Orangery extension

[Cisco2]

We want to extend our kitchen to kitchen diner and after looking into doing a kitchen extension we’ve decided against it as it’s way over our budget.

We are now looking at other options an orangery extension instead. Does anyone have one if so would they recommend It and if so are there any things we should consider/avoid when doing it? Would really appreciate advice on this as have no where to start and having two companies to quote over the next few days.

[Guymere]

We have an orangery kitchen with a very big glass roof lantern and two glass walls. It’s oak framed - around 7m x 5m. It was £65,000 but we have quite a large valuable house in the SE. With the kitchen units etc it was around 5% of value.

They are more expensive than conventional build and you need underfloor heating. Dwarf walls don’t do it for me but you need very expensive self cleaning glass with the best construction to avoid heat loss. Underfloor heating is a must in my opinion.

If your house isn’t worthwhile spending a lot of money on, then build conventionally with roof lights and windows. It’s cheaper and you can insulate the walls and roof. I love looking at the sky and I love the light. It makes me feel alive on the dreariest day!

[stillfeelingmad]

@iloveyoubutilovememore

Here's a drawing which shows the layout of back of the house and the dashed area is the extensions. Also my drawing of front elevation and boundary wall, excuse poor drawing skills

Cost is £16500 including building regs approval

We have full depth brick foundations insulated walls and solid roof

Boundary wall is mostly brick with one small opaque window, other two walls are brick dwarf wall and panoramic L shaped window.

We're knocking through to form L shaped kitchen diner, no doors (hence needing building control)

[MrsJamin]

@Cisco2 can you draw a picture of your layout? Is there really no way you can extend your kitchen to get a kitchen diner? I hate conservatories/orangeries / sun rooms because of the wild temperature fluctuations throughout the year.

[iloveyoubutilovememore]

@stillfeelingmad sounds like you've done what I'm hoping to do, could you go into a bit more detail please? Costs etc if possible. Am only just starting to look into it.

[Mutunus]

I'll buck the trend here a wee bit. BiL had his done about 2 years ago.
He had quotes for extension and Orangery and they were about the same, so went for the Orangery.
It's very nice (light quality etc) but it gets really hot when the sun shines and all the flies seem to congregate to die in the glass area. Also glass not that easy to clean being so high up.

[Marieg10]

You may end up paying a good percentage of what a proper extension would cost which is then part of the house. Conservatories and orangeries are add ons that cost a fortune to heat in winter and are boiling in summer...and usually end up leaking

[nx12]

@HasaDigaEebowai

amdega will definitely be more than a normal extension

Thought that may the case - wasn't 100% sure

[HasaDigaEebowai]

amdega will definitely be more than a normal extension

[nx12]

Look at Amdega orangeries, better at thermo regulation than PVC but may be equally priced or more than a brick built extension.

[Africa2go]

I think it really depends on what you're referring to as an "orangery". My understanding is that its a brick built extension, with lots of glass, and a large glass "roof lantern" roof. This is obviously a grand version but you get the idea. If you mean a conservatory, thats completely different and much cheaper.

[stillfeelingmad]

Were in the middle of getting a similar extension/orangery/conservatory,

It's full foundations, brick along one wall, two walls that are half brick/half glass and a proper solid roof, we're hoping it will be fully usable and is knocked through into the kitchen which meant involving building control, it's cost more or less the same as we were quoted for more traditional design brick extension

[bilbodog]

I agree with others - a good quality conservatory or orangery will cost more than an extension. I would go with an extension and put a roof lantern in The roof if you can afford it.

[BuildingThings]

Can I ask what your budget is @Cisco2 ?
You need to write a brief: ask yourself - why do you need the extra space? Then it'll be easier to decide whether to do an orangery/extension or simply to rearrange the existing internal space to work better for you.
I agree with JoJo above - pvc conservatories are a bit useless as they don't really provide you with the usable space.

[Africa2go]

Me too, always thought it was more expensive. My sister had one in her large renovation, it was beautiful but much more expensive than a "standard" extension. Bear in mind which way your garden faces and where abouts you are in the country. Hers was a south facing garden, combined with masses of glass (8m of glass doors), a huge room but it became unusable in the summer as it was too hot. They ended up having a tarpaulin over the glass in the orangery as a temporary measure and then had to fit really ugly noisy air conditioning units.

[JoJoSM2]

I agree that I’ve only ever come across orangeries that are more expensive than standard extensions.

Do you just mean a PVC conservatory? Those are cheaper but a bit useless as you still need an external door between a conservatory and the house + they’re bad for temperature: too hot in summer and too cold in winter.

[NewHouseNewMe]

I would echo @HasaDigaEebowai

The one person I know with an orangery extension spent £££ on it.

What do you mean by an orangery?

[HasaDigaEebowai]

I thought an orangery extension was typically more expensive than a normal one.