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Original poster

kitchen in conservatory - legal?

24 replies

BasinHaircut · 24/03/2015 15:52

Just having a peruse at rightmove and there is a house for sale with the kitchen in the conservatory. Surely that's not legal? Also, to make it worse, as the bathroom is downstairs and the conservatory/kitchen is built across the back, the window from the bathroom opens into the kitchen rather than externally. YUK!

OP posts:

Bakeoffcake · 24/03/2015 15:53

I'm not sure about it being legal but it would be very cold in the winter. Or cost an absolute fortune to heat.

Original poster

BasinHaircut · 24/03/2015 16:04

You are not wrong there bakeoff! my current kitchen is in a proper extension but because it doesn't have a radiator in it and is exposed on top and 3 sides to the outside it is freezing enough in the winter, I cannot imagine how cold that must be.

But I didn't think you were allowed to put a radiator in a conservatory, let alone an entire kitchen. And now they are trying to sell it at a top of the bracket price. who is going to buy that?

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sapphire3082 · 24/03/2015 16:10

Why would you not be allowed to put a radiator in a conservatory? In my last house we had a proper conservatory as in the see through roof and a radiator on the only wall it had which was where it joined to the house. This house now has a front porch which has been extended into a small sunroom, with huge windows 3/4 of the way down, a proper roof like a house and a radiator on the wall. Ive never heard of conservatories not being allowed radiators so it's a genuine question aa to why.

Original poster

BasinHaircut · 24/03/2015 16:16

I thought that they weren't allowed to have a radiator (as in part of your central heating) but had to have their own stand alone heating unit. Ive never had or built a conservatory though so I might be wrong.

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bilbodog · 24/03/2015 16:18

I've seen lots of conservatories in kitchens in adverts in glossy magazines and I have twice had a kitchen open to a conservatory. If the conservatory faces the correct way i.e. NOT south then it doesn't get too hot in summer or if it does just open lots of doors and windows and in winter we had a radiator as well as an AGA in the kitchen. Haven't got a conservatory in the new house but would if I could afford it - we lived in it, it was wonderful.

IvyWall · 24/03/2015 16:36

I had a radiator which was connected to the main central heating system in my last house.

UsedToBeAPaxmanFan · 24/03/2015 17:45

I think you can have a radiator in a conservatory as long as it's not connected to the house's main central heating system - it has to be operated independently. You also need external type doors (back door or patio door) between the house and the conservatory.

If you don't have those then - as I understand it - the conservatory doesn't count as a temporary structure but as part of the main house, and you wouldn't get permission for it because of the changes 6 (?) years ago the rules about the thermal efficiency of houses.

Personally , having had a house with a conservatory previously, I would never buy a house with a conservatory again unless the conservatory is not needed space iyswim. Ie you could live very comfortably in the house if there was no conservatory. I certainly wouldn't consider a house with the kitchen in the conservatory.

Original poster

BasinHaircut · 24/03/2015 19:27

usedtobe thats what I thought. Knew it was something to do with it not being a conservatory if it has a radiator and yes the doors thing too. So essentially it's an extension that doesn't comply with building regs!

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choirmumoftwo · 24/03/2015 21:14

I thought the rule was that you could have radiators in the conservatory connected to the main house heating system but that you then had to apply for planning permission as it couldn't be considered a temporary structure. Never done it though so may be wrong.

Original poster

BasinHaircut · 25/03/2015 06:33

Maybe. But seriously, you are all fixated on the radiator comment, am I the only one that is amazed that someone would think it a good idea to stick a kitchen in a conservatory and have the bathroom window opening straight out into it?

