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Original poster

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

31 replies

Baddz · 30/03/2015 17:52

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!

Please help me find an inexpensive solution to sort out my conservatory roof ! :(
OP posts:
anothernumberone · 30/03/2015 17:59

I am watching with interest. I hope you get some answers. I am already contemplating the oil filled rad Grin

Timetodrive · 31/03/2015 11:49

My friend used to throw a large plastic sheet/ tarpaulin over the roof just after midday. It did not look the best but she had already wasted money on blinds (that cost a furntune and faded and went mouldy) and film that went over the panels. She also lost the view which was the selling point of having glass. On the hotests days enough light came in the windows and tha cover was just on for a few hours. For less than £100 solutions are limited.

Mendeleyev · 01/04/2015 08:14

You will be really limited for £100, we had a company come and put insulation and uPVC on the inside of our polycarbonate roof. Think it cost just over £1000 for our 4m square conservatory. It's been brilliant.

Discounted · 01/04/2015 08:22

We had a conservatory for a dining/breakfast room at our last house which was lovely in spring and autumn and electric heaters made in OK in Winter but really didn't work for summer.

I tried all sorts. TBH, I don't think voile panels will give enough shade to make a difference.

In the end we bought a dining table sized garden set and a massive parasol and ate all our meals outdoors when the conservatory was too hot, which was actually very nice.

blueberrypie0112 · 01/04/2015 15:06

ceiling fan? or maybe install a small Air conditioning just for that room only.

blueberrypie0112 · 01/04/2015 15:10

if your windows can open, you can put a box fan on it and it will cool the room. That's how my parents always cool down our house when the weather 90F or above hot.

Original poster
Baddz · 01/04/2015 15:21

Thank you

OP posts:
prepperpig · 01/04/2015 15:28

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.

bilbodog · 01/04/2015 15:38

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.

Original poster
Baddz · 01/04/2015 15:51

I hate the bloody thing Grin
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 Smile
The windows do open
Maybe a fan is the way to go

OP posts:
Abbykadabby · 28/04/2015 21:14

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.

Woozlebear · 29/04/2015 22:34

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.

hiccupgirl · 03/05/2015 20:22

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.

Fairdad21 · 07/05/2018 11:17

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 :)

HomeExtender · 09/05/2018 22:56

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!

bl1inky · 29/05/2018 18:20

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.

byways45 · 01/06/2018 20:23

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.

Daddydaycare2014 · 06/06/2018 00:00

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.

EgremontRusset · 10/06/2018 17:54

@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.

ODP007 · 16/06/2018 15:19

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/

1Bobdylan · 17/09/2018 11:41

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.

steve555 · 14/11/2018 09:00

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 · 14/11/2018 10:12

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.

Myrtleflower · 09/05/2019 15:22

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