Screen Room vs. Sunroom in Colorado
Side-by-side comparison
| Screen room | Sunroom | |
|---|---|---|
| Walls | Screens, with optional glass or vinyl panels | Insulated glass walls |
| Heating | None | Heated like the house |
| Colorado season | About May to September; spring and fall with panels | Year-round |
| How the city treats it | Non-habitable enclosure | Habitable room addition |
| Foundation | Existing patio and cover posts | Full frost-depth foundation |
| Relative cost | Lower | Higher |
What Colorado weather means for each
- Bugs and evenings. Summer evenings are the best part of a Colorado patio. A screen room lets you use them without mosquitoes or miller moths.
- Wind and dust. Front Range wind blows dust and debris into open patios. Glass or vinyl panels on a screen room block it while still letting light in.
- Cold. Only a sunroom, with insulation, energy-code glass and heat, stays comfortable in a Colorado January.
- Snow on the roof. Both sit under a roof that must be engineered for your city's snow load, from 30 psf in Lakewood and Englewood to 43 psf in Denver.
- Hail. Screens and vinyl can be replaced panel by panel after a hailstorm. A solid insulated patio cover overhead protects the room below.
Permits: why "non-habitable" matters
Cities treat enclosures very differently depending on whether they're meant to be lived in. Denver allows a non-habitable enclosure without a full foundation, heating or insulation, as long as its walls and windows are at least 65% glass. Aurora allows enclosing an existing patio cover if the space stays non-heated, the longer wall plus one other wall is at least 65% open or glazed, and your existing house windows and doors stay in place. A heated sunroom is a full room addition with much stricter rules.
See your city's requirements with our Permit & Snow Load Checker, or read the full Denver-metro permit guide.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between a screen room and a sunroom?
A screen room is an unheated patio room with screen walls, built on your patio under a solid roof. A sunroom (also called a four-season room or solarium) is a heated, insulated room addition with glass walls that you can use all year.
Can I use a screen room in a Colorado winter?
Not comfortably on most days. A screen room is best from about May through September. Adding glass or vinyl panels stretches it into spring and fall. For January use, you need a sunroom.
Do I need a permit for a screen room in Denver?
Yes. Denver permits an enclosed patio as an addition. A non-habitable enclosure whose walls and windows are at least 65% glass doesn't need the full foundation, heating or insulation of a room addition.
Can I screen in my existing patio cover?
Often, yes, if the existing cover is sound and can carry the added load. In Aurora, the enclosure must stay non-heated and non-habitable, the longer wall plus one other wall must be at least 65% open or glazed, and existing house windows and doors must stay in place.
Which costs less?
A screen room costs much less. A sunroom needs a full foundation, insulation, energy-code glass and heating and cooling, like any other room addition.