Temporary insulation in conservatory- any ideas?

[Lovelise]

So, I have a smallish conservatory coming off the kitchen which gets REALLY cold in the winter.

We use this space as a dining room as this is the only space available. Radiator is in there already.

We were going to get the roof done properly but have run out of budget.

Has anyone got any ideas how to keep the conservatory warm?

Is there some insulation we can tack on the inside of the roof to keep heat in?

Anyone got any experience with this or advice?

Bubble wrap - seriously it's fantastic. You can buy big rolls pretty cheaply on EBay and it's definitely cheaper than anything designed to be used as insulation.

Just watch the bubble wrap doesn't get too close to any lights

Or polystyrene blocks if you can work out how to keep them up?

Even temp roof blinds made out of fleecy blankets will help

Good ideas! It doesn't have to look pretty just keep us warm until next year!

If you did bubble wrap then covered with material it would look like you were going for a tent style look - might not look that bad!

Yes! Multiple layers of bubble wrap glued together cut to the exact dimensions of the ceiling, cover in fabric and then attach.

Jobs a goodun. Who needs expensive insulation?!

Just watch out for condensation

Polystyrene will be much more effective than Bubble wrap. As above though watch for condensation, you ideally need the vapour barrier on the warm side of the insulation. Ie polystyrene on top of the roof or underneath but with a sheet of polythene sealed around the edges. You don't want any warm air getting to any cold surface.

Perhaps we could put it on the outside, then we wouldn't see it at all.

Good tip about the condensation.

I think hey issue outside would be fixing it - we didn't want to damage an "in warranty" roof but if you are changing it anyway?

Don't discount 'net curtain widest' we used them far outside their description

Obviously I meant "net curtain wire"

No warranty (it's been up a while) so no probs there.

Any ideas how to attach polystyrene to the roof?

Don't want it to fly off on the next slight breeze!

We've just insulated our conservatory roof. It's west facing so stupidly hot in the sun. (Only moved into this house 4 months ago).

We used big sheets of water resistant polystyrene, attached it with double sided taped but it doesn't hold it all by itself!

Then put thin batons up to staple space blanket to it so not to leave any gaps for condensation to gather. Topped it all off with plastic facia boarding.

We haven't quite finished yet there are some gaps and sealing to do but it looks amazing and has already worked.....plus it cost less than £500.

We had a look at some videos on YouTube about other people doing it, though DH is very good at DIY.

Wow. That looks amazing!

Space blanket?

Unfortunately DH isn't so good on the ole DIY front.

Sorry....it this stuff....

www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Thermal-Insulation-Foil-Roll-600mm-x-8m/p/210022

So quite a lot of that over some insulation boards in the spaces in the roof and then sealed with flashing tape type stuff, the covered with the facia board.

I prefer it now than when it was the normal roof, it's made it more into a useable room.

This is the before....it was an annoying room as from about 11:30am till the sun set the sun would be fully on the room and it was just unbearable.

It might be a little more than what you wanted to spend but would do a good temporary job until you were ready to replace the roof properly.

Like I said, there are plenty of helpful YouTube videos out there to have a look at.

This is what it looks like under the boards.

Hi beldaran, that looks like a nice economical solution. Can I ask, does it do much for reducing the amount of external noise that comes into the conservatory? That's another thing I hate about polycarbonate roofs, you can hear everything that's going on outside.

@celloc123

I don't know if I can answer that. Our walls aren't insulated either they are just the normal plastic sides (DH wants to insulate these too) so we do still hear quite a bit of normal day to day noise. And it still does sound like an elephant peeing on the roof when it rains!

We don't spend an awful lot of time in the room tbh as it's at the back of the house but I had a nice nap in there the other day.....sorry that hasn't really answered your question.

Thanks. I guess if the rain noise is still there, it probably won't make a dramatic difference to airborne noise.

beldaran thanks for those pictures. We are just about to move into a house with a conservatory we are relying on for year round use (xbox going in it!) And that is exactly the sort of thing needed. Is it warm enough in winter? I don't mind having a plug on radiator in there.

@NotMeNoNo

We've only been in the house since march this year so haven't experienced cold yet. If you look at my second photo on the left hand side that it a big radiator underneath the white cover, so I am assuming that having that on low would take any chill off.

Typically we did the conversion during the heatwave we had, and whilst it did appear to work the weather then changed and hasn't been that hot again but it has been very comfortable in the warmer days we've had, so I guess until we've had a full 12 months of use I couldn't really say whether it's done a good job or not.

Having said that, I do much prefer it as it is now plus I've also painted it a grey colour and have a nice comfy chair and DDs many many toys.....

This has been one of the rare occasions when I showed something from MN to DH and was taken seriously! We are moving to a smaller house, so every space will have to earn it's keep.