Can a Delafield or Mukwonago Sunroom Work All Year?

Yes, if you cover the glass so the room can change with the seasons. Insulating cellular shades help hold warmth on cold winter nights. Light-filtering or solar fabrics cut glare and heat on hot summer days. A sunroom has far more glass than any other room. So pick one system that raises and lowers easily across every window. Then plan the roof glass on its own.

Below are the common sunroom questions for homes around Delafield and Mukwonago. Each answer starts with the short version.

Can a four-season room in Delafield or Mukwonago really work in January?

Yes, but you have to manage the glass. A well-built four-season room is heated and insulated like the rest of the house. The weak spot is all that glass.

Here's what the room is up against. NOAA's 1971 to 2000 averages for the Waukesha weather station put January nights at about 11 degrees. Daytime highs sit near 28. July afternoons average about 84 (NOAA normals for Waukesha, via the Wisconsin State Climatology Office). That's a big swing for one room to handle.

It helps to know which kind of room you have. A three-season room usually has no heat and thin walls. Same goes for a screen porch with glass inserts. Shades can make it nicer in spring and fall. They won't make it a January room. A four-season room is built as part of the house. It has heat and insulated walls. Most have double-pane glass too. That's where good shades make the biggest difference. The walls already hold heat, so the glass is the last gap.

Not sure which you have? Look for a heat source and insulated walls. We can also tell at a glance.

This corner of the county has a long weather history. Many people call Increase Lapham the father of the National Weather Service. He issued the first storm warning for the Great Lakes on November 8, 1870 (National Weather Service Milwaukee/Sullivan). Lapham Peak near Delafield is named for him. It's the highest point in Waukesha County. You don't need a forecast to know your sunroom feels the weather. You just need a plan for each season.

Why does a sunroom overheat in July and chill in January?

Glass lets heat move both ways. In summer, sun pours through the windows and warms everything it hits. In winter, warm room air loses heat to cold glass. The air near the windows cools and sinks. That's the draft you feel at your ankles.

Window coverings help on both ends:

• On winter nights, a lowered shade adds a layer of trapped air between the room and the cold window. The U.S. Department of Energy says cellular shades trap air in each cell and between the shade and the window. That cuts nighttime heat loss and cold drafts near windows. The DOE also calls them especially helpful in colder climates (DOE cellular shades fact sheet).
• On summer afternoons, a shade lowered before the sun hits the glass blocks some heat before it spreads. The same fact sheet says cellular shades also reduce unwanted solar heat gain.

The habit that helps most is simple. Lower the shades on winter nights and summer afternoons. Raise them on winter days to let the sun in.

What helps with snow glare on bright winter days?

A light-filtering or solar shade lowered partway. NOAA's numbers for Waukesha show about 43 inches of snow in an average year. A sunny morning after a snowfall can be blinding in a room made of glass.

Snow glare comes in low, often through the lower part of the window. Try these steps:

1. Lower the shade just past the glare line. You'll often keep the upper view and the sky while blocking the bright snow below.
2. Pick a fabric that softens, not darkens. You still want winter sun and its warmth. A light-filtering fabric spreads that light evenly.
3. Think about solar shades on the brightest side. Solar fabrics are woven to cut glare. You still get a view through the weave.

Top-down shades can help on the brightest windows too. They let light in up high while covering the lower glass.

Which shades work when a room is mostly windows?

Pick one style and one fabric for the whole room. Line the bottoms up at the same height. A sunroom can have 10, 15 or more windows. Mixing styles makes it feel busy. Shades that stop at different heights look uneven.

A few planning points:

• Match the mount. Inside mount looks tidy if the window frames are deep enough. Outside mount can cover gaps where windows meet at corners.
• Plan the corners. Where two walls of windows meet, the shades need to clear each other when lowered. We measure for this.
• Think about stack height. When raised, every shade stacks at the top of the window. Slim cellular and roller shades stack small, which keeps more glass open.
• Group windows that work together. Some systems let one control raise several shades at once. In a room this size, that saves a lot of daily effort.
• Don't forget the doors. Lots of sunrooms have a patio door or French doors out to the deck. Door shades need to clear the handle. They also need to stay put when the door swings or slides. Pick a style that matches the window shades so the door doesn't stand out.
• Watch the heat registers. Sunrooms often have baseboard heat or floor vents right under the windows. Shades should stop above them. Otherwise warm air gets trapped behind the fabric instead of reaching the room.

