To think that if you have a conservatory, it will be too cold to use for about half the year?

[ToastyCrumpet]

I mean, you won’t be able to sit in it for any length of time unless you spend a fortune heating it. I’m not sure what people use them for.

My parents went for an orangery instead (with a heated floor). Absolutely gorgeous room used all year round

@GlennRheeismyfavourite

My parents went for an orangery instead (with a heated floor). Absolutely gorgeous room used all year round

Does it actually have orange trees in it or that's just what they call the room?

Mine now has a crosstrainer plonked in the middle of it!

Used all year round here but does have under floor heating and decent blinds.

Mine has a radiator. Problem solved.

I agree. My PILs just had their conservatory replaced with something similar but it's brick to about half height, then wrap around windows so you still have the garden view but an insulated tiled, pitch roof.

Yes, it's more expensive but it's now usable in the summer (doesn't get as hot) and winter (doesn't get as cold) rather than about 4 weeks a year!

Our was too hot in summer -great for drying clothes if it was raining though.
Too cold in winter even though we had a radiator installed when we had new central heating put in. I wouldn’t pick a house with a conservatory again tbh.

I've just ripped my down to replace with a proper extension. Boiling in summer, freezing and mouldy in winter. Hated it and cheered when it came down

My parents have one, it gets really (stupidly) hot in it when the sun is out. They have an insulated roof and underfloor heating and use it year round. It's not great in the summer tbh, I can't stand the heat.

We have a small house, the conservatory is lovely as others say march to Oct. Was the school room for lockdown. It's useful for storing overflow toys in the winter when they can't be blocking the radiators (like I said small house!)

We inherited one with our current house and I hated it with a passion - far too hot in the summer and bloody freezing in winter. This was all glass though. We have just knocked it down as building a proper full extension and I was so happy to see it go!

Ours is north facing so not too hot in the summer, and has an insulated roof so fine in the winter. We use it all year round as our dining room.

We hate ours, we're knocking it down and replacing it with a proper extension. Its not too hot in the summer as we're north facing. It's heated in the winter but I still find it hard to find it a useful space. It's toy storage at the moment.

We had one at our old house, it started off as a traditional conservatory with tiled floor and wicker furniture but we hardly used it so changed it to a dining room and again didn't use it so we then carpeted it, put a proper sofa and TV in and used it all year round.
The only heating in it was a panel heater and it warmed it up nicely.

I use mine every day, but if I were to do it again, I'd build an extension instead of a conservatory.

Ours was great. It was insulated, had double glazing, some kind of weird toughened glass (maybe plastic?) roof, & it was fully south facing. But all the windows could be opened in summer to keep it cool. In winter it was actually the warmest room in the house, it heated the living room up beautifully if we opened the connecting doors. We used to eat Christmas dinner in there. I think you get what you pay for.

I don't understand the conservatory hate. Maybe older conservatories are rubbish but you can build them however works best for you. We've had one built with cavity brick walls around the bottom and a full wall on the boundary side. It's got good double glazing, a radiator etc and we had the original doors removed so it's sort of an extension to the dining room. We use it every single day and the glass roof is perfect as an extension would have made the adjoining rooms too dark

Ours has a solid roof radiators blinds inside the double glazed windows & bifold doors so useable all year round.

Squishy sofas tv bookcase and toys for the grand children. It’s me together with grandchildren, not so much DH that uses it the most, to play in watch kids tv sports and my type of films.
I put up a clothes drier when it’s rainy clothes dry overnight.
Love to sit and watch the birds feeding snow falling. We added it a few years ago wouldn’t be without it.

Ah yes I remember my mother putting the clothes airers out there when the weather was too wet to hang them outside. With the windows open they were always dry very quickly. And I suppose the atmosphere would be quite good for her collection of interesting plants too!

We have a sunroom which is cold in the winter but we use a small oil heater to warm it up if we want to use it.

@SisyphusAndTheRockOfUntidiness

Ah yes I remember my mother putting the clothes airers out there when the weather was too wet to hang them outside. With the windows open they were always dry very quickly. And I suppose the atmosphere would be quite good for her collection of interesting plants too!

Scotland say no more. Plants nope I kill them even looking at them indoors, outside not so much. :-)

Economic electric radiator in ours. Use it tons in winter -, Xmas tree lives out there. Love the extra daylight in the winter. Fav room

I used to hate them. We then moved into a rental for a year before buying our house which had a conservatory. I really came round to it in the end. It was south facing so we could sit in it quite a bit. Yes it was hot in the summer but I could just open the doors. And in the winter it was handy for drying all the washing out of sight

Those of you who have an insulated roof, would you mind me asking how much you paid? We are desperate for ours to be done but have no idea how much they cost.

They're a mixed bag. I have a conservatory kitchen and I love it. I have a radiator in there and i'm usually cooking in there or on the go in there any way which keeps me warm! It gets lots of sun. My aunt has a lovely part brick part glass one that catches the afternoon sun, has a radiator and is toasty all year round - as did her previous one. I've seen a couple used as dining rooms and be lovely. If you want one, be prepared to spend on things to make it useable all year round, preferably only if you get good light in the first place.

Crap ones I've seen included the one my parents used to have (an ironically named "sun room) which was useless bar high summer and only used for storage and once a year in June to host the tea at my birthday party. Similarly the one in my student house was the dining room was rarely used due to being fucking freezing all the time.