Post and beam construction, also known as mortise and tenon construction, is one of the oldest and sturdiest methods of building a home. Instead of using nails to hold the posts and beams together, a sort of peg, called a tenon, is cut into the end of one beam and a corresponding hole, or mortise, is cut into another beam or post. The two are fitted precisely together to form a remarkably durable joint which we then finish securing with heavy-duty lag screws. In fact, post and beam construction significantly reduces the affect of wind on a structure, ideal for homes with greater exposure to the elements, such as here in New England. Houses built hundreds of years ago using this method of construction are still standing today.

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We use special Split Silver Titanium Glass in all our sunrooms. Our coating and tinting formulas are optimized for the harsh New England climate so they perform well under a variety of weather conditions and temperatures while maintaining optimum insulating properties all year round.

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The short answer is “yes”, if they’re designed and constructed to handle weather extremes. Every Brady-Built sunroom and conservatory is carefully manufactured in our own environmentally-controlled factory in Auburn, Massachusetts. Because our sunrooms and conservatories are specifically designed and manufactured to stand up to years of exposure to New England’s harsh weather, they remain comfortable and enjoyable year-round.

What enables our sunrooms to handle the New England environment so well? It starts with the materials we use – solid wood. Not vinyl, aluminum, or plastic. We use solid yellow pine and other species chosen specifically for New England conditions. Wood is warmer, stronger, more durable, and versatile than any other material – and it just looks better. Wood has better insulating properties, too, which means it stays cooler in summer and warmer in winter.

The glass used in your sunroom or conservatory is another critical component if you want to be able to use your sunroom or conservatory year-round. That’s why we use Split Silver Titanium™ glass that’s been optimized for the New England climate. Then we seal it with a special proprietary glazing system that offers the lowest seal failure rate in the industry.

The result is a beautiful, durable, solid sunroom or conservatory that’s not only comfortable year-round – it adds value to your home and more fun to your lifestyle.

We admit it – there are some people who think “factory-built sunroom” is synonymous with cheap, cookie-cutter construction and shoddy workmanship. Nothing could be further from the truth – at least not at Brady-Built! We strongly suggest that our customers – or anyone considering purchasing a sunroom – tour our factory to get the facts on factory-built sunrooms. Perhaps the best reason to tour our factory is because that’s the only way you’re going to be able to check out our sunrooms up close – all of our sunrooms and conservatories are built-to-order, so we don’t have a showroom!

Factory-built sunrooms and conservatories are far superior to on-site, “stick-built” models for many reasons. At Brady-Built, we have our own, environmentally-controlled factory that enables us to control every aspect of construction – starting with simply keeping our craftspeople comfortable and happy while they work, instead of being distracted and rushed by harsh, uncomfortable weather.

More than that, manufacturing sunrooms in a controlled environment enables us to maximize the environmental properties of all the materials we use – from maintaining optimal moisture and temperature during wood lamination, to controlling the cure rate of glues and sealants for weatherpoofing. Try doing that when you’re rushing to build a sunroom onsite, in summer’s relentless heat and humidity, or during a fall rainstorm, or a winter snow storm.

So to best tell the factory-built story, we think it’s important that all our customers actually visit our factory. Then they can see for themselves how a controlled environment enables us to manufacture the highest quality sunroom or conservatory possible. Once they understand that, they wonder why anyone would buy anything but a factory-built sunroom.

Every Brady-Built sunroom and conservatory is manufactured right in our own environmentally-controlled factory in Auburn, Massachusetts. Why? Because the only way a sunroom can be built to the highest quality standards is to do it in a controlled environment where it won’t be exposed to adverse weather or be constructed with materials that may have been compromised by being exposed to outdoor conditions for any length of time.

Our sunrooms and conservatories are designed and built specifically for New England’s harsh weather, so it stands to reason that if we constructed them on site, there would be a very good chance that some part of the process would be exposed to snow, ice, rain, humidity, heat, or cold. Any of these conditions can change the properties of the materials or, in many cases, enable moisture to get into the structure itself during construction, encouraging problems further down the road, such as mold, rot, or mildew.

By building sunrooms and conservatories in our environmentally-controlled factory, we have complete control over every aspect of manufacturing – from optimum temperatures that enable glues and sealants to cure properly, to comfortable working conditions that enable workers to perform at their maximum efficiency, unaffected by summer’s heat and humidity or winter’s freezing, damp conditions.

We encourage all our customers to come tour our factory and learn more about how we carefully manufacture each and every sunroom and conservatory. Once you see the Brady Difference, you’ll understand why we’ve earned our reputation as New England’s leading sunroom manufacturer.

Why Laminated Wood?

