Updated September 2026
A screen room fills the openings with mesh and costs $10,000 to $35,000 new or $2,000 to $5,000 when an existing patio cover is screened in, per HomeGuide's 2026 screened porch guide. A glass room fills the same openings with sliding glass panels, screens behind them, and costs $15,000 to $45,000 installed for a three season room, inside HomeGuide's $8,000 to $50,000 three season range. A sunroom with a shingled roof and fixed windows sits closer to a conventional addition and costs more still. The right pick depends on how many months of the year you want to use the room.
Sources: HomeGuide, How Much Does a Screened In Porch Cost (2026) and How Much Does a Sunroom Cost (2026).
| Screen room | Glass room | Sunroom | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Openings | Screen mesh | Sliding glass panels with screens | Fixed insulated windows |
| Roof | Structall insulated panel | Structall insulated panel | Shingled, framed to match the house |
| Typical installed range | $10,000 to $35,000 new | $15,000 to $45,000 | Above the glass room range |
| Seasons | Spring through fall | Three seasons, more with a mini split | Year round |
| Bugs | Kept out | Kept out, open or closed | Kept out |
| Rain and wind | Comes through the mesh | Closed out | Closed out |
| Code treatment | Patio cover, Appendix AH | Patio cover, Appendix AH | Closer to an addition |
| Build time | A few days | About a week | Weeks |
When the problem is bugs and sun, not temperature. Louisiana's warm wet climate gives mosquitoes and gnats most of the year, and a screen room with an insulated roof and a ceiling fan solves that for the least money. It is also the right first step when the budget is tight, because a sound screen room can take sliding glass panels later without rebuilding the roof.
When you want the room on a 40 degree January night and a 95 degree August afternoon as well as on a mild April evening. Slide the panels open and it works like a screen porch; close them and the insulated roof holds temperature well enough for a fan or a portable heater. NOAA's normals for Monroe put July highs at 93.2 degrees and January lows at 36.7, and that swing is exactly what a glass room is built for. Add a dedicated mini split and it runs nearly year round.
When you want fully conditioned space that reads as part of the house, with a shingled roof, insulated walls and large fixed windows. That is closer to an addition in cost and in permitting, and it is the right answer for a home office or a dining room rather than an outdoor room. Donnie Grubbs builds screen rooms, glass rooms and sunrooms, and will say plainly at the estimate which one fits the house and the budget.
Yes, and it is the most common path. Patio cover first, screens a year or two later, glass after that. The one thing to decide up front is whether glass is ever coming, because the posts and beams are sized for it at the first build. Converting a sound screen room to glass reuses the roof and framing, which puts the project at the low end of the glass room range.
Not quite. A glass room encloses a patio with aluminum framing, an insulated panel roof and sliding glass panels with screens. A sunroom usually has a shingled roof and fixed windows and sits closer to a traditional addition. Donnie Grubbs builds both.
In most cases, yes. If the framing is sound, sliding glass panels replace the mesh in the existing openings and the screens stay behind the glass. Say so at the first estimate and the structure is sized for it from the start.
All three. Screen rooms and glass rooms are treated as patio covers under Appendix AH of the 2021 International Residential Code with Louisiana amendments, one story, under 12 feet, outdoor living use. A sunroom is closer to an addition. Donnie Grubbs handles the permit as part of the job.
It depends on how many months of the year you want the room. A screen room costs less, typically $10,000 to $35,000 installed per HomeGuide's 2026 screened porch guide, keeps bugs out and is comfortable from spring through fall, but rain and wind come through the mesh. A glass room typically runs $15,000 to $45,000 and closes out rain and wind for three seasons: sliding glass panels with screens behind them open on a mild April evening and close during a downpour or a 40 degree January night, and a mini split stretches use into the coldest weeks. NOAA normals put Monroe's July highs at 93.2 degrees and January lows in the 30s, and that swing is what a glass room is built for. Both use a Structall insulated roof and both are treated as patio covers under Appendix AH of the 2021 International Residential Code with Louisiana amendments, so the permit path is the same. Build time runs a few days for screen versus about a week for glass, and a sound screen room can be converted to glass later. Donnie Grubbs builds both and says at the estimate which fits the house.
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