Please help me find an inexpensive solution to sort out my conservatory roof ! :(

[Baddz]

I have a glass roofed conservatory which is freezing in winter and like a greenhouse in summer.
Atm it's just used for storage tbh (kids toy boxes, bookcases etc) by we would like to be able to use it year round.
We bought an oil filled radiator which really helps in wintwr but summer is still an issue.
We dont really have any money for this - £100 tops - and I keep wracking my brains trying to think of how we could keep the worst of the heat out but let the sun in iyswim?
So...
I have found some voile panels in ikea and am trying to find a way to attach them to the roof.
The roof is an award shape (Victorian I think?) see pic
Any ideas very gratefully recieved!

[1Bobdylan]

Hi,
It can still be a bit chilly in winter but so much better. It has made a huge difference in summer, we can actually sit in there, no glare, it has finally become a useful room. I have recently removed the doors too which has helped balance the temperature. I understand you are not really supposed to do this so I have kept doors so should I move they can be put back.

[vinoelle]

As sorry just realised it’s a old thread.

[vinoelle]

@1Bobdylan would you be willing to share a picture? What’s it like in the winter? Thanks x

[Mummyof31989]

Hi, I’m
Just wondering how you got on with the Koalashade? We are looking at ordering one too. Does it help with the heat and uv rays? Was it difficult to fit? X

[KateCha]

We've just got a koala shade on your recommendation and being impressed at the website, and I have a quick question re fitting it. The leaflet we were sent with it says to start fixing the shade at the lower edge of the lean to conservatory. The guy on the phone said to start at the top edge, but he was also certain that all the fixings were included but then when they arrived without self-tapping screws he had a long explanation about why they weren't included, but no explanation as to why he didn't tell us this when we bought it. Anyway, that's not a big deal, but just makes me uncertain about whether he knows what he's talking about or whether he's just a salesman.

So my question again: Did you start fixing it at the top of the conservatory roof slope or the bottom?

Thanks!

[DragonforaMIL]

www.ikea.com/gb/en/products/textiles-rugs/curtains-blinds/schottis-pleated-blind-white-art-20242282/
These may be worth a try? Very cheap and go up with velcro so easy to remove and change. I think you could also cut to size. We have some on one side of ours, and it's enough to reduce the heat significantly.

[Myrtleflower]

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00L9QQB0M/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pf_rd_p=e2bfafb5-111e-4906-b089-5d691a51d45f&pd_rd_wg=dtWmR&pf_rd_r=RK1DHFMT5VHRYCCJG9V9&pd_rd_i=B00L9QQB0M&pd_rd_w=LXOxG&pd_rd_r=67dd07b8-7266-11e9-81c3-8ba35bc13d5c&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21


www.amazon.co.uk/Reflect-Polycarbonate-Conservatory-Shading-Greenhouse/dp/B00AC1ZPZ2?tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[Myrtleflower]

Firstly, to keep the conservatory cool I keep the doors from the house into the conservatory open all day every day to prevent heat build up. Seconsly, I am planning to thin polystyrene wall liner on the inside of my roof then paint it white. I don't need light from the roof as windows give me enough. However, for now in desperation I have got a load of budget shop long clear plastic/rubber non slip bath mats with suction pads stuck to the roof and they are doing great so fat. Mine look like clear pebbles so difuse and shade with tiny spots of sun coming through the wee gaps. Finally, you can buy tins of greenhouse shading that you paint on. It dries white a bit like old fashioned windowlene does. I hope this helps a wee bit. Good luck

[1Bobdylan]

I have lined my roof with Wallrock insulation and then painted over it. It goes on like wallpaper. Left gable end open to appreciate sky and large tree. Not really much warmer but definitely cooler.

[steve555]

An affordable option could be to use some internal secondary glazing.

As well as it's thermal qualities it also has a very beneficial noise reduction. A specialist company like Clearview or OmegaBuild would be a good starting point for you - See www.omegabuild.com/shop/shop.php?category=diy-conservatory-roof-kit-diy-conservatory-roof-kit-with-rafter-supported-glazing-bars

I hope this helps!

[1Bobdylan]

I have just “papered” my glass roof in Wallrock thermal liner. It has worked for heat and glare reduction will have to wait to see what happens in winter. £40 per roll, I just did sides and left gable end open to enjoy view of large tree. Need adhesive and then paint over it first with Zinser bullseye primer and then thermal paint.

[ODP007]

Hi, we bought this last year and it has been brilliant. I have a reflective solar glass roof and temperatures still got to 45 degrees in the summer. Put this shade on and even on hottest day last year it only got to around 30 degrees and most of that heat came through the windows I think. Left it up all winter and survived the gales no problems. Cost a few hundred quid but has totally transformed the room. Love it.

www.koalashade.co.uk/

[EgremontRusset]

@byways45 May I ask where you got it from? That sounds perfect for us, but googling doesn’t come up with an obvious product/seller.

