Sunroom Contractor in Rialto, CA - Patio Rooms That Join the House Right
Horizon Highland Sunrooms & Patios is a sunroom contractor based in Highland that builds sunrooms, patio enclosures and screen rooms for Rialto homeowners, often over an old patio slab or deck and tied into the house.
Rialto homes and the rooms people add to them
Rialto sits between Fontana and Colton, a short drive from our base in Highland. Most of it is neighborhoods of single-family homes with backyards, with shopping and industrial areas along the main roads.
The houses we get called to here range from older single-story homes with low eaves to newer two-story tracts with tighter yards, and plenty of them have a patio cover or deck someone added years ago. No two back walls end up the same. The trickiest part of a Rialto job is often where the new roof meets the house, especially under a low eave where there's very little height to work with.
Services in Rialto, CA
Patio-to-sunroom conversion
A lot of Rialto backyards already have a covered patio off the family room, and closing it in is the most common way people here get more space. We plan the walls, windows and doors around how you'll use the room, so it works as a real room and not a porch with glass.
Custom sunrooms
When the back of the house has a low eave, an odd corner or two rooflines meeting, a standard room won't line up, and that's when we build custom sunrooms sized to your house. I'd rather work out where the new roof meets the old one before we build than patch it later.
Patio enclosures
If you have a patio cover you like and just want walls under it, we look at whether its posts and beam can carry windows and doors. Sometimes they can, and sometimes we add support first so the enclosure isn't leaning on a cover that was built for shade.
Deck-to-sunroom conversion
Raised decks on sloped or split-level lots are some of my favorite jobs here, because what's under the deck decides everything. We check the footings and framing first and tell you plainly whether the deck can stay or needs a new base under it.
Screen room installation
Some Rialto homeowners want a shaded place to sit outside without bugs, not a full glass room, and a screen room gives them that. We still anchor it properly and tie it into the wall so it stays square and doesn't rattle.
Sunroom remodeling
Older aluminum patio rooms show up a lot here, often with sliders that stick or a floor that has settled. We find out why before we quote new panels, since new glass won't help if the base underneath is the real problem.
What we know about building a sunroom in Rialto
In Rialto, the city's Building Department issues the permits for building or altering any structure. Its permit list names patios and accessory buildings, so we check with that office about your room before anything gets ordered. Its review sets the pace before we can build, which is why the plans we file have to be complete. When you're comparing contractors, ask about a California license from the Contractors State License Board. Ask about a Rialto business license too, because the city requires one of every state-licensed contractor who bids on or does work here, subcontractors included. We're licensed and fully insured, and we prepare and file the plans and permit paperwork for you when your job calls for it.
Price moves most with the parts you won't see once the room is done, what it sits on and how it joins the house. The schedule turns mostly on the city's review and on any base work we find. Your free estimate spells out what's in the room and what isn't. We build the same kinds of rooms in Riverside and San Bernardino, and in each one we start by checking with the office that covers your address.
What Rialto houses and lots mean for your sunroom
Most Rialto calls start with something that's already out back, like a patio slab, an aluminum cover or a deck that's been there for years, and that piece decides a lot. A slab poured for patio furniture isn't always ready to carry walls and a roof. We check its thickness and edges at the estimate and add footings, concrete pads set deeper in the ground, when the room needs them. It's slower than building straight on top, but a room is only as good as what's under it.
The city's building code findings note two earthquake fault systems inside city limits, the San Jacinto and the Rialto-Colton, though that finding covers Rialto as a whole and doesn't map any one lot. For a sunroom, that's one more reason we care how the room is anchored to its base and fastened to the house, since those joints take the strain when the ground moves.
Get a free on-site sunroom estimate for your Rialto home
We reply to every call and message within one business day to set a time, and I come out to your Rialto house myself to measure and check the base. You get a written estimate of what the room would include, with no obligation to go ahead.
How it works when you call us about a Rialto sunroom
Call or send a message
Call (909) 737-1119 or use the form, and we'll set a time to come out. It helps to have a rough idea of how you'd like to use the room.
I look over your house
I measure, check the slab or deck the room would sit on, and look at where it meets the house. I'll ask a lot of questions about how you'll use the space, because that decides the windows, the doors and whether it needs heating and cooling.
You get a written estimate
The estimate spells out what's in the room and what isn't. That way there's nothing to guess at later.
We file plans with Rialto
Once you say go, we prepare the plans and paperwork and file them with the city when your job calls for it. The city gives a tentative 20 business days for plan review on most permits, then a tentative 10 business days more to issue the permit.
We build and walk it
Our own crew builds the room, and licensed trade partners handle any wiring or heating and cooling. At the end we walk the finished room with you.
Rialto sunroom questions we hear
Does a sunroom with solar panels or an EV charger need extra permits in Rialto?
Yes. Rialto lists solar panels, EV charging stations, battery storage and on-site generators among the items that need their own permit, separate from the room itself. The city's handout says that list isn't complete, so we ask about anything you're adding when we check your room with the city.
How long does it take to get a building permit in Rialto?
The city says patio permits can often be reviewed and issued within 10 business days, Monday to Thursday, while most other permits follow the longer tentative review in the steps above. If the city sends back corrections or the plans get revised, the same tentative 20 business days starts over. That's why we'd rather spend extra time getting the drawings right before we file.
When does a contractor need a California state license for a sunroom?
A contractor needs a state license to build or alter a structure whenever the project needs a building permit or uses employee labor, or when the contracts on it total $1,000 or more in labor and materials. The board lists a few exemptions, such as qualifying owner-builders, so a sunroom built by a hired crew will usually fall under it.
How do I find out if my Rialto home is in a fire hazard severity zone?
Look up your address on the city's fire hazard severity zone page, because the zone is set property by property, not for the whole city. The state fire marshal has issued recommended local maps for San Bernardino County, so it's worth checking even if you looked a few years ago. Let us know what you find before we draw the plans.
What affects the cost of a sunroom in Rialto?
The biggest swings come from whether your slab or deck needs new footings, how hard the roof is to tie in, and whether the room is glass for year-round use or screened. Size, doors and windows add up from there, and wiring or heating and cooling brings in a licensed trade partner. Your free estimate lists what's included and what isn't, so you can compare it fairly against anyone else's.
What causes a patio room to leak where it meets the house?
Usually the patio room's roof was sealed against the wall with caulk instead of tied in under the house's roofing with flashing, which is bent metal that steers water over the joint. Caulk dries out and cracks, and once water gets behind it, it can rot framing you can't see. When we tie a room in, we work the flashing under the existing roofing or siding so water runs over the joint instead of into it.
Start your Rialto sunroom with a call
Call (909) 737-1119 or send us a request, and mention anything odd about your back wall or roofline, because those are the questions I like working out on site.