Conservatory tips? Are they worthwhile?

[ChocoTrio]

So, almost moving into our new build house after a 2-month delay due to covid. Long wait!

The stamp duty holiday has helped to free up some funds we were planning on spending on the house anyway. Is it worth getting a conservatory?

Only considering a small conservatory because garden isn't huge (quite normal for new builds to have small-medium sized gardens). So, maybe 3m x 3m or 3m x 4m conservatory. How much is a conservatory of that size? Any other conservatory tips?

I heard that conservatories are VAT free with new build homes too. Is this true? If so, then how does that work?

TIA

I wouldn’t have one and would actively avoid buying a house with one.

I’d actively avoid buying a house with one too. Useless - too hot in summer, too cold in winter. Get a garden room instead.

We moved in to a house with a conservatory and I love it - lots of people will come on and tell you it’s a waste of time. But from May to September we love it - lovely place to read in the afternoon and does off. An extra room to escape to with teenagers.
Having said that if I was starting from scratch I would probably pay the extra and have a. Proper sun room which can be used all year round (but will probably be 3 x the price).

@JonHammIsMyJamm

Thank for the feedback. That's interesting. Why is that?

Dose off

Thanks everyone! Really useful feedback to consider!

Think our budget would only allow for a conservatory unfortunately. So, it's either conservatory now, or save up longer for a garden or sun room.

Too hot in summer
Too cold in winter
Ugly (all that UPVC)
Prone to leaks
Often have hideous noisy, cloudy, plastic roofs that discolour very quickly
Have to have all the glazing cleaned very regularly otherwise they look manky (or get the expensive glass that is ‘self cleaning’, it isn’t but it needs less cleaning than the non self cleaning kind. The frame’ll still get grotty though)
Need special furniture or else the sun will ruin all of the fabrics and wood in double quick time.
You lose a chunk of garden for a space you can use a handful of days a year. Especially silly in a small garden, imo.

Basically, they aren’t for me

@JonHammIsMyJamm

Those are all good reasons to avoid the idea.

Think I may have romanticised it a little!

MN gets a bee in its bonnet sometimes. It has a thing about conservatories. That's because it is thinking about old fashioned conservatories: get one with a modern glass roof and the problems disappear.

It's the windowed version of the slightly too small garage. It's a misc storage room.

I have actually removed a conservatory from a house before I dislike them so much. (Unless eg Victorian/older and solid and wooden etc).

We enjoyed our conservatory in the last house but it was North facing so it never got really hot and we popped a heater in there in the winter which we put on if we were eating in there. A south facing one, unless it had reflective glass, decent roof etc. would be a different issue. Having said that there are other options such as a more substantial garden room or something separate in the garden. Maybe live there for a while and see what you think you will use the most.

We inherited a massive conservatory. Noisy, hot , cold , leaked. Ripped it down and changed it for oak framed extension with Velux roof lights. Just do this instead if you can!

A conservatory would put me off a house. We had one at our old house and it was too hot in summer and too cold in winter. It had a radiator but just wasn't a useable space for 6 months of the year.

We have a massive conservatory and it’s just a dumping ground for crap. Our conservatory is just extra steps to let the dog out. All the above points - too hot in summer, too cold in winter. When it rains the noise is magnified. It actually cloacal light that is coming into the room it’s put on to.

I’d you did get one, you should look at getting brick walls rather than PVC walls, a roof that is insulated and get something to control the temperature (both too hot and too cold). All of those things push the price up though. Plus you’re not too far from a garden room then anyway.

They are awful, save up for longer!

We just spent 15k having a real roof and walls put on ours in a house we bought last year. It was boiling when we moved in so we had to keep the doors shut. From October to April it was freezing - doors closed.

We’ve got a 5x3 across the back of the house, giving a bridge between living room and kitchen. It’s glass roofed, dwarf wall and it is hot in summer-south facing; we have a radiator and it’s perfectly ok in winter. Good room as a kids playroom currently and nice place to sit during the day once they grown up a bit ( tho it’ll need roof blindsto be ok for me in summer-kids don’t seem to mind being too hot!)

I hate conservatories. We had to wait 15 years to pull ours down as it was relatively new when we moved in.

It was a large substantial one but we never used it. It was awful to clean and an obstruction to getting outside. It was also too hot etc

I am so happy it has finally gone! My garden feels huge! We now have a chunky, sturdy pergola and I love it.

Tbh I have always thought they look naff. If I was to buy another house I would actively avoid one with a conservatory.

Thanks everyone. For those of you who don't like conservatories - what are your thoughts about glassrooms like this: 'Glass Rooms'

or

'Glass verandas'

I dislike conservatories so much I won't view a place with one. They take up a chunk of garden and I like to walk straight out into the garden from the house...or throw open french doors on a hot day.

The windows need a lot of cleaning and any blinds are unwieldy and unattractive. I don't see the point of them, same with glass rooms I'm afraid. Glass verandas seem a better bet, at least you would be outside, have movement of fresh air and enough shelter to make use of the outside, and able to shield the furniture/food/toys/books/whatever from a sudden down pour!

We absolutely love ours, it’s in use 6-7 months of the year, it’s a brilliant other room for us with our tiny house.
We built it on and don’t regret it at all.
Really surprised at the conservatory hate on here, I suppose it’s personal opinion isn’t it.

My parents bought a house with one, we're never fussed and planned on tearing it down.

It is unusable from September-April, its just too cold. They have underfloor heating but never utilise it because its so much money wasted for a room that is naturally draughty.

However, they're never out of it during the Summer months. It does get hot but they just open a window.

It also takes a lot of maintenance, lots of windows to clean, it gets very dusty very quickly and lots of bugs/cob webs. Theirs has been up about 20 years and was made out of wood and looks lovely but its getting to the time of redoing it and I'm not sure if they are willing to spend a lot of money redoing a room that is only used half the year.

I love a conservatory and have never felt too warm in the UK. I think it really depends on your preferences. But I would think twice if it would take away light and ventilation from an existing room and I'd say don't expect to use it all year round.