Solarium installation in Montclair CA - a bright room with glass picked for the heat
Your covered patio gets all the light but none of the comfort. We build a glass room that stays bright and stays usable.
- Services
- 16
- Service areas
- 12
Book a solarium estimate at your house
I measure your space and check the slab underneath, so the plan fits what's there.
Request an estimateWhat goes into adding a solarium to a Montclair house?
Solarium installation in Montclair means building a glass room onto your house, with glass walls and often a glass roof, so you get a space full of daylight that's out of the wind and weather. At Solcraft Montclair Sunrooms & Patios we build it from the footings up, and most of the wait is usually the design and the city's review rather than the build itself.
Most people who call us about a solarium have a covered patio, a slab or a deck that gets plenty of sun but isn't comfortable to sit in for much of the year. The price moves with the room's size, how much of the roof is glass, which glass goes in, whether the room gets heating and cooling, and whether what's under it can carry the walls or needs new footings. The schedule turns on the plans, the city's review and how long the glass takes to come in, which is why I'd rather lock in the big choices early, and your own figure comes from the estimate once I've measured.
How we handle a solarium installation
We start by settling how you'll use the room, because a sunspace you'll heat and cool all year is built differently from one you'll use on mild days, and that choice shapes the walls, the roof and the price. With this much glass, the glass is the job, so we walk you through tint, coatings and tempered glass before we order anything. Then we draw up the plans, and once they're approved our crew sets the footings, frames the room, flashes it where it meets your house so water stays out, roofs it, runs the wiring and lays the floor. We finish by sealing the glass and cleaning up so the room's ready for furniture.
If a glass room is more than you need, patio cover installation gives you shade over the same slab with a lot less involved, and that's what I'd suggest for a patio you mostly use after sundown. If you're still working out the room's shape, roof pitch or how it ties into your roofline, our sunroom design work gets that settled before anything's ordered.
What Montclair asks of a solarium installation
A room built onto your house usually needs a building permit, and Montclair's building division issues it and sends staff out to inspect the work on site. When your job needs one, we prepare the plans, handle the city paperwork and keep you posted on where it stands. When building activity is normal, the city takes about two weeks to review submitted plans, then the plans examiner clears them for a permit or asks for changes, and each later review takes about a week, so we get plans in as soon as the glass and layout are settled.
For a room addition like this, the city says a qualified draftsperson can usually draw the plans, though a larger project may need plans prepared and signed by a California-licensed architect or engineer, and we'll know which yours needs once we've measured. We're based in Montclair, and the covered patios and older slabs we build on here look a lot like the ones we see on jobs in Ontario and Upland.
Why call us for a solarium
I measure every job myself
I come out myself to look at the job and measure, and our crew lead runs the build with our installers. That way the person who sized up your patio is the one who planned the room around it.
In business since 2017
I taught myself carpentry, then learned the rest building patios and sunrooms for other people before starting this business. Most of our calls are covered patios and decks that people want more out of, which is where a solarium usually starts.
Licensed and fully insured
Our coverage is in place for our crew lead and installers on every part of the build, from the footings to the glass. That matters on a job that brings this many trades to your house.
Engineered to Montclair's load values
Montclair publishes its own design values for earthquake, wind and rainfall loads, and a solarium here gets its frame and roof engineered to them. That matters more than usual when a big share of the roof is glass.
- Phone
- (909) 738-1507
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
- Location
- Montclair, CA 91763
On a solarium, the glass and whether you'll heat the room decide most of what you end up with, so send us your room size, how you'll use it and any glass you have in mind, or call (909) 738-1507.
Get a solarium estimate built around your glass and how you'll use the room
We'll get back to you within one business day to set a time for me to come out and measure. The estimate is free and done on site, and there's no obligation to go ahead.
- Phone
- (909) 738-1507
- Location
- Montclair, CA 91763
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–9 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
- Credentials
- Licensed and fully insured.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a solarium cost in Southern California?
A sunroom in Southern California usually costs about $110 to $190 per square foot. That's a regional figure for sunrooms in general, not our price. Your own number comes from measuring your space, so I'd rather give you that than guess.
How do I know if my sunroom falls under California's Energy Code?
If the sunspace has no heating or cooling, California's Energy Code lets it skip the rules for the room's walls, roof and glass and for heating equipment, though it still has to meet the code's lighting rules. A building official can require a room that looks habitable to be heated and cooled, and then the Energy Code applies, so it's worth settling how you'll use the room before the plans are drawn.
What is the best way to keep a solarium from overheating?
For most people who want daylight, a clear solar control coating on the glass does more than tint, because it lets in less infrared heat with only a small drop in visible light. Tinted glass reflects more of the sun's rays, but it changes the natural light in the room. For roof glass, one UK glass maker says a solar control coating admits half to two-thirds less heat than clear glass while keeping the space bright.
What causes sunroom glass to crack on its own?
Thermal stress, the strain heat puts on glass, can crack a pane on its own, and a glass room in an inland summer sees plenty of it. One glass supplier strongly recommends tempered glass in hot climates because it handles that stress much better than standard annealed glass, the ordinary untreated kind. That's why it's worth asking which glass each bid includes.
Who can pull a building permit for a sunroom in Montclair?
A licensed California contractor, the owner or the owner's agent can pull a building permit in Montclair. I'll tell you at the estimate who's pulling yours, so there's no question about it once the plans go in.
What license does a sunroom contractor need in California?
California's licensing rules define a glazing contractor as one who installs glass, frames, panels, sashes and doors in any structure, and a general building contractor as one who works on structures that need at least two unrelated building trades. A solarium mixes glass with footings, framing, roofing and wiring, and one sunroom maker tells its installers to have all those skills or hire people who do, so it's fair to ask each bidder who handles each part.
Other work that goes with a solarium
Patio cover installation
If shade is what you're really after, a cover over your patio keeps the sun off without the walls, glass and wiring of a full room.
Sunroom design
When you're not sure how big the room should be or how it meets your roofline, design work gets the shape and glass layout on paper first.