Help needed, my conservatory is un-usable!

[danni2007]

Hellooo, Just looking for some advice. We have a conservatory that we like to use as a little playroom but its constantly cold at the minute! We've got radiators but it doesn't really help. Anybody ran into this problem before? Or know any solutions?
thanks in advance! :D x

Ah. This is why we knocked ours down and replaced it with a brick structure. We could never keep it warm in winter or cool in summer!

There are firms out there that replace conservatory roofs with an insulated version that is tiled. They're much better at retaining the heat.

You can DIY it by insulating the roof of the conservatory and boarding over and skimming but you do lose the natural light of the conservatory from up, which is fine if you have lots of windows around, people also but underfloor heating which takes the chill off apparently.

What is it made from? I wouldn’t spend any more money on it if it’s a cheap one. Underfloor heating is way better but if it’s not a robust construction I wouldn’t sorbs the money. An insulated room with a lot of windows and roof lights is significantly better!

We had the same problem, but replaced the plastic sheet roofing with glass. It's made a massive difference. It was some kind of thermal glass with a film applied to deflect heat/light. It's now usable all year round. In winter, we're not losing heat through the roof and in the summer, it doesn't heat up anywhere near as much as it used to.

We had quotes for a proper tiled roof, but the replacement glass panels was massively cheaper.

ikea for cheap rugs here!

Without proper foundations (ie most conservatories) replacing the roof with tiles/thicker glass could be a disaster waiting to happen. Building regs would almost always require foundations to bear the load of the extra weight.

@Kazzyhoward what sort of price was it for glass? That sounds a good option!

what sort of price was it for glass?

About £3,000 if I remember rightly.

Make sure the sides can hold the weight of the glass!!
If it were me, I’d save for a brick extension instead

We inherited one when we moved, insulated roof, underfloor heating, half bricked. That is useful but goodness knows how much it cost the previous owners.

Conservatory doesn't need to meet building regs so usually have no insulation to speak of. If you compare that with your loft you'll realise how much should be there. Windows are the coldest part of the room in normal rooms.
You can replace the roof and possibly add secondary glazing or partly block up the glazing, but by that time a rebuild as an extension would make more sense. We did that and the result is a lot better.
Another option is to just fit a big double panel radiator, perhaps a couple of 3kw output radiators would do it (and your carbon footprint) throughout the winter.