Solarium Homes and Sunrooms Across Metro Vancouver

Solarium listings describe a glassed-in room that brings extra light and space into the home, usually an enclosed room off the living area of a condo or a sunroom added to a house, so check how the room is built and heated before you count it as living space.

Check How the Solarium Is Built

In many Vancouver condos built in the late decades of the last century, a solarium is a glass-enclosed room off the living room, designed as part of the unit with windows on two or three sides. In others it is a balcony that was enclosed later. In houses it is usually a sunroom addition, sometimes with a glass roof. Ask the listing agent when the solarium was built, whether it was part of the original design, and whether any enclosure or addition was permitted.

An unpermitted enclosure can cause problems with insurance, the strata or the municipality, and a balcony enclosed without approval may have to be restored.

Ask Whether the Solarium Counts as Floor Area

Listings sometimes include the solarium in the square footage and sometimes do not. Ask how the figure was measured and compare it with the strata plan. A room that is heated, insulated and fully part of the home adds real living space to a Vancouver home; one that is cold in winter and hot in summer is closer to a covered balcony, however it is described.

Compare Solarium Listings by Comfort Through the Year

Glass rooms swing in temperature. Ask whether the solarium is heated, whether it has its own baseboard or shares the home's system, and how it feels on a winter evening and a summer afternoon. A south or west-facing room can overheat, while a north-facing one may be too cool to use for much of the year. Blinds and ventilation make a large difference.

Check the glass and frames closely. Older solariums often have aluminium frames and double glazing near the end of its life. Look for fogging between panes, condensation, stained sills and water damage to the floor below the windows.

Weigh How You Would Use the Space

A solarium can be a home office, a reading room, a dining area with a view, or a place for plants. Measure it for the furniture you have in mind, and check where the power outlets are. In a condo it often adds panoramic views over the skyline and water views or the mountains, which is a large part of its appeal. In a house, a sunroom can connect the kitchen to the garden and make a smaller family home feel larger, a bright oasis in a wet Vancouver winter. On a detached home, check that the sunroom's roof and walls tie properly into the main house, since that joint is where leaks start.

Read the Strata Documents

In a strata, the solarium glass is often part of the building envelope, and its maintenance may fall to the strata or the owner depending on the bylaws. Read the minutes, budget and depreciation report for window and envelope work, and ask whether any solarium leaks have been reported. Older buildings with many solariums can face significant glazing replacement costs.

Browse Solarium Condos Across Greater Vancouver

Supply is concentrated in older condo buildings in Vancouver's West End near Stanley Park, Kitsilano, Arbutus, Burnaby and West Vancouver, with sunrooms on houses for sale across the suburbs, including Shaughnessy and Chilliwack. Vancouver real estate listings describe these rooms in many ways, so search homes for sale for sunroom as well as solarium. Browse and compare current listings on the MLS® through Strawhomes, filter by neighbourhood and bedroom count, and shortlist only the homes whose solarium you have seen in different light. Compare them against a home with an enclosed balcony or plenty of natural light without the extra glass to maintain.