You can see the range of cellular fabrics and opacities on corporate's cellular shades page.

Can I cover roof glass or skylights?

Often, yes. But roof glass needs its own plan. Sloped and overhead glass takes the high summer sun almost head on. So it can let in a lot of heat. It's also the hardest place to reach.

• Skylight shades sit inside the skylight frame and run in side tracks. That keeps them flat against the slope.
• Sloped glass panels in a sunroom roof often need custom shades. Tension systems hold the fabric in place.
• Reach is the main issue. Overhead shades usually run with a long pole or a motor. A motor is worth a look for anything you can't reach from the floor.

Not every roof panel can be covered. Some sunroom kits use glass shapes or framing that leave little room for hardware. Once we see the room, we can tell you what fits.

How do I keep the view of the yard or the lake?

Use fabrics you can see through. Pick shades that clear the glass when raised. Lots of sunrooms exist for the view, so covering it all day defeats the purpose.

Mukwonago has lakes right on its doorstep. The Wisconsin DNR lists Lower Phantom Lake at about 373 acres and Phantom Lake at about 110 acres. Delafield grew up around Lake Nagawicka. Lake views come with water glare that changes through the day.

• Solar shades keep a soft view through the fabric while cutting glare. Darker solar fabrics often give a clearer view out than light ones.
• Raise shades all the way when you can. Slim stacking keeps the top of the view open.
• Cover only the glare side. You don't need every shade down. Lower just the windows facing the sun right now.

Are motorized shades worth it in a sunroom?

In lots of sunrooms, yes. A room full of windows means raising and lowering a lot of shades, often twice a day. Motors turn that into one tap.

What helps most:

• Group control. One button lowers a whole wall.
• Schedules. Shades can lower on winter evenings and summer afternoons with nobody home.
• Hard-to-reach windows. Clerestory windows and roof glass are much easier with a motor. So are windows behind furniture.
• No cords. Motorized or cordless shades give the room a clean look. They're a good choice for homes with kids and pets.

Already have motorized shades? Check the batteries and schedules before winter. Our Waukesha County care card for blinds, shades and drapes covers that, plus cleaning for each material.

Which fabric colors hold up in a bright room?

Light neutrals and mid-tones usually hold up best. Sunrooms get way more direct sun than other rooms. So fabric color matters more here.

• Light and neutral fabrics reflect more sun and show fading less over time.
• Darker fabrics absorb more heat at the glass. In solar shades they can give a clearer view out, though.
• The outside matters too. Most shades have a white or neutral back. That keeps the house looking consistent from the yard.
• Test samples in the room. A color looks different in a room full of glass than in a showroom. Check samples in the morning and again late in the afternoon.

How do cellular, solar and light-filtering roller shades compare?

Each one handles the seasons a little differently. Here's a quick comparison for a four-season room:

Some rooms mix two. Cellular shades go on the walls you sit beside at night. Solar shades go on the side that faces the view.

Which sunroom windows should I cover first?

Start with the glass that causes the most trouble. Here's a simple order:

1. West and south windows. They bring the most afternoon heat and glare.
2. Roof glass or skylights. If you have them, they're often a big part of the summer heat.
3. Windows beside seating. You feel cold glass most where you sit.
4. The view wall last, if it faces north or a shaded yard.

Lots of sunrooms around here came with the house. Mukwonago grew fast in the 1990s. Waukesha County's housing plan shows that by the 2000 Census, more than a third of the village's homes had been built since 1990. A sunroom from those years may still have its first builder shades, or none at all. The fabric on the sunny side may have faded too.

Before a visit, jot down a few notes. They make the visit faster and the plan better:

• Which walls face which direction, roughly?
• When do you use the room most: mornings, afternoons or evenings?
• Which windows feel cold in winter? Which get too hot in summer?
• Is there roof glass, a skylight or a window you can't reach?
• Do you want to keep a view of the lake, the yard or the street?
• Would you like the shades to run on a schedule?

Is your four-season room an enclosed porch on an older house? Then the trim may call for a more traditional style. Our look at matching coverings to the eras of Waukesha's McCall Street has ideas for older homes.

Every sunroom is different, so it helps to see fabrics in your own light. Get started at Budget Blinds serving Waukesha, Delafield and Mukwonago. Then schedule your free consultation.

Kevin Sill is CFO and co-owner of the family-owned Budget Blinds franchises serving the Waukesha area.