How did we gain a ton of extra square footage to take our for-sale casa from 1300 finished square feet to 1550 in the last 48 hours? We’ll give you a hint: we didn’t add an overnight addition. We just added a permanent heat source to our existing sunroom… and now it counts as livable square footage!
A realtor friend of ours advised us that rooms don’t need to be heated and cooled to count as “finished” here in Richmond – just heated. Meaning the only thing keeping the biggest room in our house (our sunroom) from getting counted as official square footage was a source of heat. So we called a few electricians and got some estimates for a six foot baseboard heater to be hardwired and installed, which should definitely keep the room nice and toasty on a crisp winter day (assuming the sliding doors are all closed of course). The winning bid was $250 and within 48 hours it was done-zo. Yup, our former three season room can now be used year round.
Here’s what the breaker box looked like when the job was in progress:
Let’s just say that we’re glad that we didn’t attempt to DIY it ourselves (messing with the main breaker box while the house was on the market just sounded like a bad idea, and the installers actually had to drill through the concrete sunroom floor and wire things up through the basement and the crawl space so we’re glad we left it up to the pros).
The most fun part of the project for us? Changing our fliers from 1300 square feet to 1550, which makes the dollar per square foot ratio even better for any potential house hunters (and now we won’t lose people who’ve set a must-be-at-least-1500-square-feet search parameter). Plus with our sunroom being one of the most awesome rooms in our entire house, we must admit that it definitely hurt when it couldn’t be counted as anything before. Doesn’t that room deserve a little love? Well, the problem is now officially solved. Sunroom: you count.
We like how crisp and streamlined the baseboard heater looks installed at the foot of the brick wall. And the easy-use dial (marked off, low, med, and high) is all anyone needs to heat things up whenever the mood strikes.
The more expensive solution would have been to install a one-room heat pump system (estimates for that ranged from 2-3K) but our realtor friend actually recommended the baseboard solution over the heat pump since it’s such a simple and inexpensive upgrade (and it’s usually all that people need from a sunroom anyway). So that’s how we gained 250 more finished square feet – for only about a dollar per square foot.
Have any of you guys “finished” an almost-finished space in your house (either to sell it or enjoy it)? We’re kind of sad it took us this long to tackle Project Baseboard in our sunroom since it’s definitely one of our favorite rooms. Who knows how much we could have used it in the last four winters that we’ve spent here!
Note: For anyone who goes this route, we suggest getting an impartial appraisal so the updated square footage can be verified and recorded on record for your protection! Also remember that you may have to inform the county that you’ve expanded your square footage and may need to pay taxes on that area (we already pay taxes on the sunroom, garage, basement, and other unfinished areas but we still plan to double check that we’ve done all that we need to do for this square footage to officially “count”). And remember that different areas have different rules, so check yours out before diving in.
That’s awesome! I bet it’s nice to say “four season porch” on the flier too. Put a little closet in the corner and you’ve got yourself a 4th bedroom too, haha.
That’s a great idea. For people like us who are house hunting, those sq ft break points make a big difference. It makes me wonder, though – did you guys ever go out into the sunroom during the winter? And do you wish you would have done this earlier?
Hey Brandt,
Yes, we do wish we had done it earlier because we wonder how many winter days we would have been out there enjoying the view- especially since we got snow three times this past winter!
xo,
s
Great idea! And it’s really not an eyesore either, it ALMOST looks like a regular molding at the bottom. It’s a good place too, since most people probably wouldn’t want to rest any furniture against that side either.
Bummer about missing out on it in the winters though! Oh well…now you can find that in your new house ;)
Completely random, but is that ottoman from Target? I believe I have the same one!
I don’t know how cool it is in Virginia now, but maybe you’ll get to enjoy your new heater a little bit… but not for too long ;)
Yes- love that thing. Yay Target.
xo,
s
Glad y’all could squeeze more square footage out of the house! Even though I’m not at the point in life where my husband and I can start seriously looking for houses I have been checking to see what’s out there. I can say that I do have a minimum square footage that I look for because our apartment is so big. I need at least twice as much space to have some breathing room (2000 sq ft). I love the sunroom and wish more houses in Texas had them.