When considering the purchase of a sunroom, there are many decisions to make.  What the sunroom’s structure is made from is one of the most important from a practical as well as an aesthetic perspective.

Extruded vinyl or aluminum are commonly used to build the frames for sunrooms.  Both materials are very resistant to rot and require little maintenance but have the look and feel of a poor quality product.  Furthermore, sunroom built from vinyl or aluminum are “stick” built on-site with very little control over quality due to the variability of the skills between one technician and another.

Laminated wood sunrooms offer several advantages.  There is little doubt that wood looks “warmer and richer” than either of it’s competitors.  In fact, wood is literally warmer because it is a much better thermal insulator than either aluminum or vinyl.  The color and grain patterns in wood are beautiful.  Laminating wood to form the beams takes advantage of the beauty of the wood and enhances its structural qualities.  Sawn timber beams are weakened by knots and other natural variations in the wood.  When wood is cut into thin laminations and then glued together to make up a full thickness beam, the knots and other “defects” are limited to only the thickness of each lamination.  Since the natural flaws don’t line up from layer to layer, the effective strength of the beam is not impacted.

To protect the beautiful wood from the elements, the exterior surfaces of laminated wood sunrooms are clad in aluminum extrusions.  This technique offers all of the advantages of wood and aluminum.

Since wood is an easily machined material, it makes customizing the sunroom easy.  Manufacturers of aluminum and vinyl sunrooms will not customize their rooms to fit special customer requirements.  Building sunrooms from laminated wood makes customization a natural benefit.

Solar screens, the best way to manage sunroom temperatures year-round.

There are many competing claims by sunroom manufacturers about glass.  Some claim to have the “best” glass in the industry, others claim that their glass blocks out most of the sun’s heat in summer; others say theirs allows most of the sun’s warmth through in the winter.  Like so many things in life, you can’t have it all.  Magic glass is a myth.  Designing glazing systems is a science that requires a clear understanding of what it will be used for, what qualities are most important and where compromises can be made.  Glass, if not modified, allows most of the visible light spectrum to pass through and has virtually no insulating value.  What this means is any light that passes through the glass will strike another surface (inside your house or sunroom) and either be reflected or absorbed.  The light that is absorbed is converted into heat energy (remember the conservation of energy law from high school physics class?).  This heat in the winter is desirable and in the summer can make the room uncomfortably hot. (more…)

It's pretty "clear" that Brady's Glass will let in more sun

Property values have plummeted with the massive foreclosure rate that still plagues the U.S. in this current economy. Homeowners who have had the good fortune to keep their residence are looking for ways to increase their home and property value in hopes that if they do decided to move that they might get back their initial investment. There are several ways to increase a home’s value.; A new coat of paint, better insulation, and one that seem to be growing with popularity the solarium.

The word solarium is often used when talking about tanning beds, but for this purpose, that is not the case. Solarium in this instance refers to the room made completely out glass, including the roof. The floors are usually ceramic tiles to maximize the absorption of the sun. (more…)

Brady-Built Sunrooms often recommends a helical screw foundation for the installation of
sunrooms as an alternative to a concrete pier (often called a Sonotube) foundation. What is it and why use it?

First; it is best to understand what a concrete pier foundation is. A concrete pier foundation requires the excavation of a hole large enough to accept the pier form (usually a cardboard tube).The hole must extend to below the frost line, which in most of New England is set at 48” by building code. Depending upon soil conditions and the weight of the structure that the pier will support, a flared bottom is sometimes required on the pier. This is achieved by using a plastic form under the cardboard tube form that gives the pier an upside down ice cream cone shape.The hole for this type of pier is significantly larger than a straight tube pier. (more…)

Harsh winters filled with unforgiving storms that during the coldest months of the New England year seem unyielding can make even a lifelong resident of this unpredictable region wonder why he/she hasn’t made the move to sunny California.Perhaps the mild, short summers open the way for the familiar smells of autumn. Cool winds, wood stoves and magic in the air are what make New England residents suffer through the trials of weather to reap Fall’s reward. The crunching of the leaves under sneakers while the crisp air kisses the face needing only a sweatshirt and jeans to brave its season, autumn never seems long enough.

Sunrooms though mainly considered a summer idea have gained popularity with New England residents. Perhaps it is the innovations in glass technology that allows the New Englander to have options where there once was none. Even as early as 15 years ago the idea of a sunroom made entirely out of glass on a New England home was preposterous. It would be as if the resident was asking for it to be shattered, cracked or destroyed. Temperatures under 0 degrees, icicles falling, and what seems like infinite pounds of heavy snow would have scared off the home owner from having anything more than an enclosed porch or screen house that could be disassembled when the bad weather was about to begin its tyrannical season. (more…)