How to Choose a Sunroom Contractor in Austin, TX: Three and Four Season Rooms
Short answer
The best sunroom contractor for an Austin area home is one that builds the room as a structural addition, not a kit bolted to a patio. Ask who frames and flashes the roof connection to your house, whether the quote is fixed and names the window and screen products, and who pulls the permit and handles energy code and HOA review. For budgeting, a three season room runs about $120 to $220 per square foot installed ($30,000 to $48,000 for 12x14), a four season room about $200 to $350 per square foot ($55,000 to $90,000 for 14x16), and screening in an existing covered patio about $8,000 to $14,000.
Searching for the best sunroom companies in Austin turns up three very different kinds of businesses: national franchises that sell a factory room system, general remodelers who sub the work out, and builders who frame the room on site. Any of them can show you nice photos. What separates a sunroom that still seals tight after ten Texas summers from one that leaks at the house wall is the structure you never see once the trim goes on. We have built screened porches, three season rooms and four season rooms around Central Texas since 1984, and these are the questions we would ask if we were the ones hiring.
Key takeaways
- Hire for the structure: the roof tie-in, flashing and footings decide how long a sunroom lasts.
- A real quote is fixed and in writing and names the windows, screens, roofing and electrical.
- Three season rooms run about $120 to $220 per square foot installed; four season rooms about $200 to $350.
- Every enclosed room attached to the house needs a building permit; four season rooms also get energy code review.
- Ask who will actually be on site every day, and whether the same crew finishes the job.
What should you ask a sunroom contractor before hiring?
Start with the roof. Ask how the new roof ties into your existing roofline or wall, how the ledger is attached, and how the flashing is detailed where the two meet. That joint is where most sunroom leaks start, and a contractor who builds rooms every week can explain it without hesitation.
Then ask about the base. A sunroom on an existing slab or deck only works if that slab or deck can carry the new walls, windows and roof. Ask whether they will check the footings, posts and slab before quoting, and what happens if something needs reinforcement. In Central Texas clay soil, a footing that has moved even a little shows up later as windows and doors that stop closing.
Finally, ask who is actually doing the work. Some companies sell the job and hand it to whichever crew is free that week. Ask whether the same crew starts and finishes the room, and who your point of contact is once construction begins.
Three season room or four season room: which should you build?
A three season room uses sliding vinyl windows, usually over short knee walls, with a ceiling fan and no full heating and cooling. It keeps out rain, pollen, dust and bugs, and with the windows open it behaves like a screened porch. In July and August, closed up and facing west or south, it gets hot. Expect about $120 to $220 per square foot installed, or $30,000 to $48,000 for a 12x14 room.
A four season room is a true room addition: insulated walls and roof, dual-pane low-E glass, and heating and cooling, usually a mini-split. It is as comfortable in August as your living room. Expect about $200 to $350 per square foot installed, or $55,000 to $90,000 for a 14x16 room.
If you mostly want bug-free evenings, a screened porch may be the better buy. Screening in an existing 12x16 covered patio typically runs $8,000 to $14,000, and a new 14x16 screened porch with its own roof runs about $22,000 to $35,000. A good contractor will ask how you plan to use the room before recommending one of the three.
What should a sunroom quote include?
A quote you can compare names the products: the window brand and glass type, the screen mesh, the roofing material, the insulation values on a four season room, and the electrical (outlets, lights, fans, and the circuit for a mini-split). If those lines are missing, two quotes that look close can describe very different rooms.
Watch for allowances and "to be determined" lines. Those are the places a price grows after the contract is signed. Our quotes are fixed and in writing, and they cover the structure, glazing or screens, electrical, permits, HOA submission and cleanup.
Ask what the warranty covers and for how long, and get it in writing. Manufacturer warranties on windows and materials are separate from the builder's workmanship warranty, and you want both spelled out. Ours is a 1-year workmanship warranty in writing plus the manufacturer material warranties.
Who handles the permit, energy code and HOA review?
Your contractor should. Enclosing space attached to your home needs a building permit in every city around Austin, including Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander and Georgetown. A screened porch is usually a straightforward structural permit. A four season room with heating and cooling also goes through energy code review, where insulation and window specifications get checked.
Most HOAs in the Austin suburbs want architectural approval before the city permit, with a site plan, materials and colors. A contractor who suggests skipping the permit, or asks you to pull it yourself as the homeowner, is shifting the risk onto you. An unpermitted room can surface as a problem when you sell.
What are the red flags when hiring a sunroom company?
A price over the phone without a site visit. A large deposit before there is a design. Pressure to sign the same day for a discount that expires tonight. A quote with no product names. A plan to attach a heavy window system to a patio cover that was only built to carry its own roof, without anyone checking the posts and footings first.
Texas does not license general home improvement contractors at the state level, so a license number alone will not tell you much. Look at how long the company has been building in your area, read its Google reviews, and ask to see rooms it built several years ago, not just last month.
How do you get a sunroom quote from All Seasons?
All Seasons Decks and Gazebos was founded in 1984 by Peter Toomey, and Mark Toomey runs projects today from our shop in Liberty Hill. We build screened porches, three season rooms and four season rooms across Austin, Round Rock, Cedar Park, Leander, Georgetown and the surrounding cities, with the same crew from the first post to the final walkthrough.
We will come out for a free on-site consultation, check the existing structure, and deliver a fixed written quote within 24 hours of the visit. Call (512) 812-8168 or request a quote online.