OP posts:

Bunbaker · 25/03/2015 07:32

We have plumbing for a radiator in our conservatory, but no radiator. I just use a convector heater if I want to heat it.

shabbycaddy · 25/03/2015 09:09

We have a downstairs bathroom which had a window going into the conservatory, usual add on add on scenerio which isn't great, but at the time it was probably cheapest way to gain some extra room which I guess the house you looked at has done. We are are planing to re jig ours eventually, so if you have vision and it's the right price might not really be a problem

wonkylegs · 25/03/2015 09:21

There is some confusion here.
The rules on conservatories depend on whether or not you have got building Regulations certification or not.
If you have gone for exemption you aren't supposed to have a radiator attached to the main circuit and are supposed to have external doors which can separate it from the main house. This is because it does not meet the requirements for thermal efficiency and therefore cannot be included as a heated part of the house.
BUT if it has been designed to meet the energy standards in the building regs it can be part of the main house and be heated and can have a kitchen in it. It depends on the detailed design and the certification as to whether it is legal.
Lots of conservatories do not comply and this is where people have problems with cold permeating there houses.
Planning permission is a separate issue.

Original poster

BasinHaircut · 25/03/2015 09:37

Ahh ok wonky thanks for that, that makes sense. But I would have thought that to get a conservatory that can be part of the main house you would need to spend £££ and would probably be better off just having an extension? The conservatory doesn't look fancy enough to meet those standards at first glance.

shabby, I bet your bathroom window doesn't open into your kitchen though does it? I know what you mean about vision though. TBH the house has potential but I imagine it would be a bit of a ball ache to have to re-install the kitchen in the actual house.

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TheSingingMonkey · 25/03/2015 12:23

We looked at a house that had a conservatory as part of the kitchen space, so no doors to separate it etc. We didn't buy it. I really don't like conservatories, they're cold in the winter and noisy when it rains. I wouldn't want one as a kitchen, I'd much rather have an extension.

Nerf · 25/03/2015 12:28

Our conservatory is brand new and I wish we'd built an extension to be honest. No radiator as we didn't need building regs or planning but it does mean it's cold in winter. However right now it's fine - we use it for tumble dryer, clothes horse and then half with chairs and xbox and computer.

Timetodrive · 25/03/2015 12:54

The loo would not be my choice of location but I could live with it as we have a number one rule only in downstairs loo. The condensation that would form on the windows would drive me mad. Our old conservatory was used as a cold drinks room over the festive period as it was so cold and perfect for champagne.

Original poster

BasinHaircut · 25/03/2015 13:26

Its not the loo time its the bathroom. The only bathroom.

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Timetodrive · 25/03/2015 13:35

Oh then a definite yuk, I have had a downstairs bathroom but was off a small corridor and still had an upstairs loo. I do not even like the idea of an ensuite with a toilet in and thats a bedroom.

BalooLikeYou · 15/08/2022 17:51

Browsing through OpenRight, I chanced upon this "kitchen conservatory". I hadn't realised it was even a thing. Is it legal? Dreamy in summer, but in winter not so much:

www.openrent.co.uk/property-to-rent/london/1-bed-flat-manor-avenue-se4/1197716

wonkylegs · 16/08/2022 14:29

@BalooLikeYou see my comment further up on the post from March 2015.... is it legal? - basically it depends on a few things

TizerorFizz · 16/08/2022 14:54

@BasinHaircut
@wonkylegs is correct. Ours has building regs and 2m deep foundations. It’s an oak framed conservatory with a glass roof. It was very expensive and cost far more than a bog standard extension. It’s got a high spec and it’s our kitchen! Perfectly legal and it’s heated by the house system - air source heat pumps.

Any house with a bathroom window in the kitchen needs reconfiguration!

wonkylegs · 16/08/2022 15:19

@TizerorFizz thanks I'm an architect, so I should know the rules. I did a beautiful modern glass extension kitchen a few years back for some clients which some people would describe as a conservatory but we had to do a lot of work behind the scenes to make it thermally compliant and nice to use in summer and winter. It was a nightmare to detail but all the work was worth it.

TizerorFizz · 16/08/2022 16:01

@wonkylegs
DH is a structural engineer so we do have the correct foundations! Ours is fine all year round but it’s attached to the house on two sides. Every day it’s a joy.

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