Patio enclosures in Los Angeles, CA - a sealed room on a slab that's ready for it
Too much sun, wind or bugs to use your patio? We enclose it with screen or glass walls on a slab we check first.
What does it take to enclose a patio in Los Angeles?
A patio enclosure in Los Angeles adds screen or glass walls around your patio cover, so a patio you only use some days becomes a room you can use far more often. Lightcraft Los Angeles Sunrooms & Patios is a licensed and insured sunroom contractor based in Los Angeles, and we build enclosures across the city and the cities around it.
Most people who call us have a patio they'd use more if the afternoon sun, the wind or the bugs let them, and the first thing I ask is how you'll use the room, because a room built for the wrong use is the one people regret. Like a sunroom, an enclosure can call for framing, roofing, flooring, electrical work, footings and flashing to steer water away from the joints, so it's a bigger job than hanging a few panels. The price moves with the size of the patio, how much glass you want compared with screen or solid panels, whether your patio cover can carry walls and whether the slab needs repair first. The schedule turns mostly on that slab work and on permits where they apply, and the written quote from my visit gives you your own figure.
What happens after you call about a patio enclosure?
Call or send us a message
Call (213) 340-1547 or use the form and tell us a little about your patio. We get back to you to set a time for me to come out.
I look at your patio
I come out myself, measure, look hard at the slab or deck the room will sit on and ask how your family plans to use the space. Then I send a written quote that lays out what we'll build and what it costs, so you're not guessing.
We handle permits and build
Once you sign, we find out which office covers your address and handle the permit applications and inspections when your project needs them, and your contract says in writing who's getting the permits. Our own crew builds the room, with a lead installer running the site.
We walk through it together
When the room's finished, I come back and walk through it with you, opening every door and window. That's a habit from my window and door days, when a slider wasn't done until it rolled smooth.
How we build a patio enclosure
The job starts at the slab. I look hard at it first, and if it needs repair our crew handles that before anything goes on top, because a tired slab gets dealt with, not covered up. Then we set the floor track, which is where I put the most care, sealing under and inside the joints and corners because one maker notes a leak at the floor track can only be fixed by taking the room apart. It's the same lesson I learned on sliding doors, where the sill is the first place water finds its way in. From there we raise the wall frames, tie the roof in with flashing, set the glass, screens and doors, and follow the maker's installation steps the whole way so the conditions on its warranty are met. Our lead installer runs the site day to day, and we clean up as we go.
Sometimes walls around the patio you already have aren't the right answer. If you want a room shaped around how your family lives, with its own roofline and window layout, that's where custom sunrooms come in, and if the cover or the slab is past saving, we'd talk about sunroom construction from new footings up.
Get a written quote for enclosing your patio
We reply within one business day to set a time for me to come out, measure and look at your slab. The visit is free, and you'll get a written quote with no pressure and no obligation.
Patio enclosure questions from Los Angeles owners
How much does a patio enclosure cost in Los Angeles?
Building a patio enclosure or sunroom in Los Angeles usually costs about $11,000 to $25,000 for the whole project. Where yours lands depends mostly on the patio's size, how much glass you choose and whether the slab needs repair first, and the written quote from my visit gives you your own number.
How do I know if my patio slab is ready for an enclosure?
It usually is if it sits higher than the ground around it and shows nothing worse than small hairline cracks. One maker's installation guide, written for jobs anywhere in the country, says hairline cracks are acceptable but large buckling needs repair, and that the slab must sit above the surrounding ground because the floor tracks have weep holes, small drain openings that can let standing water into the tracks and the room. The same guide says an all glass kick plate, the bottom wall panel, may not be used on a slab that isn't level, so a sloped patio can take a part solid, part glass panel down low instead.
Does installing a patio enclosure myself affect the warranty?
It can. One sunroom maker gives no labor warranty when owners install the room themselves or arrange their own installation, and many parts of its factory warranty depend on proper installation. Read the warranty terms for any room you're pricing before you decide to do it yourself.
Can a patio cover company build my patio enclosure in California?
Not on an awning license alone, because California's Contractors State License Board says that license covers patio covers and leaves patio enclosures out. It's worth asking any contractor which license they hold before you sign. We're licensed and insured.
Can I put walls around my patio cover in Los Angeles?
Yes, the city's building code lets a one-story patio cover up to 12 feet tall have walls in any layout, as long as the longer wall and one other stay at least 65% open or glass over at least their lower 6 feet 8 inches. That's why I ask early how much glass and screen you want on those walls. For rules on your own lot, Los Angeles City Planning points owners to ZIMAS, the city's zoning map, and to the Zoning Code, since its own summary leaves out rules unique to some properties.
How do I take care of a patio enclosure each year?
One maker's owner guide suggests a yearly inspection of the roof and gutters and keeping the door and window tracks clean inside and out. For the tracks it recommends a pure silicone spray, since oil-based lubricants tend to pick up dirt, which is the same thing I told people about sliding doors for years. Keep the weep holes in the floor track clear too, so the room drains the way it should.
Other ways to add a room outside
Custom sunrooms
For when you'd rather have a room drawn from scratch around your house and how you'll use it than walls added to what's already there.
Sunroom construction
For when the old cover or slab can't carry walls and the room needs to be built new from the ground.
Send us photos of your patio slab
Call (213) 340-1547 or use the form with your patio size and a few photos of any cracks or low spots, so I know what to check before I come out.