South facing extension

[SalamanderOnHoliday]

How many windows.?

The current conservatory is baking in the sun and is going to be replaced with a proper room with a roof lantern, sliding doors and, possibly a row o clerestory windows above the east wall to get morning light.

Ours has bifold onto Juliet balcony on the south side and a big window on the other exterior wall which is west facing. We're an end terrace so can't have any windows to the east. It's lovely, sun streams in but doesn't get too hot. I would worry about a bit of a greenhouse effect with too many windows though.

I would loved the morning sun but I think in reality we’ll use it more in the evening * so should go with windows for that....

Just think carefully - friend had 6 or 7m of bi-folds, plus roof lantern in stunning extension but room was pretty much unusable in summer. Had to install blinds in bi-folds and air conditioning.

So, your looking to build a room that will be too hot in summer and too cold in winter...

I think it’s your roof lantern that will cause it to heat up, depending how big it is.

So, your looking to build a room that will be too hot in summer and too cold in winter...

Trying for some tips to avoid it really...

If you have a roof lantern with opening sections, you can let out hot air! It works pretty well. However, make sure you can have blinds to shut out the sun if it’s too intense.

Can you have blinds on a roof lantern? I couldn't find anything effective and opted for velux windows instead which also meant having a proper sloping roof as opposed to a flat roof which we saw as being better

Light coming through the roof lights can be a serious problem as some parts of the room can become unusable. It depends on the aspect of the room

You can use vertical blinds for the doors but it may be an issue if you get sun most of the day as they are not very effective with doors wide open

We have a 5mtr extension with patio door in the end, bifolds to the side and a roof lantern. We fitted vertical blinds on the doors which look nice and can be pulled back when the doors are open. One tall radiator in the corner. The room is neither too hot nor too cold, we use it as a dining room.

I wouldn't have a roof lantern again though, sick of getting bees out of it (ours doesn't open - so maybe would be ok if it did).

we're having a 6m span of sliding doors on a south east facing wall and have just started to think about whether we need solar control glass - it'll add £1500 to the cost , but not sure if it is going to be essential - anyone got any experience?

We have a south facing extension and live in the south east. Only finished recently so this was our first summer. We have had a very hot summer and yes it the room was hot but no hotter really than the rest of the house. We have 3.5m bifolds on south side, 4 velux's and two narrow tall windows on the west side.

thanks Mummyshark. Did you have standard glass or solar control?