filled, with a piece of lexan underneath for safety they still bleed heat and build up massive ice dams on the eave.


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## MtnRob (Oct 4, 2011)

I guess the best bet would be to use actual skylights for the roof. Thinking 3 maybe 4 sliding glass doors as windows along front wall, side walls regular windows and two or three bubble style skylights for roof. Maybe one side wall have a door. Main frame 6x6's on cement posts, marine grade plywood under floor joists, 4x4 studs, board and batten walls, hardwood flooring. Plywood and battens would be the only wood to buy. Would put in cement floor but may not be perament. Think 6x6's are overkill on frame? Maybe go with 4x4's?Could have 5x5's made.That would cure some winter blues and be a good spot to start seeds. Time to start stocking up.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> Think 6x6's are overkill on frame? Maybe go with 4x4's?


Why not just use 2 X 4's for all of it?

It will make building the corners easier, and won't be as hard to cut.

You'll still need headers over the doors and windows.

I'd use 2 X 8's for those with 1/2 plywood in the middle


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## MtnRob (Oct 4, 2011)

I said that before and you stated that the glass doors would need better support and I agree due to the fact during a normal winter we get at least 4' of snow, sometimes 2' at a time and when I couldnt clear the snow off right away it would be carrying alot of weight. Wondering about the overhang of studs though, 4x4's would stick out too far and 2x6's parallel with door windows would be too big of a gap. Maybe 4x4 corner posts, 2x4 studs run parallel, 2x8 headers, and 2x6 rafters?


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> I said that before and you stated that the glass doors would need better support


It's the roof that needs "support".

To put doors *side by side *for a whole wall, you'd need a "beam" strong enough to span the entire distance, strong enough to carry the entire weight of the roof and any snow loads.

Beside the doors and on corners, you *double or in places triple *the 2 X 4's to give the needed strength, and use shorter 2 X 4's (called "jack studs") to support the headers over the doors

It's easier to do a stud wall with headers than to try and span the whole distance with a beam, but that means having a little more space between the doors. Either way you have to frame* around *the doors, and 2 X 4's make it easier


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## MtnRob (Oct 4, 2011)

all sounds good, hope it will all get done this summer, still not out of the clear of ol man winter. If I dont have any ?? along the way Ill just update progress. Thanks for all info.


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## greengrow (Jul 3, 2011)

For the roof triple poly-carb sheets are good. They let in the light and heat, but are strong, and provide some good insulation. They are also now reasonably priced.


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## lakeportfarms (Apr 23, 2009)

What you're talking about is what I do for a living...manufacture windows, sliding doors, and sloped glass systems.
Using sliding door glass for sloped glass is in theory possible with certain types, but probably not the glass you have or could easily get. Furthermore, it is technically against most, if not all, building codes unless it is below a certain square footage. Laminated glass on the lower glass (heat strengthened is best) is realistically the only glass you should use. Tempered glass on the bottom lite can break and rain down little pieces of glass, though it is used on the top glass for strength. Though it won't slice through you if used on the bottom, it can still cut and cause problems (think eyes). Also, it is best to use a silicone dual seal unit which is more resistant to UV and water attacking the insulating glass sealant or you'll have fogged glass in a relatively short time. The polysulfide and polyurethane units don't hold up in sloped applications.
Most residential sliding doors don't use these higher performance type units, and it's usually only 1/8" glass thickness and 5/8" overall, but there are some 1" units out there.

For sloped glass, you must always assume that it is going to leak, and then provide a fail-safe secondary means to carry the water back to the outside.
For my house I used a triple glazed, silicone dual seal unit with a 7/16" laminated bottom glass using a .060 innerlayer, and then two pieces of 1/4" tempered glass for the middle and upper units with a 3/4" airspace between each one for an overall thickness of 2-1/2". This runs about $12 sq. ft. (my cost). Figure about $30.00 if you buy it. It was flashed underneath always providing a path for water to run out at the bottom using small weeps. The glass was set flush with the skylight framing so there were no "dams" to impede the water from running off the glass as soon as possible. Although the units I used were large (40 x 80), they also weighed about 350 lbs each. You must also use a certain type of silicone sealant that is compatible. Not home store acetoxy (acid smell) based silicones!


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