To buy a conservatory instead of extension

[Ineversaidthatactually]

We can't afford an extension. South East. Want a 5 metre x 2.5 metre extension and it's fucking unaffordable. Exorbitant.
8 years ago we were quoted £30,000. That felt like a lot then so we stalled. Then lockdown happened, we were hit hard and are only just getting back on our feet again over past year.
Now we are being quoted £70,000 - £80,000.
Obviously I'm now metaphorucally crying that we didn't bite the bullet and pay £30,000.
So this makes an extension off the table. Meanwhile we desperately need more space. Can't move.
So what do you think of this as an option?
Please no replies about how it wouldn't be anywhere near as good as a bricks and mortar extension. Obviously I know this and I wish we could have one. But we can't.
So for those who can understand my situation, what do you honestly think of this?
And where would I stand in terms of regs with removing the 2 sets of French doors on the rear wall of our house to make it open up in to this conservatory?

Have a look at Pergolux Uk. You can design the size, sliding glass, filled in panels, blinds, retractable slats, heater, lights, etc, then find a decent builder. Way cheaper than an extension or conservatory. My friend has one and it is fab.

Conservatories are subject to the same planning rules as any other extension. They can sometimes require PP, so don't just assume that they don't.

Look into project managing the extension yourself. Arrange ground worker, brickies, carpenters, electricians, plasterer etc. you’ll have to organise waste, material purchasing, quotes for windows/scaffolding/bricks, building surveyor, building control dialogue etc, but if you can be bothered it will save £££ on getting a proper extension. But you need to be very involved and present. So not for the faint hearted but makes a project more affordable as you are taking the risks and time to organise all this not a one stop shop builder. We did this for a 2 storey extension and came in as a total, all-in including bathrooms/floors, 20% under a quote we had for the main build alone, I.e. not bathroom or fittings. Took a lot longer and more stress though

We put a self build conservatory on the back of ours, the most basic/cheapest one we could get. It's full glass walls, plastic roof. It's our children's playroom so there's somebody in there daily, year round. We invested in an energy efficient heating and cooling fan. It's a little nipping in the cold months, and a little warm in the summer months with both doors open, but it's still a usable and functional room.

What about a summerhouse in the garden for the teenagers? Is that an option? Would be a hell of a lot cheaper.

I love my conservatory. One side is walled. I have blinds that help absorb heat in the summer and heater for in Winter. I wouldn't be without it.

Builder here (nearly 30 years). On the doors question: under building regs a conservatory or modular "garden room" extension is only exempt if it stays thermally separated from the house, i.e. you keep external-quality doors between them and it has its own heating (not run off your main central heating). Take the French doors out and it becomes a proper extension in regs terms, so you'd need a building control application and it would have to meet current insulation/glazing standards. That's often where the cost creeps up.

Before ordering, I'd check: what base it needs (most want a level concrete slab or proper footings, often not in the price), whether there are drains or manholes where it would sit, how it joins to your house wall and keeps water out at that junction, and that internal height (someone mentioned 1.84m doors, worth checking with tall teens).

Easiest route: ring your council's building control, describe it, and ask what they'd need if you widened the opening later. Good luck, the extra space will make a huge difference.

Yep, some sort of home office arrangement if you have a big garden.

I know this sounds silly, but I'm only saying it because you said bricks and mortar. Have you had a quote for literally just concrete blocks, nothing fancy, even a flat roof is cheaper. We just went through this ourselves. Don't use an architect just use a structural engineer.

Have you looked at SIPS extensions? We did ours 2019 so pre Covid increases however it was £34k and normal brick and block extension quotes were £70k. Materials are modest and it’s a very quick build process so labour is considerably cheaper. Build time is usually 2-3 weeks. Ours was 5 from day one to being handed over ready for painting but builders were off site at other jobs for at least 8 if not more days! This is ours and you can see it is big think it’s 3.8m x 9m.

I was going to suggest exactly what you posted, there are lots of modular add ons and videos on Youtube of them being installed too.

We looked into a SIP extension (structural insulated panel) but due to the size it was about the same cost as a traditional build which is what we went for in the end but we had seen these at a Home Building and Renovation Show.

There are several companies offering the same thing as Dunster House is. I know that my sister bought a log cabin/summer house thing from them and I do feel like they are priced a bit high compared to other companies so definitely shop around.

We had a conservatory already here when we moved in. Too hot in the summer, expensive to heat in the winter and too noisy to sit in when it rained. But we put a proper roof on with insulation and plaster ceiling and now it’s a great space we use all year round. We kept the French doors as they are lockable and conservatory break ins were a local epidemic for a while. The roof was done by a specialist company and it was vastly cheaper than an extension which we had been mulling over.

@Becs51 cross posted with you, that looks incredible.

We had a similar situation, whereby we thought our extension would be ~ £30k but once all plans etc sorted the builder finally came through with a quote of £80k which was unaffordable for us.
We already had a conservatory so a slightly different situation as we were hoping to replace it as we never used it because it was freezing in winter and boiling in summer.
We put an internal insulation 'roof' into it and a plug in radiator (fan for the summer) with a dehumidifier running regularly, and we now use the space quite frequently, mostly as floor space for working out at home, a folding table comes out if we have guests for dinner, space for our young kids to play etc.
It's not an everyday use room but it was worth making it 'useable' rather than just as storage which was what we were doing before. We did a big declutter, used our loft properly and got a garden shed to make room.
If we could've afforded it we would have done an extension because I loathed conservatories and would personally not chose to build one unless we had no other alternative. But we do enjoy the extra space even if the temperature requires management.

We were in same situation and were priced out of the extension we wanted. We actually went with an 8x3m garden room and it’s been great. It has one large living space we use as a second lounge room and home office. A full bathroom and utility room. Insulated and underfloor heating so usuale all year round. Our teenager uses it when friends are round. H uses it to watch sport. The sofa is a sofa bed so we can also use for occasional overnight guests (occasional as we built under permitted development) and means it’s en-suite for them.

Would some sort of garden room/office/den be a better option if you have the space? Away from the house that the teenagers could use.

We have a conservatory and had a warm roof installed (plaster ceiling too); it has central heating, curtains, and carpet. We use it year-round, mainly as our lounge.

Our previous version had a glass roof, which made it too hot/cold to use all year round.

If you want to stay exempt from build regs it has to have lockable internal doors to the rest of the house.

Done well its a great way to create space - ours is third of our internal downstairs space. We live in it!

Thanks to those who have answered but I've started a new thread because I forgot to add the link in my OP and I can see people are answering me on this thread who haven't seen what I'm proposing to get:
www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5585808-please-advise-me-on-a-conservatory-as-an-extension?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

@Becs51 I've tagged you in my other thread.....saying this looks incredible and please can you tell me who you used??