Solarium installation in Manhattan Beach CA - a bright room planned for the sun
Have a sunny patio or deck you hardly use? We'll build a glass room planned for strong sun and salt air.
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- Expect a reply within 1 business day.
What does a solarium add to a Manhattan Beach home?
Solarium installation in Manhattan Beach adds a room with glass walls to your house, often open to the rooms beside it. When it's built to be heated or cooled, it counts as living space that works as part of your home.
Most people who call us have a patio or deck that gets good light but sits empty most of the year, and they'd like a room they'll really use. The price moves with the size of the room, how much glass goes into the walls and roof, whether you heat and cool it, and what it sits on, since an existing slab or deck may need work before it can carry a glass room. The schedule turns mostly on how quickly the design comes together and what the city asks for at your address, and the written estimate after my visit gives you the figure for your own room. If you're starting from a deck, our deck-to-sunroom conversion page covers that version of the job.
How our solarium installation works
I start by measuring the spot and looking closely at what the room will sit on, because a room with this much glass needs a solid, level base. Keeping the room cool in strong sun is the part I plan hardest, along with how any aluminum frame will stand up to salt air, and we talk through both before we settle on a design. Once the design and paperwork are in place, our crew prepares the base, raises the frame, sets the glass and roof, then seals and trims everything so water drains away and the room closes up tight.
Some homeowners decide they'd rather have shade than a full room, and patio cover installation gives them that at a smaller scale. If you'd like help working out the shape, the glass and the roof before anything is built, that happens in our sunroom design work.
A room you heat and cool
This suits you if you want to use the room all year as part of the house, because a heated or cooled solarium counts as living space. An earlier edition of one national model building code calls for the glass in that kind of room to meet added standards for water leaks, air leaks and how well it handles heat, so the glass gets planned around that from the start.
A room for mild days
This suits you if you mostly want a bright, sheltered spot for the warmer months and don't plan to heat or cool it. It's usually a simpler build, though it won't work as part of the home the way a conditioned room does.
Solarium installation in Manhattan Beach and the Coastal Zone
The city requires a coastal permit for every project inside its Coastal Zone unless the project is exempted or excluded, so the first thing to learn is whether your lot is in it. You can check on the city's Coastal Zone map, and the city's online mapping page can give you a parcel report with your zoning and other details. Plans the city reviews now fall under California's newest building codes, and because a heated or cooled solarium adds conditioned space, the city's handout on the state's green building measures for additions comes into it too. We sort out what all of this means for your address before any work starts.
Most of the calls we get here are for a patio or deck the family wants to turn into a room they'll use, often where both the afternoon sun and the ocean breeze reach the back of the house. We see the same conditions on jobs in Hermosa Beach and Redondo Beach, and we plan those rooms the same careful way across the South Bay and the cities around it.
Why Manhattan Beach homeowners call Manhattan Beach Sunrooms & Patios for a solarium
The planner stays with the build
I look at every job myself to measure and plan the room, and our own crew does the building. Because the person who planned your room is the one checking the work, nothing gets lost between the estimate and the finished room.
Careful work since 2023
I learned this trade building patio covers and enclosures, and I started this business in 2023 so I could build rooms carefully and to my own standard. I'd rather give you a careful answer than a quick one, so you understand what you're getting before you sign anything.
Licensed in California, fully insured
We're licensed and fully insured. The state contractor license board treats selecting, cutting and setting glass into frames as its own line of contracting work, so it's fair to ask anyone you're weighing, us included, how their license covers the glass.
Your address checked before work
Before work starts, we check with the city or county office that covers your address about what the job needs, which in Manhattan Beach often begins with the Coastal Zone. Then we prepare and file the paperwork for any permits it calls for, so you aren't left sorting it out yourself.
If you'd like to talk through a solarium for your house, send us a request or call (424) 290-8610, and I'll come out to take a look. Satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
Request a quoteGet a written estimate for your solarium
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set up a time to visit. The on-site estimate is free, and there's no pressure to book. After the visit you'll have a written estimate to read over at your own pace.
What happens after you ask about a solarium in Manhattan Beach?
Call or send a request
Call (424) 290-8610 or use the form, and we'll get back to you to set a time for a visit. Thank you for reaching out, and tell us a little about the patio or deck you have in mind.
I visit, measure and plan
I come out myself to measure, look closely at what the room will sit on and talk through the room you want. Then you get a written estimate for that room, so you know what it costs and what's included before you sign anything.
Paperwork, building and final walkthrough
We take care of the permit paperwork, then our crew builds the room in stages. When it's finished, I walk through it with you before we call the job done.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a coastal permit to build a solarium in Manhattan Beach?
If your property is in the city's Coastal Zone, the city requires a coastal permit for the project unless it's exempted or excluded. The city's map shows whether your lot is inside the zone, and we check with the city about your address and file the paperwork before work starts.
How much does a sunroom or solarium addition cost in the Los Angeles area?
A sunroom addition in the Los Angeles area usually costs about $20,000 to $70,000 per project. That's the range across the area, not our price, and the written estimate from our visit puts a figure on your own room.
Will salt air damage the aluminum frame on a solarium near the beach?
It can, because salt air in coastal locations encourages damage and corrosion of aluminum framing around windows and glass. That's why I ask how any aluminum frame will hold up before we settle on a design, and it's a fair question to put to anyone who bids on your room.
How do I keep a glass solarium from getting too hot?
Plan for the heat before the design is settled, because studies from warm-climate countries link the sun's heat in glass rooms to lower comfort and more need for cooling. Shade, a roof with less glass and windows that open can all help, and we weigh those choices with you against how much light you want.
How do I care for a solarium so it keeps draining properly?
One sunroom maker's care guide suggests checking the roof and gutters once a year and keeping the weep holes, the small openings that let water drain out, clear. The same guide says to keep door and window tracks clean and to use a pure silicone spray rather than oil-based lubricants, which tend to attract dirt.
What causes fog on the inside of solarium glass?
Moisture on the inside pane comes from too much moisture in the room, according to that same maker's guide. It generally shows up most as the seasons change.
Other work that often goes with a solarium
Patio cover installation
A good fit when you want shade over the patio without closing it in with glass.
Sunroom design
Helps you settle the size, glass and roof of the room before anyone starts building.
Manhattan Beach, CA
Book a solarium visit at your home
If you check the Coastal Zone map, pull your parcel report and decide whether you'd like the room heated or cooled before you call, we can talk about your lot in real terms from the first visit.