Tell me about your conservatory

[Hunlife]

Trying to decide if we should invest in a conservatory or not, so can you tell me what you use your for, how much it cost and how big it is please?

If you’re going to do it, make sure it has a ‘proper’ roof, like a ‘garden room’ would be my advice. A normal ceiling with extra large glass panels. I would never have one with an entire glass ceiling again.

We bought a house with a conservatory and it was rubbish.

Too hot in summer. Too cold in winter. Always leaked, regardless.

The position of the doors into the garden meant we lost the use of most of it, it turned into a corridor.

It measured 12 ft square but the reality was that the height of the windowsills in relation to the ‘wall’ part below meant we couldn’t even put blanket boxes or shelves against it for storage.

It was more of a hindrance than a bonus. I’d rather have a playroom or extra bedroom.

The paperwork we received from the vendor said it was £10k in 1999.

The fabric furniture got crucified from the sun bleaching it too.

Kris are you squatting in my house? We bought a house with one and it’s a goldfish bowl in the summer and freezing in the winter, the cats don’t even want to stay in it and just walk right through it from the garden. It has a breach between the wall and floor so we have had slugs, woodlice and ants - cannot wait to knock it down next year. We use it as a fair weather dining room but we have a table in the kitchen too. It’s the maximum size it can be without getting planning permission, thinks 12 ft by 10ft it something like that.

If you get one, spend a fair whack to get a decently built one.

We have one but would never build one. Cold in winter, hot in summer. Becomes a dumping ground for toys. Currently has three buggies parked in it.

If you still want one, I’d echo the recommendation of a glass roof. Much better than the old roofs they used to have.

I love ours and couldn't be without it.
It's 12 x 18 feet. Our dining table is at one end and the other is a TV area for the children. The temperature is always stable, it's warm in summer but not unbearably so. In winter the radiators keep it warm.
It has a glass roof but the rest is brick built with two windows and patio doors.
Cost £20,000.

Ours is lovely,new this year,heated under flooring.we put blinds up for summer and a radiator for winter,it's the most used room in ,the house.but we removed the doors so it's attached to the kitchen with no doors just an archway,then patio doors to the garden

I hate my large conservatory. I wish it was half the size, with a full and solid roof. In the summer it is too hot, and a fly trap. In the winter, it is too cold, with condensation on the Windows.
I would ch prefer the garden space.

Ours is an Ultraframe Loggia. It has wide ‘soffits’, so while it has a completely glass roof, from inside you can only see the middle of that, there’s kind of like half a ceiling if you see what I mean. It is used as our dining room, and we also have a seating area and sideboard in there. Admittedly it is huge in proportion to our house - the whole back of our house and makes up a third of the depth of our house. Had it built over Xmas 2016. 4 weeks to install then about 8 weeks standing empty for the concrete floor to dry (obviously would be quicker in the warmer months). It does get hot for about a couple of weeks a year, and is very warm in the winter as we have radiators. We were advised underfloor heating but I wanted laminate flooring instead of tiles. We have ceiling window things which are really effective at letting out heat instantly.

we removed the doors so it's attached to the kitchen with no doors just an archway,then patio doors to the garden

Exactly the same here. Kept the door frame which is my only bugbear. If we were to remove the door frame we would have paid loads more, would have needed planning permission, steel weight bearing thingy, building regs etc so wasn’t worth it for us - not planning on this being our ‘forever home’.

Mine's massive and shit. Lots of nooks and crannies in the roof so it is a spider metropolis. Condensation problems all winter meaning the wood floor is ruined due to the drops off the roof joists. The blinds and windows get black mould on them.

It's only usable in Spring and Autumn. As soon as I can afford it the bastard's getting knocked down in favour of a proper room with bifold doors and solid roof. If I can't afford that will try to get the roof tiled.

Ours is 5m x 3m, cost £14k in 2016, but was more expensive than would otherwise be because the outside ground level is significantly lower than the ground floor of the house, so that included all the building up and several steps up to the doors. We love it. Roof is some kind of energy efficient glass - Ultra B? - and it's never too hot (even this v hot summer it was fine with windows open). We have a small electric heater on one wall that keeps it warm in winter, doesn't take long to warm up at all and then retains the heat well. We use it as a playroom and office at the moment but it will eventually be a dining room. It's south-facing but quite shaded by nearby trees. We love it!

We had one when bought our house as others have said hot in summer freezing in winter so used to dry clothes in summer and keep drinks cold in winter.

It depends also on if your house faces south . My mum has conservatory and it's lovely and warm in winter cause get the sun . In the end we got rid of conservatory and had extension. Take advice make sure house faces south and get decent roof plus heating then it will be lovely.

Mine is quite big 3.5 metres by 5 metres.

We have windows that open the whole height from the sill to the roof..like small doors..and a glass self cleaning roof so it really is like being outside.

We set it up with one half as seating area and the other end was planned to be a toy/play area for ds. He's a teenager now..his Xbox gaming chair are out there.

I also use it for Criss stitch or watching films ..love all the natural light..

Not heated at all..just have a plug in oil heater which heats it up in no time

We didn't build ours - it was on the house when we bought it.
It is used for storing junk and drying washing. It is too hot to use on a sunny day and too cold for the majority of the year.
I wouldn't spend money on one.

Like pp said it's freezing in winter and like a sauna in summer, ours is just used for the cats to sleep in overnight and for their beds and litter trays etc, could really use the extra space too so it feels like such a waste

Why start a thread and not come back to it OP? You didn't even thank PP for their responses.

Rude.

Sounds like newer ones are much better. Our last house had one. Got got enough to melt wax crayons in the summer!