Solarium installation in Calabasas CA - a glass room planned for shade and airflow
Your patio gets great light, but you can't sit out there much. We build a glass room you'll actually use, planned around sun and heat.
Is a solarium the right room for your Calabasas house?
Solarium installation in Calabasas means building a one-story room onto your house with glass over more than 40 percent of its walls and roof, so you get the most daylight and view a sunroom can give. At Suncraft Calabasas Sunrooms & Patios, we're based in Calabasas and build these rooms across the city and the cities around it.
Most of the calls I get come from people who want more use out of a patio, a deck or a tired old sunroom, and a solarium is the brightest way to get it. It also takes the most planning, because more glass means more sun to manage, so I'd rather help you decide whether it suits your house and lot than sell you the biggest room. The price moves with the room's size, how much of the roof is glass, the kind of glass and how the room meets your house, and the schedule mostly turns on what the city asks of a project at your address. The written estimate I put together after seeing your house gives you the figure for your own room.
What happens after you call about a solarium?
Call or send the form
Call (747) 204-7155 or use the form, and I'll set a time to come out. It helps to have your address, the wall where the room would attach and a rough size in mind.
I visit, measure and listen
I come out myself to look at the house, measure and ask how you plan to use the room, since that decides how much glass makes sense. You get a written estimate, and we look into what your address means for the plan, like the fire zone and the city or county steps, before anything gets built.
We build, then walk through
Our crew does the building and I stay close to the job, so you have one person to ask when something comes up. When it's finished, we walk through the room together and go over anything you want to see again.
How we plan and build a solarium
I start by looking at your house and lot with you, which way the wall faces and how the sun crosses it through the day, because that's how we tell whether a solarium suits the spot at all. A room that's mostly glass can overheat without shade and ventilation, so shade and airflow go into the first sketch right alongside the glass. We also talk through the roof glass early, since panes over your head need to hold together if one ever breaks. Once the plan is settled and the city's steps are done, our crew builds the frame, sets the glass and cleans up before the walkthrough.
Sometimes a full glass room isn't the best answer, and that's worth knowing before you sign. If what you mostly want is shade over the patio, patio cover installation may be the simpler fix, and if you're still weighing a solarium against a room with a solid roof, our sunroom design work lets you compare layouts and glass before anything is built.
Ask for a solarium estimate at your house
We reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out, look at the house and measure. The estimate is free and done at your home, and there's no pressure to book.
Solarium questions from Calabasas homeowners
How much does a solarium cost in the Los Angeles area?
Building a sunroom in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $110 to $160 per square foot, and that's the area's going rate for the room, not a quote of ours. A solarium lands higher or lower in that span with its size, how much of the roof is glass, the kind of glass and what the city asks at your address. Our estimate at your house puts a figure on your own room.
What is the best glass to use overhead in a solarium?
Overhead, you want glass that holds together if it breaks, which is why laminated glass comes up so often. One glazing contractor writing about skylights calls it the workhorse, because its inner layer keeps broken pieces in place, and notes that many code-compliant skylights pair a tempered outer pane for strength with a laminated inner pane so nothing falls into the room.
How much can a contractor ask for up front on a sunroom in California?
California's contractor board caps the down payment at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract price, whichever is less. Every payment after that has to be listed in the contract and match work done or materials delivered, so you pay as the room takes shape.
How do I start the city process for a solarium in Calabasas?
Start with the city's Planning Division, which is where Calabasas sends development project applicants first for planning forms. Building permit questions go to the Building and Safety Division at BuildingSafetyInfo@cityofcalabasas.com or (818)-224-2534, and if you pull a permit yourself as the owner-builder, the city asks you to file a Property Owner's Disclosure. When you hire us, we find out what the city or county asks of your project, take care of the permit paperwork when one is needed and keep you posted.
Does a fire zone or scenic road affect a solarium in Calabasas?
It can. The city says lots in high or very high fire hazard severity zones may be subject to California Building Code rules and defensible space requirements, so it's worth looking your lot up on the city's fire hazard zone page early. Projects within 500 feet of Mulholland Highway, Las Virgenes Road, Old Topanga Canyon or the Ventura Freeway, or visible from them, follow the city's scenic corridor guidelines, and a residential addition under 500 square feet goes to a public hearing with the Community Development Director as hearing officer.
What kind of contractor installs a solarium in California?
A solarium is mostly glass, and California's contractor licensing board defines a glazing contractor as one who installs all kinds of glass, glazed frames, panels and doors in any structure. We're licensed and fully insured. Who builds it matters for the warranty too, because one sunroom maker says owners who install the room themselves or arrange their own installation get no labor warranty, and many parts of its factory warranty depend on proper installation.
Other work that pairs with a solarium
Patio cover installation
Adds shade over an open patio or beside a new glass room, which helps on yards that take the full afternoon sun.
Sunroom design
Puts the room, the roof glass and the shade plan on paper first, so you can compare choices before you commit to one.
Talk through your solarium before you sign
Call (747) 204-7155 or use the form, because I'd rather answer all ten of your questions at your house than have you wonder about them once the glass is up.