I’m amazed at how cheap that was to do! We also have a 3-season enclosed porch/sunroom and I think I’d love to do that, too!
If you sell the house before next March when you estimate you can buy a new one, where will you go?
Marilyn – we’re still planning to buy a house before March so if all goes well we’ll have sold this house and be in a new one before the end of the year (we’ll work in an extra long closing date on ours so we have time to buy and close on a new one so we can move once instead of being without a place to go). If timing somehow doesn’t work in our favor, we have talked about extreme back up options like temporarily renting or living at my parent’s beach house for a little while.
Melissa- We’ve seen people go either way with this and honestly it was easier to keep it wood toned (which is how it was installed) rather than paint it. So we did.
Jennae- This is a new baseboard heater, so it’s a lot more efficient than the older ones. That being said it’s still not green by any means, but it’s what fit into our budget and it certainly won’t be running all the time, only in those instances when someone wants to be in the sunroom when it’s feeling chilly.
Katie- Honestly we always recommend people who do a great job in our house but we wouldn’t recommend the guys who did the baseboard. Sure they got it done, but they showed up unprepared, it took them quite a while, and one of them actually smelled like alcohol. Hope that makes sense!
Tarynkay- Nope, we thought about a bunch of altering what we have options and nothing comes close to fitting our needs the way a new house would. But we will sorely miss the sunroom- it’s such a great space!
Amanda- Three electricians that we called with the measurements for the room all suggested a 6 foot baseboard (which is actually as tall as John so it’s not very mini in person). It seems to really work well for the room.
xo,
s
I love that. What a great idea and totally inexpensive way to add an entire “new” room to your house. I would expect nothing less from you two. You are inspiring no doubt.
That’s awesome! I’ll have to keep that kind of heater in mind when we eventually turn our porch into a sunroom. I wonder if the “only has to be heated” rule applies in FL, our porch is HUGE and would add a ton of square footage for our house, too!
I’m sure this update will make your house even more appealing to potential buyers :)
Unrelated question, but still curious…
I noticed on the first photo that you left your quarter round molding unpainted/ natural. Is there a reason for this? I’m thinking of painting the trim in my 1960’s home white – including the very flat ugly doors (can’t afford new ones). Do you have any tips?
By the way – good thinking adding the heater!
That’s awesome – also now you can leave the back door open and the heat from the the house and the room will work together! Especially since the sunroom doesn’t have to be as warm as the house.
Awesome! We have a “finished” sun room but w/out heating or AC. We were thinking of getting a space heater but this sounds like a much better option. Would you mind providing the name of your electrician as I’m in Richmond too?
Thanks:)
good call! I like where you installed it, it’s not obtrusive at all.
We just took out a baseboard heater from our sunroom–it was the first thing you saw when you walked in the room, and it was waaaay too long, so you could never place furniture along the wall without worrying that it’d overheat.
anyone with suggestions about possible replacements?
http://buckcanuck.blogspot.com/2010/10/bye-bye-baseboard-heater.html
I know that the old school baseboard heaters were energy hogs. Is this one more energy efficient? I know your heater won’t be used all the time like the ones throughout the rest of the house, but I’m just curious about how much energy this would use.
I say that because baseboard heaters tend to be a complete turnoff for me in older homes because I know we’d have to replace them. Just throwing that out there in case any of your potential buyers might feel the same way.
Very nice! I love your sun room. Especially that new diy floor!!
Wow! I had wondered if you’d considered enclosing that, but didn’t know it would be so easy! Did this make you want to stay? Cause you could easily turn this into a master suite, replacing some of that glass w/ walls, add closets, and have an attached 1/2 bath right there. Then you could add another sunroom behind that if you wanted, salvaging all of that glass for the walls. Or this could be your office, bringing you back up to 3 bedrooms. Someone mentioned the basement as an office, which would be really smart too- esp since it’s a separate entrace, as this makes it moreof a separation from your living space. You’re probably committed to selling now, but these are fun things to think about.
