Woodburner - would it add value?

[Etainagain]

I've got a large conservatory extension to my kitchen which was installed by the previous owner. It's absolutely freezing in winter (gets to 10 degrees with the heating on!), so we try to spend as little time in there as possible in the colder months (which is a pain because that is where we eat!). We'll probably only stay living in this house for another 2-5 years and Dh says it's a waste of money as we'll never recoup the cost of installation. He also thinks it will alert buyers to the fact that it's bloody cold in winter. Thing is, he moans when I use electric radiators to heat the room, but I can't stand being cold. We haven't much money and it would be a huge investment, but do you think it's one that is worth making? Purely in terms of comfort and enjoyment, I think it is, but would a buyer pay more for a large kitchen/diner with a woodburner?

a woodburner won't solve the basic problem, which is that this badly designed extension leaks heat. Spend money on insulating it or reworking it.

well, I don't know about investment, but ours is lovely and we adore it and totally changed how we use the house.
But it was expensive and is in the lounge which used to be the coldest room.

We also have a bit of a thing about never buying wood, we get lots on freecycle and from friends who have tree cut etc, so it is free to use, and we use it a lot in spring autumn and don't put the heating on. I reckon it has saved us quite a lot of money.

We plan to stay here for a long time.

We had friends who put in a conservatory and put in a special heater. It ran on low somehow and was cheap to run and heated it well.
I have also friends who put up thermal blinds in theirs, cost a LOT (hundreds) but it made a huge difference, especially the roof ones, which they actually kept shut during the winter (room was very light with side windows.)

Nope. I like woodburners and it would make me like a house more, but I wouldn't factor that in as something that adds financial value. I would also be very wary of a conservatory extension - sorry!

I've seen on here that a woodburner can cost up to 4k to buy and install (another dream shattered because I would quite like one!) - that's a lot of money, could it go someway to fixing the problem?

Our woodburner cost £2.7K to install. It might not "add value" but I think it might make your house of more interest to buyers. I'd think "ooh great I can use the conservatory in winter" rather than "the conservatory is cold" because everyone knows conservatories are freezing in winter and boiling hot in summer. A woodburner is one of those features that may make your house stand out from another house for sale, so it might pay off as an investment. It depends what the property market is like where you live.

I have to say a conservatory kitchen extension would put be off, unless I could see it would be warm in winter. Not sure a woodburner would do that, as I wouldn't light it on a morning when I come down to make breakfast.

Insulating and installing working heating would reassure me it was warm and usable.

Likes others, a conservatory extension would put me off a house.

world the extension is part of the kitchen diner though, so you don't have a choice whether to use it...

Was your woodburner 2.7k just to install, or did 2.7k include buying the burner? (Nosey I know, but I really do want one!)

when we had ours done, a lot of the cost was the flue. Ours doesn't go up inside an existing chimney, but is a pipe up our outside wall.

The flue itself cost over £1,000, before cost of stove, hearth, fitting etc etc.

The £2.7K was to buy and install, including everything. We even had a glass hearth in with that price, and the installer had to do some twiddly bits where the chimney pipe goes through the wall, so it wasn't a straightforward installation.

We're really happy with it, and it is so easy to light, it only takes a minute to stick in one of those pre-formed logs which light really easily. After that we just keep it going with salvaged wood. So whilst we don't light it on weekday mornings, we do at weekends.

This is my second wood burning stove. My first one was an ancient affair and that was a bit of hassle to keep clean/light. My new one is a modern one, lights easily, and it has a soapstone surround which means the stove continues to radiate heat for hours after it has been shut down. This is the stove I have. I love it.

I think ordinarily, in a lounge / sitting room, it would increase saleability rather than add value. I wouldn't pay more for a house because it had one, but its a "nice to have".

However, I think the benefit of a stove in a conservatory would be lost - the heat would disappear if the extension is cold anyway. I agree that its probably better to see if you can alter / insulate the conservatory to eradicate the problem at source.

My woodburner installation cost £3.3k ...stove (multifuel) was c£1.5k rest was flue, hearth etc...and it was 'on the cheap'
We didn't have a chimney, we had flue running internally as cost wise no difference to external and it gets hot and so warms all through the house/attic space a bit too. Single storey would be less but there are rules on height it has to be etc...might end up needing to be two storeys high anyway.
On floor boards we had a choice of having the boards removed and on poured concrete block (not cheap) or having a stone hearth (also not cheap...) and whether to have the brick one behind lined with firebproof board or have it sited a certain distance in front - and we didn't have a fake fire place installed ...
This is what it looked like after installation...
(still does as renovation has ground to a halt - sitting in front of it is too distracting ...)

Thanks!

id re roof it and try and up the rooms thermal properties, your just burning money with your existing set up if the heating only gets it to 10 degrees, it can not make dining much fun if your foods cold by the time every ones seated.

does the room get far too hot in summer? as a real roof can assist there as well. a family member did this, though with a light well in middle and the room became not only usable all year round but the place most people headed to during the day and into the evening

During our recent house-hunt, we saw quite a few houses with conservatories. I found myself mentally estimating the cost of removing it each time and factoring it into the price I'd be willing to pay, but then I really hate conservatories...

So you don't have windows and door between the kitchen and conservatory? If so are you aware that it doesn't meet building regulations? If you're thinking about moving I'd be more worried about that and not being able to sell the house.

It would be very expensive to try and heat a space with such bad insulation.

Thanks all. Your input has been really useful and probably saved me a fortune! There was no planning permission and it doesn't meet building regs, so when we were purchasing the house, the solicitor advised us to take out indemnity policies. The extension quite large, 15ft x 17 ft and is fully open to the kitchen with a wall of glass with doors leading to the living room. The other two sides are pretty much taken up by floor to ceiling windows and french doors, so it's lovely and light, but virtually unusable in cold weather. There is a flat roof with a huge lantern skylight that is probably 10 or 12 foot long. The kitchen has no radiators at all, but the consevatory has one small one which works well and a large one which doesn't heat at all (plumber has no idea why not). One option is to just carry on using portable radiators and halogen heaters, but the cost of running these worries me. Another option might be to brick up the side wall of glass, although I'm not sure how this would affect the light levels and if it would make a huge difference to the temperature.

I can't believe that when I viewed the property I didn't consider that the extension would be freezing in winter. I have to cook with my coat on and we all have to stuff our food down before it goes cold!

I suspect that a woodburner installation in a conservatory would be much, much easier and cheaper than up a chimney because you are just going to take the flue through the ceiling. It's often the work on the fireplace and chimney lining/long flue that are the greatest cost when it comes to installations.

If you bought a decent one, you could also take it with you when you move. They are actually portable (though heavy!).

if you did go down the burner route, i would see about getting some thermal mass round the flue to try and capture as much heat as possible, that or a back boiler and under floor heating in the area, as once you go to bed the temp will plummet again. a bio-pellet boiler on a auto hopper would also solve that but more cost

shove that is probably not be true...there are rules about where the flue has to come out. If you had one on single storey conservatory which is attached to a double storey you potentially have a chimney (flue) under a window etc....not only that would be smokey/mucky but could be dangerous...
Reason why external flues don't just go out the wall but go on up the side of the building to the roof level ...