AIBU to build a SW facing conservatory?

[Stepbreathesweep]

We could do with a bit more space. Am thinking about building a conservatory at the back of the house. Tempted with glass roof so that our current living room doesn't become very dark. The house is south west facing so we do get sun on the back in the afternoon. Am I crazy to do this? Even with thermal regulating glass? Will I boil? Has anyone done it and got some advice?

You will boil. I had a south facing orangery (the difference is the amount of glass), and you couldn’t really be in there in summer, and that was before temps started regularly hitting 30 and above.

We bought our house with a conservatory, and that's SW facing. It was only ever usable first thing and last thing, even on just a warm day let alone in summer. And it was freezing in winter. As it was wood, we got some quotes to replace it all with one with a solid roof but it was around £60k, DH nearly fainted. I'd only put one on a house that was north facing so it was more usable.

We took it down last year before it fell down, and made a lovely patio area instead!

Great if you want to grow tomatoes 🍅

Please don’t do it our house had a SW facing conservatory it was awful!

You will boil. But it does provide a nice buffer for the house in winter. I used to have my office in a SW conservatory and I only used it between May and October and moved to the dining room on summer afternoons. On an average sunny day temperatures reached 42 degrees and that's with all doors and windows open. It was nice in late autumn and early spring though.
If you get roof blinds, you may be able to get more reasonable temperatures.

We have a SW facing extension to make living area on kitchen.
We have french doors and windows on two side and 2 x velux windows in the roof. It does get very warm. In the winter it's cool due to the amount of glass but still usable. The original kitchen can be dark and we often have to have lights on.

YABVVVU

It needs a roof; compromise and have good lighting in the living room - keep it cosy and intimate.

But OP isn't going to get an old wooden conservatory so this isn't really relevant.

We have the thermal glass and it is a real step up from the ordinary glass and polycarbonate but I'm not sure that SW-facing is a good idea. Would you consider an orangery with roof lanterns instead? It's a very different thing, planning-permission-wise, though.

We have a south facing conservatory. It has a solid roof and triple insulated window glass. You still wouldn’t want to sit in it in this weather although it is nice in the mornings. My cats absolutely love it! Is basically their room at this time of year

We have one, but with a solid roof and two large skylights with the tinted glass.

Its West-South-West, so gets a lot of sun but on a normal sunny summer day it’s totally fine with the doors open.

I placed light weight tiles with velux but only because the conservatory was already there. It extended the use from 6 months a year but uncomfortable in the midday sun to 9 months a year and comfortable in the summer. I would never build one and if you do at least get foundations for a proper extension so it can be changed without completely gutting and starting again.

Conservatories get a bad rap, but we wouldn’t be without ours. Over the 40 years we’ve lived here, we’ve used it as a breakfast room, playroom, second sitting room, home office, greenhouse (sometimes all at the same time! ) and it’s been brilliant for drying laundry all year round. It faces southeast, so it gets plenty of sun and the thermal gain means we rarely if ever need to heat it in the winter and it keeps the adjacent rooms warm too. In fairness, it does get a bit warm in the summer, especially with the heatwave weather we’ve been having, but opening the windows and doors to get a cross draught and/or using a fan works pretty well to cool it down. Our cats, now sadly departed, used to love it too.

Mine (dwarf walls, wooden frame, double glazed windows and roof) is north-east facing and loses the sun around 1pm at the moment.
With the roof vent, windows and doors open we still haven't really used it much in the day this summer as it is just too hot.

No way would I have a south facing one.

My previous house had a south facing one with a solid flat roof. It was scorching.

south west facing, getting up to 40 in there this summer. great for drying the washing

Thank you for all the responses! It seems like people are really split. I just don't know what to do....