Nice! Don’t you hate it when a good idea comes late!
I always wondered why you didn’t put your office out there…seemed ideal from this side of the blog.
very cool! We have an offer in on a house with a sunroom and she has a little portable radiator looking thing she uses in it currently. I’m now thinking for $250 maybe we’ll install a baseboard system out there eventually. Thanks for sharing!!!
Can’t wait to see what you end up buying and fixing up. we need to tackle some renovations at the new place and I could so use some YHL inspiration. We’d just be tackling cosmetic stuff like painting oaky (but custom built and nicely made in the 80s) cabinets, oaky trim, dark but solid wood doors, etc.
That’s pretty awesome! Now I wish I had a three-season porch to make into a four-season one!
To be honest, the sunroom was my favorite room in your casa. When I heard it was not going to be added to the square footage I was shocked! I am glad you guys came up with this smart idea. You got to spend money to make money; that couple of hundred dollars you spent for the heater is going to pay off!
Awesome idea and it looks good too!
Good to know! I really had no idea about that. And everytime I see that room, I get so excited. I just love the colors.
WOW! Congratulations! That is fantastic news! It definitely makes a difference.
My first thought was “Too bad they didn’t do that years ago!” Oh well, someone else will get to enjoy your awesome house! Good luck with the house hunt!
Melissa
http://www.houseography.net
Great idea, guys! It’s amazing that that’s all it took! And it does look pretty nice and streamlined. Do those things tell you how much square footage they’ll heat? I’m a little surprised that that little guy can heat the whole sunroom.
Love the picture with Burger at the door! Spray paint him white and he could be part of the room! haha
This is brilliant! I had no idea it would be so easy to convert a 3-season room into a 4-season one. This idea is definitely going in the files for when I’m looking for a home. Thanks for sharing!
Would have never thought of doing that! Awesome upgrade. So inexpensive! I would have thought it would cost much more than that.
i’m so glad your realtor friend suggested that to you. it’s for real a great room and i would think a key selling point for you guys. congrats on that upgrade!
pretty neat! who would have thought that this could be done so inexpensively? i’m glad that overall you guys have had several years to enjoy most of upgrades to your house.
since we’re not in our forever house right now, we weigh the resale implications before each upgrade. but we still only make changes that will improve our current lifestyle.
i never understand when people sink a ton of dough into fixing up their house, only to sell it. i want to enjoy it all while i’m still here!
I can relate to breaker box mess. We just had a few new power outlets installed in our hallway and kitchen and as this apartment is old (turn of the century), all the electric stuff has been added in stages. We held our breath at one time when we were told we would have plastic cable channels running over most of the walls in our hallway. What the …? Luckily our landlord trusted in my opinion to go with another suggestion of the electrician and now it looks even cleaner than before. Phew! Here’s to closing that box for good …
What a great and fairly inexpensive idea! I have two porches that I could do this in. Thanks for the inspiration~
Smart!! At a glance it just looks like a beefy base board.
We have one tiny wall heater for our whole house. Totally lame. And the previous owners turned the 3rd bedroom into a dining room and then added on a master bed and bath which brought our square footage up to 1600 *BUT* I don’t think they got permits, so it doesn’t count : (
We turned our screen porch into a sunroom. We added baseboard heat so we could use it all year round and have it count as living spaces as well. To be honest we don’t use it that much in the winter since it is still really cold even with the heat on but we are cheap and don’t turn it up that high :). Plus last winter we had a lot of snow and it was our first winter having it closed it. I guess this year we will have a better idea.
awesome! my husband and i did something similar – by putting a heat lamp in a small, basement half-bathroom – when selling our house last spring.
That is an awesome idea, you guys are so smart :-) BTW, I’m telling all of my Richmond friends about your house in case they (or their friends) are in the market and are looking to buy. Good luck with the home-selling process and have fun house-hunting!!
