Replies

1. 
   Norman | Jan 19, 2015 11:58am | #1

   Location?

   Where is the house located? Depending on how cold it gets in the winter, you may be able to use a mini-split heat pump.

   Given that the rest of the house is steam, my hunch is that your winters are cold enough that a heat pump is not an option.

   1 pipe steam or 2? If one pipe, extending the steam may not be as hard as you think. The cost to run the pipe ought to be a lot less than a heat pump or furnace.

   Good luck.

1. 
   MRuiz | Jan 20, 2015 06:35pm | #7

   Thanks

   Based on your post I did a little bit more research and the cost to extend my current system is reasonable.  My system is a one pipe system in the ny/nj area.  Thanks again

2. 
   sapwood | Jan 19, 2015 12:34pm | #2

   Insulate it extremely well and use a small electric heater. A baseboard unit is inexpensive and easy to install. And it can be controlled by a wall thermostat. Then again, if by bedroom you really mean a spacious bedroom suite, then a different heat source may be needed although electric will still work. 

3. 
   DanH | Jan 19, 2015 07:05pm | #3

   There probably is a way to install a heat exchanger and have your steam generate hot water for the space.  Could be piped with flexible plastic piping, to permit "fishing" the pipes into the area.

   But you will want to insulate this area extremely well (something that will not "come naturally" for a converted sunroom).

4. 
   mark122 | Jan 19, 2015 09:32pm | #4

   how big will the room be? where do you live? what do your winters look like? by preferably not electric you mean base board heaters or something along those lines im assuming...

5. 
   renosteinke | Jan 20, 2015 02:26pm | #5

   Are You A Criminal?

   What's the local building codes say about your idea?

   I've seen it far too many times .... a deck becomes a porch, which is then screend in - glassed in - increasingly used as living space- then, over time, morphs into a bedroom.

   The problems are two-fold.

   First off, the space was never meant to be living space. Permits and inspections are usually not required. Plans are not inspected. The walls do not have the required receptacles, the roof is not made for the snow loading, the framing is not substantial enough. Heating and air conditioning units are not sized for this additional space. Insulation is below needs.

   Not being part of the 'house' proper, this space sneakspast the taxman. Clever? Only until you find the insurance company objects. Come sale time,  you present the house as having more space, more bedrooms, than you've been admitting to everyone else.

   In practical terms ... well, I service the 'property management' market, and these 'stealth changes' to the original structure are often the very cause of later problems. For example, in one house the entire bathroom and kitchen subfloor rotted, simply because of a flawed DIY attempt to close in the carport and add a laundry room. In the process, a bearing wall was damaged.

   My advice? Hire a real contractor to remove the sunroom completely, then build a proper addition.

1. 
   MRuiz | Jan 20, 2015 06:30pm | #6

   no I'm not

   Renostienke,

   The home is 100 yrs old and the porches well connected to the house.  The  previous owner who in 1995 filed permits and enclosed the open porches.  Very common in my town and surrounding towns where this style was popular in the 1920s. The home is in the ny/Nj area.  

6. 
   DanH | Jan 20, 2015 08:00pm | #8

   I didn't suggest a heat pump.

1. 
   Norman | Jan 22, 2015 12:51pm | #9

   I did.

   That was me with the heat pump suggestion.