are conservatories worth it?

[giveyourselfashiny]

we need some extra space, and i have been thinking about a conservaotry. are they worth the money?

Cheaper than an extension BUT depends which way it will face - either due North or due South is bad news, will be either freezing in winter or boiling in summer. You need proper insulation and heating. We have one we can't use in winter - was here when we arrived, walls are too thin (wooden below the glass) and the floor's not insulated.

I think so, but I agree with edam - you need to check how hot/cold it will get. Ours faces south east and is too hot in summer. However, in spring and autumn the heat generated in the conservatory from the sun heats the front room if I leave the door open between them.

The conservatory was the deal breaker that we bought the house for BTW.

Ours is a waste of space nice for a couple of months in spring, we did use it in the winter, but our heating in the house had to be on full so was a waste. Use ours in the summer to dry washing... In laws have one ish it is a brick build with lots of glazed units and underfloor heating it is lovely!

*Winter last year

I hate them. Too hot in summer and too cold in winter. I'd do a proper extension or nothing tbh. If I were buying a house with one I certainly wouldn't want to pay more because of it being there, as I'd imagine I'd get rid of it and turn it into more useful space.

We put one on our last house but had it with dwarf walls round two walls and almost full height on the third. Then we had an air con / heating unit put in the high wall so that it could be used all year around. Make sure you have plenty of window units that you can open in case it gets super hot in summer. And make sure it's big enough that when you have the doors open (that lead into it from the house) there's still enough space in there. Lots of conservatories can be quite small and boxy and once you've got doors open within them that can leave very little room for furniture / moving around!
So yes, they can be good but don't be tempted into going for a bog standard shape / size / cheap.....

We inherited ours with the house we're currently in.

It was badly designed - the position of the doors from it into the garden mean we can't really put much furniture in it at all. Should have been shunted along a bit so we could utilise the space more.

I would rather it was a "garden room" - this gets f-f-f-f-f-f-f-reeeeeeeeezing in winter and too blinking hot in summer.

We inherited one and on viewing the house immediately decided it was being ripped down. Too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter, too much glare on a sunny day (and the blinds cost a fortune)....I hated it with a passion. So I'd say save up to build an extension or forget it.

using mine as a green house atm keeping my fushias and geraniums over wintered!!!
Too cold in there to sit but if the sun is out even now can get to 75!!
We like ours as we open the door up on a sunny day and it heats our lounge. Also good for airing clothes!
No heating just fan for summer.

it needs to be done properly (floor insulation, triple glazing, blinds) and for that kind of money, you can build an extension that fullfills the brief better.

No, an utter waste of space. We had one in our last house and it was almost never usable - even with the heating wastefully on, it never got warm in winter, in Summer it was too hot.

I've always liked the idea of building a proper extension, with lots of good quality glazing and some kind of porticullus thing to allow more shade in Summer. If only I had the ££££££

I inherited an old one and updated to the new one since.
I love it, although admittedly we use it more as a storage room. We keep a washing machine, buggy, children toys and laundry line there. It is cold in winter and hot in summer, but DC are allowed to mess up with playdough and paint there, I can have an occasional cup of coffee when it is warm and I like that it saves heat in the house being a transition between the house and the garden.
I did not pay much for it, so perhaps it is easy for me to justify the cost.

We inherited one that is more like an extension with just one glass sloping roof, and brick walls up the side. It's brick on two sides and brick half way up other two sides. Its location means that we can use it all year round, it doesnt get glare (special glass) or get cold (very good double glazing). I dont think previous owners could have built a full extension due to pipework or the problems of digging out foundations so it was the best solution. It is right next to the kitchen so it works as a dining room. Some of the houses I have been viewing recently have the octagonal style ones and I'm afraid I would take those down. So, it depends on location and any other options you have.

Ours in just about the same as newgirls, an extension of the kitchen, big kitchen table in it, we use it every day for all meals, read the papers in there, play games, painting (all the messy stuff), its fantastic for us, dont know how we lived without it. It has the back door off it so is used all the time, lovely tiled floor so great for children, dogs and muddy boots , we love love love it. It's looks smart too, plain, none of this frilly stuff . Its got a wall on one side and dwarf walls to the other two, double the amount of standard insulation in the floor and walls and two super dooper radiators, one of which has to be turned off the majority of time but I was so obsessed with the thought that it may be cold I went for double bubble! Really good quality glazing too. We also opted for special glazing in the roof (extra cost) to take away the glare of the sun in the summer, also two windows in the roof that open so that air can circulate.

Decorated in Farrow and Ball french grey...twit terwoooo. Modern emulsion, sturdy and wipeable, absolute necessity!!

So, for us, yes they are definately worth it but not to be done on the cheap.

oh, forgot to mention, ours faces SW.

Hi Oliviasmama. Do you mind me asking rough costs for that? It sounds like what I'm looking for. I need a 'dining' extension to the kitchen, but has to be usuable all year round so good insulation required. Yours sounds just right!

Hi Berries, dont mind at all...£17,000, plus £400 for the radiators and installation and then a further £700 for the floor tiles and adhesive which we had laid in the existing kitchen and through to the conservatory. the conservatory is approx 4 metres by 4.5 metres. Not cheap by any means but it has really changed our home, we literally live in it. We're in it now, no heating on (it's mild today here though) dog, my DD sticking and glueing, me doing a bit of work, a bit of sticking and glueing and a bit of reading the paper.

My uncle has just had the same company to do his huge one, it is just as lovely as ours, they are such a good company, Sheffield Windows, family owned, good traditional company, fantastic quality product and absolutely nothing is too much trouble. I cant sing their praises enough....and I'm a hard task master .

Everyone loves it, most of all us.

If you like I'll take some pics and e mail them to you, just let me know.

My advice would be if you're going to do it, you have to be prepared to spend on it to ensure it doesnt end up a freezer in the winter and an oven in the summer.

Thanks for that Oliviasmama. £17k is doable and I'd rather spend that than 10-12 and have a room I cant use half the year. If you PM me I'll give you my email address if you don't mind?

I guess you're in Sheffield, that company does sound good but I'm about an hour away and don't know whether that would bump the price up too much, may be worth a try though.

Now got to figure out where I can do the kitchen for £5k from!!!

Ours goes across the back of our house & cost £12.000 about 9 years ago, from a local firm. Love it although we have to have electric heaters on until the sun comes out in winter & in the summer open all the windows early doors. Great space for the children to play in though & more used than the bit of garden would be.