Collection: Sunrooms

A freestanding sunroom stands on its own in the garden. It's glazed on all sides and has its own roof. That lets you put it where the light, the view and the shelter are best. It reads as a separate building. An attached sunroom fixes to a wall of the house. One side is your home, and the room opens straight off it. It feels like part of the house. On a cold night it's a shorter walk.

Both are supplied as flat-pack kits. The listing tells you which style a building is, and the sizes and glazing it comes in.

The attached side needs a sound wall to fix to and a sealed junction where the new roof meets the house. Sealed properly, water runs away instead of tracking back into the wall. In practice that means flashing along the junction, plus guttering and a downpipe that suit the existing roofline. Check that eaves, windows and meter boxes are out of the way. Floor level matters too, so aim for a sensible step between the house and the room. Many owners assemble the shell themselves and hand the house junction to a builder. What a kit supplies at that junction is on its listing.

It depends on your state and your council, and yes, attaching it often changes the answer. A freestanding sunroom tends to be assessed the way other garden structures are. That means floor area, height, siting and setbacks, plus overlays such as bushfire, heritage, flood and easements. One fixed to the house is more often treated as work to the dwelling itself. That brings in site coverage and the existing building fabric. Nothing here is legal advice. Use our free council permit check by postcode before you buy, then confirm the outcome with your local council.

Sunrooms use sliding glazed wall systems, and some buildings offer double glazing alongside the standard option. The upgrade sits on the same timber shell, so the footprint and the frame stay the same. The change is in the glazing itself. It affects how the room holds warmth on a cold night and how it copes with a hot afternoon. Choose on how you plan to use the room through the year, rather than on price alone. Which options a building offers is on its listing. A free consultation with a product specialist will walk you through them.

Work backwards from the furniture. Decide what has to fit. That could be a couple of armchairs and a small table for morning coffee. It could be a full lounge setting, a dining table, or a sitting area and a dining area in the one room. Then allow a clear path through and space to pull chairs out. Think about where the panels slide open and which way the door swings.

Sizes run from compact rooms for a quiet corner up to ones that take a lounge setting and a dining table together. The dimensions are on each listing. A free consultation is the quickest way to match a size to your space.

Face it north or east if you can. A sunroom on those sides stays comfortable far longer than one taking the full western afternoon sun. Orientation does most of the work, so settle the position first. From there, slide the panels open for cross flow. Add external blinds or an awning on the hot side. Keep or plant deciduous shade nearby. Fit a ceiling fan or a small reverse cycle split system for the extremes. A glazed room sited badly and left shut up all day will get hot. Plan the shade and the airflow along with the position.

Yes, that is what these rooms are built for. Closed up, the panels shut out wind and rain. The glazing gathers sun through the day and holds that warmth while the garden outside is cold and wet. You get the view without the weather.

It works as a sheltered all season room rather than an insulated extension. For the coldest nights, plan on a heater or a small reverse cycle split system. Have any electrical work done by a licensed electrician. How a particular building is glazed and sealed is on its listing.

A level, well drained base that is sufficiently load bearing. Set it out square to the exact footprint in your instructions, and finish it before the pallets arrive. Level matters most with glazed walls. A base that is out of level shows up later as panels that bind or sit unevenly. A reinforced concrete slab is the usual answer, and piers with a timber subframe suit sloping ground.

For an attached sunroom, the finished floor should sit sensibly against the house floor. The ground has to fall away from the wall, so water drains clear of the house and the timber.

Most owners assemble the shell themselves with a helper. The timber goes together like our other kits, with pre-cut, numbered components, the fixings and an illustrated guide. Glazing is the stage to plan for, because the panels are heavy, awkward and easy to chip. Line up extra hands, a clear working area and a dry, still day. An attached sunroom also needs the junction with the house done properly, and that is worth handing to a builder. We supply kits and do not install, so use a local builder or handyperson if you would rather not build it yourself.

Coat the timber with a quality exterior finish with UV protection soon after assembly. Cover every face you can reach, including the cut ends. Refresh the coating in accordance with the manufacturer's recommended schedule. The faces taking the most sun and driving rain need it first.

The glass is the easy part. Wash it a few times a year, and more often near the coast where salt builds up. Rinse the hardware while you are there. Brush out the tracks and keep drainage around the base clear.

Timber is covered for 5 years. Electrical parts and fit-out items are covered for 1 year. Our warranty conditions set out the detail. Your rights under Australian Consumer Law apply on top and can't be excluded.

Timber is a natural material. Knots, colour change and small seasonal movement are normal in a spruce building. The conditions explain how that is treated. If you want to talk it through before you order, call 03 6145 0600 or email hello@nordicspa.com.au.

Your sunroom arrives flat-packed on pallets by freight truck. We offer free freight to metro depots in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney. Request a freight quote if you live outside our free delivery zones.

From the depot you can pick up for free, or arrange delivery to your property with the depot. Items held in stock are dispatched within one to four business days. Made to order buildings take roughly eight to fourteen weeks. They're manufactured in Europe and shipped once your order is placed. The listing tells you which applies to the sunroom you're looking at. We confirm the timing with you when you order.