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Hi guys, I’m in the process of buying a new house and will need a conservatory on the back. I’ve been looking at the company below who get good reviews , my builder mate thinks it looks like a good system but has anyone tried it?
https://www.conservatoryland.com/diy-conservatories/
Do it right and get something proper. Most people with a conservatory like the ones you link to are either re-roofing them or tearing them down. Poorly insulated, too hot to use in summer, too cold to use in winter.
https://i.postimg.cc/sfTS97Gr/75-F20...84-AFE5-F4.jpg
I don’t know anyone who has a conservatory that wouldn’t prefer a room with a proper roof.
Given the choice between a plastic box tacked onto the back of a house like a carbuncle and a proper room, it’s no contest.
Of course a beautifully designed and executed orangery is a different thing altogether.
I tend to agree with the above points re extremes of temperature and aesthetics.
Yes, a proper sun room would cost more (not overly convenient when you have already spent a fair bit buying a new home), but I suspect you would see that expenditure mostly recouped should you sell the house at a later date.
Whilst a conservatory might provide important utility, I doubt it would add much value. Particularly given it may not be in pristine condition if/when you come to sell years down the line. As a potential buyer of your home, I'd be sceptical about how much use I'd get from it, and doubly so when I heard how it was constructed. A proper concrete slab would cost more but at least make a future sun room build easier.
I see so many threads on other forums about leaking conservatories too. If you have a problem in future it could get messy if you don't know who is at fault - was the kit faulty or the workmanship? Will the Supplier and the Third Party Installer just blame each other? How much of a leg to stand on do you have if you DIY the job yourself?
All that said, the build principles don't look much different (at least in terms of the foundations & base) from the current trend for Garden rooms, so it may well be reasonably fit for purpose if installed well - which is the key, I think.
If you just need inexpensive, quick & easy additional living space that's not essential all year round, then it may be worthwhile if you treat it as a more or less 'sunk' cost that you're unlikely to recoup at a later date. Probably not something I would do, but I do fully get the huge benefits that a bit of extra space can provide around the home.
But not everyone will have the money to build a room with a proper roof. Quite a few thousand difference in price.Quote:
Originally Posted by chrisparker
It looks quite solid. Much better than the old style conservatories.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kevin Glover
As has already been said, think about what you will want to use the room for, as a conservatory will be too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.
They are essentially 'pimped-up' greenhouses attached to a property.
If you want to have a genuinely useable space which can treated as an extension to the footprint of the main property, save your money and do a proper job of it when funds allow.
I’ve a ‘conservatory’ - I call it my workshop on the back of my kitchen- it’s timber with Perspex roof - not great but at the moment does the job( tools, bikes washing machine etc)
I’m planning to take it down and construct a timber framed ‘extension’ of the same size but with a flat foot (with skylight) and bifolds right across the back- then I plan to knock my kitchen through into it
As others have said too hot in the summer and cold in the winter
Thanks for all the comments guys, I fully appreciate the sentiment about too hot/ cold, leaks etc but was interested in feedback from those in the trades regarding the build process/ construction as my builder mate was quite positive about the methodology.
My other issue aside from cost is the fact that I only have quad french doors to the outside and no other windows in the lounge hence the need to ensure as much light as possible enters the room when I stick something additional on the back of the house.
I’ve considered buying a garden room and adding that in the back but have yet to see anything that allows for that, I.e is 3 sided and open at the rear.. if anyone has done this or knows where I can source what I need please let me know.
Bear in mind my total cost of the conservatory would be around 8k and with a divorce last year and the cost of buying the house it’s about all I have for some form of extension.
Many years ago I had a spell selling conservatories so at the time I knew quite a lot about them and a few years ago I had a lot of experience supplying/selling blinds/coverings for conservatories.
I would now 100% recommend not having an extension in the form of a glass roofed conservatory, have all the glass/windows you desire but have a proper pitched roof, I can guarantee you will regret having a glass/polly or whatever roof, nothing going for them at all.
We had a glassed roof conservatory built on the back of our home 20 years ago, it is knocked through to the kitchen so is used year round and it's been fantastic, however I would say that we have a north facing garden so not a lot of direct sun and it has proper heating installed.