Wow! What a no-brainer to do this at such a low cost. Genius!
Why didn’t I know baseboard heaters existed? It’s the perfect solution for our office/guest room! You have to love old houses… Our’s was built in 1919 and doesn’t have a heating vent in that room since there’s no space for the ductwork in that corner of the house. Our poor overnight visitors have been a little chilly! Thanks for the idea!
You read my mind! We have a room that was added onto our house, connecting to our garage. We call it the breeze way and it is not heated. We hardly use the room because Michigan winters are freezing! We have a wood burning fire place in it, but this would be another great solution to have it counted at square footage! Thanks for the tip!
That is so awesome!!! Congrats!
Do you know if they can be installed on siding? We have a sunroom exactly like yours, which we are copying ALL ideas right now, and our wall is siding not brick.
Thanks!
Hey Amy,
Yes, we believe you can!
xo,
s
I’m so inspired by your sunroom! We have a screened in porch with a cement floor, but we live in Michigan, so we can only use it about 6 months out of the year. I’ve always wanted to seal it off with windows, and now the idea of a baseboard heater really gives me something to look forward to! Yay for more square footage!
Katie,
I’m a Michigander as well, and having a heated sunroom in the winter is awesome. I had some friends that had a jacuzzi in one that was a ton of fun in the winter. I highly recommend it, but obviously, get that heating in there or you’ll freeze!
What a great, inexpensive upgrade that should do wonders for your resale! As for spaces we’ve finished to help with resale, Handy Hubby tore down a {leaning} single car garage stall and built a 2.5 garage instead…complete with a pull down ladder to an attic storage space of sorts above. He had it so organized by the time we sold the house that we were definitely wondering why we hadn’t done it sooner. Trying to sell a house is always a good kick in the you-know-what. Maybe I should start organizing/decorating with that in mind more often!
What a great idea!! I always see things like this on home/real estate shows – people do such great things to their house just before they sell. Sometimes the changes are so nice you’d wish they’d stayed longer!!
What a perfect low-cost solution!!
You guys are so smart! We are hoping to finish our basement off in the next year! That will add 1300 square feet and make our house 2600 sq ft! It will be a hard job but great to have more room to spread out and great for resale if we ever move!
Thanks! This is a great fact for homeowners know! I’d known about the importance of having a built-in closet to make a room count as a bedroom, but I didn’t know about the heat source thing. Congrats on gaining all that square footage!
This means that you can UP your asking price, right?
Hey Kathy,
I guess we could up our asking price but we’re holding steady. The goal is to sell our house quickly so we’re tossing in things like appliances and the bedroom built ins as motivators to potential buyers. Since the baseboard heater was such an affordable upgrade we’re just adding it to the list of things that we hope will lead to a quick sale!
xo,
s
Yay for the extra square footage! We almost did not look at the house we eventually bought because it listed at more square feet than we wanted. However the owner listed the unheated spaces plus the huge back deck as ‘livable’ space.
Here’s to hoping the sale & the househunt blend smoothly together. We have known a few families that negotiated renting their old home from the new owners for a month or two until they were able to get into their new homes. Just throwing another “what if” option out there for you.
Yes that’s definitely an option!
xo,
s
Fabulous idea! Love it. Also wanted to let you guys know I’m digging your back-to-basics blogging style these days. I’m a long-time reader, and it’s taking me back to the days of yore. :) I really enjoy a good mix of the long, involved, uber-detailed posts, and these lighter “here’s what’s going on with us right now” posts.
Funny to see your mini-mudroom ottoman again. We’re doing a mini-makeover in our living room right now, and, when talking over the best solution and looking around at Target, we ended up with a very similar set up to yours… including that exact same ottoman. It’s coming in the mail today (since we found a better deal ordering it online).
Great Idea! My parents have a sun room in Boston that they use almost year round. Thanks to a large space heater(looks like a wood burning stove), but i love the permanent fixture. When the sun hits the room gets quite warm and the heater adds a good amount of additional heat in the cooler months.