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Old 03-18-10, 08:10 PM   #1
MetroMPG
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: 1000 Islands region, Ontario, Canada
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Default DIY temporary sun room ... with plastic shower curtain "windows"

To sun room, or not to sun room...

My parents have been waffling about whether to put a small sun room on the side of their house for 2 years. They've heard horror stories about them being unbearably hot (which is likely true in the dog days of summer).



To help them make a decision about what to do, I suggested "test driving" a very simple, inexpensive, temporary design to try out and see what they liked and didn't like about it. This way they could make an informed decision about what features they want on a permanent one (if they decide to get one).

What's "eco" about a sun room? Well, it probably improves the insulation value of the wall it's on.

And as my neighbour pointed out today: "if it gets really warm in the solarium, you can just open the door to the house and let the heat IN!"

But the main aim of the project is to have a bright, warm place to sit in the fall/winter/spring. The house itself has very poor direct sunlight to the inside.

----

What material for windows?

"Cheap" being the prime directive, it wasn't hard to rule out glass, plexiglass or lexan for the covering.

Couldn't find any vapour barrier or painting drop sheets that were clear (opaque at best).

Another option I looked at was marine window plastic (used in canvas boat/camper tops). It's got very good optical qualities. But the price - around $200-$300 seemed a bit steep for a "test" structure.

Then I got the idea to use clear vinyl... shower curtains! They're almost as good optically as boat plastic, with the exception of having creases from being packaged folded up.

I bought six $10 shower curtains.

Design considerations ... and learning Google Sketchup...

To keep things quick and easy, I sized the structure to fit the shower curtain "panels".

I've never designed or built anything like this before, and decided to kill 2 birds with one stone and learn to use Google Sketchup as part of the process.

It's likely I spent more time learning Sketchup and modeling the virtual corner of the house and the sun room than I will actually spend working on it!



CAD is cool! We knew exactly how much lumber to buy, and what cuts were needed for lengths and angles. Of course this didn't prevent me from screwing up and needing to make 3 separate trips to the lumber store for materials.

Electric delivery vehicle!

As a side note, with a small project like this, it was fairly easy to use the electric car to get all the materials. Hatchbacks ROCK. 12 foot boards go all the way through the car, from the passenger footwell, out the hatchback, with a flag on the end. Secured with tie down straps - perfect!



ForkenSwift.com - electric car on a beer budget!

Construction ...

I made it with my brother. We didn't follow "typical" building construction - not that I've done any, but my brother has.

We screwed the sills (base) together, raised it up on a picnic table, and screwed the studs to it from beneath:



Here it is all assembled, staining underway. It's put together with 2.5 inch deck screws.



Staining finished:



Compare to the Sketchup model!



This weekend we'll add the plastic "windows", then secure it to the side of the house. I'll post more then.

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