Reply With QuoteDo 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.
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.
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.Originally Posted by chrisparker
It looks quite solid. Much better than the old style conservatories.
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.
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