[Daddydaycare2014]

We are currently in your situation and are just about to bite the bullet and tear the conservatory down and replace with a proper extension.

I know thats not a cheap option but we think it will be the better fit long term over the cheaper replacement roofs.

Our Consrv as it stands reached 48 degrees the other day and its completely useless.. I think if we weren't replacing it id sooner tear it down and have the garden space back.

[byways45]

The cheapest and most effective way to keep your Conservatory, or a large room with big glass patio doors, cool is to use the material that professional plant growers use on their greenhouses. It allows light through but has very thin reflective strips to repel heat.

The material is placed over the glass. Once the sun gets through glass then all indoor shades do is shade you but do little to reduce heat.

WE have huge glass windows which face south/south west. Without the glasshouse shading the temperature reaches 38 degrees Celcius in the sun. With it, it comes down to around 26 C.

We have used the shading for 6 years. Put it up every May and take it down every September and it works fabulously. Cost to cover our windows which are 5 metres in length x 4 metres in height was £300.

[bl1inky]

You could fix say inch square battens to the plastic struts (you get special screws that will screw into the pvc). Then you can staple the voils to the wooden battens. Then you save up for the space age insulation (google it) as you are already 1/2 way there and staple the insulation to the battens then save up for pvc toung and groove boards to finish it off.

[HomeExtender]

In our old conservatory we put in a false ceiling & insulated the roof..
.worked a treat but cost £3k. Obviously the conservatory was still the hottest room in the house in summer!

[Fairdad21]

Our conservatory was the bain of our lives as we could not use the space at all. We tried a £100 sail from Amazon and this was okay, we really liked the sail idea so started googling around and found a product called inshade, they make sails blinds for roofs and they are machine washable. Its definitely not in the £100 bracket but we managed to shade our 4 x 3 conservatory roof for around about £1200 and this came with a 5 year warranty. We have since been able to use the space and turn it into a playroom :)

[hiccupgirl]

Our conservatory came with a ceiling fan. It does help a bit when it's very hot in there but tbh it doesn't make a massive difference.

I love out conservatory in the spring and autumn but it's a pain in the summer. It's in full sun from 10am till sunset and it is a furnace in there on sunny days from mid April till the end of August. I liking the idea of using blackout fabric and Velcro tape on the ceiling.

[Woozlebear]

I had a conservatory on old house and used voile panels on all the vertical glass. Roof was wooden blinds but the voile panels did a fine job and after spending 5k on roof blinds I always said if I did it again I'd rig up voiles on the ceiling.

I know how I would do it. Buy cafe rods - they can easily be screwed into the UPVC frames, or even stuck on. White ones will be virtually invisible. Put a rod at top and bottom of each pane of glass . Then buy lengths of voile and sew slot tops at both ends (rather than just the at the top where you would normally hang the voile from the rod). Then slide the voiles on and you have a nice voile panel over each roof pane.

Our old conservatory was lovely and the trick is to try to not let it ever get too hot or cold in the first place. When it was close to freezing out it did get a tad too cold it but mostly we used it all year round. Heating in winter- underfloor in our case, but basic principle is low constant heat. And in summer blinds and voiles down all the time until the sun went, and windows and doors open as much as poss on a warm day. We had roof vents and never even bothered with them. Conservatories def can work.

[Abbykadabby]

I used the blackout window trick that I learned from Mumsnet for this when I was low on funds. Buy Velcro tape and blackout blind material. Put the tape strategically around the window frame, cut the material to fit the window. You don't have to cover all the windows, just enough to help keep some of the light and heat out. Works great, but the window frames were white so the white velcro tape was camouflaged whenever I wanted to take them down, which was usually not until September.

[Baddz]

I hate the bloody thing
Which is one reason I don't want to spend ££££
It's already cost £3.5k for the new glass roof (was an emergency repair as the original roof began leaking)
Have found some lovely window blinds at ikea for the windows
The windows do open
Maybe a fan is the way to go

[bilbodog]

We had a dining conservatory in the last house and did have some heat resist film put on the south facing side but it will cost more than £100. It did help but quite frankly how often do we get very hot weather in this country? We did have roof lights and windows to open as well. If its that hot we would be out in the garden anyway but loved using the conservatory the rest of the time, evenings, etc. I miss having a conservatory now.

[prepperpig]

I think you'll struggle for £100. You really need blinds that can be pulled right down when you want the light but pulled up to block the sun when the sun is hot.

Otherwise you can create a canopy with voile but once its up its up. I'm not sure thats your solution.

Before we had blinds our doors and windows were permanently open in the summer and it was still roasting in the house. The blinds made a massive difference.

[Baddz]

Thank you