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Orangery Quote- Reasonable or not?

5 replies

Avasparents · 21/03/2015 15:06

Being in need of extra living space after our family increased in size we have taken the decision to have an Orangery extension added onto our property.

First quote (another two expected next week) came in at £44,000, inclusive of VAT, local authority fee and complete project management of the project from start to finish.

External size is 4.46m x 5m (well one side is 4.46m and the other is 4.2m as we are adding the extra 0.26m about 1/3 of the way along one wall with the way the annex of the kitchen sticks out). So around 22m2 externally area. Not sure what size of internal area that would give us. Any thoughts?

Based on the external area this comes out around £2,000/m2. Higher than I was expecting and higher than “recommended” prices I’ve read online!

The company giving us the quote are a local company that specialise in Conservatories, sunrooms and Orangeries. Well established and we know they have a good reputation. We’ve spoke to people who have used them before and the feedback has been very positive. They built an orangery close by us and from the outside it looks well build.

Specs of the quote.
4.46m x 5m orangery extension.
Internal entrance coming from the existing living room with a set of windows being replaced with a set of French doors (this is the 4.2m wall). A further set of French doors from the Orangery to the garden is to be included.
Left-hand wall (5m wall) of the orangery to be a solid brick wall. Right-hand (5m wall) side is to consist of a set of French Doors to the garden, one tilt and turn windows with the rest being the existing external kitchen wall.
Far side (4.46m wall) of the Orangery will be four windows with the middle two being tilt and turn.
Dwarf walls along two sides of fyfestone (to match the brick of the house). One dwarf wall being 4.46m and the other 1.18m.
Lantern (white though an extra £1,350 for black which we think looks really nice) to be approx. 2.3m x 3.1m. Glass is double glazed “Smart Glass neutral” 1.2 U-value, 45% light transmission, 60% solar rejection.
Roof structure to be formed with structural grade timber on weight bearing posts. 120mm thick rigid insulation and finished with sarnafil roofing membrane.

Foundations to be laid, suspended floor constructed with insulation and moisture resistant chipboard.
All walls to be plastered and painted.
Perimeter ceiling to be 700mm wide. Again plastered and finished.
Oak skirting’s, cills and aprons.

Electrics – 4 double sockets, 1 TV point, 1 light switch, 10 ceiling downlighters (we are to provide), 6 external downlights (which we are to provide) and 1 smoke detector.

Plumbing – 1 radiator to be connected to existing central heating system.

Evacuate foundation trench to a max of 650mm. 200mm concrete strip foundations
Build foundation wall to ground level. Build wall from ground level to house level, inc damp course.
Build wall to support timber floor
50mm site concrete solum on top of hardcore.
Build dado wall 600mm high in fyfestone
Build full wall (one side only) in concrete block

Relocate existing drainage rodding point
Floor coving is not included so we will have to budget for tiles in addition to the above quote.

Existing house is 18 months old and detached. The nearest wall is 1.4m from boundary fence.
Aberdeenshire location. No parking issues, skip will be off road on the driveway, no access issue, no parking costs or anything similar. Based about 5 miles from the company’s office.

Based on the above (or any other information you might need) does the price seem reasonable? It’s a bit more than we were expecting but it does seem a quality product that is being installed.

We were debating whether to go for a 5m or 6m length. Are there economies of scale to add an extra metre? Any feel on how much the extra metre in length would increase the cost by?
But mainly is the above quote reasonable?

OP posts:
UsedToBeAPaxmanFan · 21/03/2015 16:44

I dont know about orangeries but we paid almost exactly the same for a proper extension on the back of our house, although ours is slighyly bigger (7m x 4m).

That included removing the ancient conservatory which was in place, digging foundations, the room itself, moving a manhole cover, rerouting the downpipe from the bathroom on the first floor, 4 large windows, 3 velux skylights, one set of patio doors and 2 radiators with associated plumbing. We needed about 8 skips (not at the same time!!!). We are in East Anglia.

Your quote sounds expensive, but as I say, I don't know about conservatories.

Out of interest, why are you going for an orangery rather than a proper extension?

Avasparents · 21/03/2015 18:41

Thanks, good to know that the quote seems excessive given your extension extends to 28m2 compared to our 22m2 extension.

We have been debating the Sunroom or Orangery extension for quite a while. We’re heading towards the orangery option as we like the Lantern on top and the extra light and height that it gives to the room. The aim was to have a room with as much light coming in as possible. We ‘ve been advised (along with google searches!) that an Orangery like a Sunroom or proper extension will add the extra floor space to the property. Our design has two solid brick walls insulated to building regs, insulated suspended floor and windows with a U value of 1.2.

The alternative we are considering is to have a sunroom with vaulted ceilings and velux windows to give a similar feel for the light and height.

OP posts:
MillyMollyMama · 22/03/2015 10:04

We have an oak framed orangery and it is about 25 ft x 18 ft and it was about £75,000 but we have a huge lantern and very, very expensive glass. Also oak costs more and we have deep foundations due to a tree and clay. Your quote sounds ok really and it is not wise to have cheap and cheerful because it will be very cold and will not last! I might have missed this info, but how are you heating it? Underfloor heating is very good and I would not have anything else.

I have a lovely light, fantastic, kitchen in the orangery and it adds so much to our house. Glass walls are not much less work than brickwork because decent glass is expensive and all other costs are the same, foundations, electrics, insulation, heating installation, drainage, etc. It should not be cheaper than a conventional extension and, if it is, then it might not be as livable in as you want it to be. I love mine every day.

YonicScrewdriver · 22/03/2015 10:10

Get three quotes, that's the best way to tell what's right for your area at this time.

Marmitelover55 · 22/03/2015 10:47

Couldn't you have a normal extension with flat roof and lantern on top - our neighbour has this?

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