Solarium installation in Irvine CA - a bright room you can use on sunny afternoons
Your patio sits empty when it's too hot or too cool. We build a heated and cooled glass room you'll use all year.
What does a solarium installation in Irvine involve?
Solarium installation in Irvine means building a fully enclosed glass room onto your house, heated and cooled with all-weather windows, so it works much like a four season room you can sit in any time of year.
Most people who call us have a patio or deck that gets great light but sits empty because it's too warm in the afternoon or too cool at night, and the first thing to settle is whether the new room will be heated and cooled like the house or left as a three season room. That choice, the size of the room and whether it needs a foundation move the price the most, while the schedule mostly turns on the design, the city's permit steps and whether your lot sits in a fire hazard zone. Your written estimate shows what your own room comes to, with the room type, windows and insulation spelled out.
How we plan and build a solarium
I start by asking what the room is for, because a spot for winter mornings and a family room used every afternoon need different glass and different cooling. All that glass brings in light and heat, so we plan shading and airflow with you from the start, working out which walls and roof panels get shade, which windows open and where air can move before anything is ordered. Then our crew prepares what the room will sit on, frames it, sets the glass and doors, ties the roof and walls into the house and seals that joint, and finishes the inside so it feels like part of your home.
Some homeowners come in sure they want a solarium and leave with a different plan, and that's fine. If you want to see layouts, glass and roof options before you commit, our sunroom design work sorts that out first, and if what you really want is shade without walls, patio cover installation is the simpler job and keeps the yard open.
Solarium installation in Irvine and the city's fire hazard zones
Irvine's 2025 fire hazard map expanded the zones into Orchard Hills, Woodbury, Portola Springs, Quail Hill, Turtle Rock, Laguna Altura, Los Olivos and Irvine Spectrum, and in those zones new construction or a major renovation has to meet building and fire code requirements. The city handles that through the permit, so a solarium on a house in one of those areas gets planned around it from the first sketch, and we take care of the permit steps with the city when your project calls for them. Before I draw anything, we look up your address on the city's map, because a home that never worried about this before may need to now.
We're based in Irvine and work across Orange County, and most of the solariums we're asked about go on the back of a family room, over a concrete patio or an older deck, where the afternoon sun hits the glass hardest. Small backyards and close neighbors mean we often lean on roof shading and windows that open rather than big overhangs, and we see the same kind of lots on jobs in Tustin and Lake Forest.
How a solarium job goes
Call us or send the form
Call (949) 543-1630 or fill out the form on this page and tell us roughly what space you have in mind. We'll set a time for me to come out.
I look at the space myself
I come out to see the space, what the room will sit on and how it will tie into the house, and I walk you through the options right there. Bring your questions about heated against unheated, because that's the talk I'd rather have before the glass is in.
Read a plain-word written estimate
You get a written estimate that spells out the room type, windows and insulation we talked about, so you can see what you're paying for before you sign. Nothing gets ordered until you've read it and agreed.
Our crew builds, we walk it
Our own crew does the build, and I check in along the way to make sure it matches what we planned. When it's done, I walk the finished room with you and show you how the windows and shading work.
Get a written estimate for your Irvine solarium
Send the form and we'll reply within 1 business day to set a time for me to come out. The estimate is free, done at your property and written in plain words, and there's no pressure to book.
Questions before you book a solarium
How much does a solarium cost in Orange County?
A sunroom in Orange County usually costs about $120 to $170 per square foot, and that range covers sunrooms in general across the county, not just Irvine. A solarium is heated and cooled, so it tends toward the upper part of that range, especially when it's large and needs a foundation. That's the market's range, not our price, and your estimate gives you the figure for your own room.
What is the difference between a solarium and a three season room?
A solarium is heated and cooled with all-weather windows, and a three season room is generally not heated or cooled and has uninsulated windows or screens. That makes the three season room the lighter project, but it's a space you use when the weather allows rather than a room you live in. If the room opens straight into the house, the sunroom industry's specification treats it as living space, so its windows have to meet standards for keeping out air and water and for controlling heat.
What causes a sunroom to overheat in summer?
The glass lets the sun in and holds the heat, and research on glass rooms finds they cut heating needs in winter but add heat to the rooms inside the house in summer. The cooling load climbs in warm months unless the plan includes window shading, windows that open or fans that move air, which is why we settle those before we build.
How do I make a sunroom energy efficient?
Choose highly insulated windows and put insulation in the walls, floor and roof, because those are what make a sunroom energy efficient. They're much easier to put in while the room is being built, and adding them later often costs more, so settle the insulation plan before work starts.
How do I find out if my Irvine home is in a fire hazard zone?
Look up your address on the city's fire hazard zone map, which rates areas as Moderate, High or Very High. The current map replaced an older one, so a house that wasn't in a zone before may be in one now. If you're not sure what your zone means for the room, ask me at the estimate.
What license does a contractor need to install a solarium in California?
The license has to match the work, and California's contractor license board sets what each license covers. Its glazing classification covers cutting, assembling and installing glass and glass substitutes along with frames, panels, sashes and doors, and a general building contractor can take on a job with two or more unrelated trades, not counting framing and carpentry as one of them. When you compare bids, ask which trades each one covers.
Why Irvine homeowners call Daylight Irvine Sunrooms & Patios for a solarium
The owner writes your estimate
I've run this business since 2017, and I still come out myself to look at the space and put the estimate together. You hear the plan from the person who answers for the room.
Time to explain each choice
I'd rather spend an extra half hour at your kitchen table walking through a heated room against an unheated one than have you surprised after it's built. A choice made in a rush is hard to undo once the glass is in.
Licensed and fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured, and our own crew builds the room with me checking in along the way. We back the work with one promise, "Your satisfaction, guaranteed."
Fire zones checked before design
In Irvine we check your address against the city's fire hazard map before I sketch the room, since the newer zones reach well into the city. Knowing that up front keeps the design from changing late.
If you're weighing a solarium, the best first step is a visit where we can talk it through at your house. Call (949) 543-1630 or send us a message to set one up.
Other services that go with a solarium
Patio cover installation
A good fit when you want shade over the patio but would rather keep the yard open to the air.
Sunroom design
Lets you settle the size, glass and roof of the room on paper before you commit to a build.
Start planning your solarium with a call
Have the rough room size, whether you want it heated and cooled and your property address handy, and I can check your fire zone before I come out.
