Conservatory/garden room help

[funtimefrank]

I have a 80s Barrett house with the original conservatory. It is all the bad things (too cold/too warm/awful roof/a few windows are blown/drawf walls are coming away from the side of the house).

But it is a lovely size, is a lovely place to sit on the one day a year it is useable and the light from it helps light up our long lounge diner which can be a bit dingy.

I desperately need a proper functioning place to wfh. I am moving from room to room and it's getting difficult to manage. My company have said they expect wfh to become the norm and this is true across pretty much any job in my field.

My lovely mum has today told me that she wants to give me a chunk of funds from a matured insurance policy to help me manage this so I have unexpected budget of around £30k (in SW). Space is about 3x3m I think.

My options are:

Revamp existing conservatory - replace roof, glass, get underfloor heating, fix walls etc.

Get more modern new conservatory/garden room

Get proper extension

Covert garage. This may be cheaper on the face of it but there is a lot which would need to be fixed plus we would need to get a lot of outside storage.

I like the fact of separation from the main house that the conservatory option gives, especially as it will basically be mostly an office. A proper extension makes me nervous because we really benefit from the light.

But garden is north facing and current conservatory gets very hot. I need this space to be comfortable all year round.

So what is my best option.

I’d do a proper extension. You can always add a roof lantern or veluxes for light.

I’d go with the proper extension as it actually adds sq footage and improves the house.

I would replace the conservatory with a proper extension. If you put in French windows and possibly a skylight in the roof, it would have the same light/garden access as the conservatory, but it would be warmer and more pleasant year round. The most expensive option, but I think would add most value too.

Am not sure about putting an office right across the back. How does it relate to your kitchen and the garage? Can we have a floor plan ?!

I had an lean to conservatory with Polycarbonate roof. Had all the same problems as you OP except the base and walls looked in a good state.

We had a conservatory renovation - changed all the windows, doors, frames and put a warm roof on. Also redid electrics, plaster and floor. Instantly made a difference to the feel, temperature and useability of the room.

While some would say it is a bit of a folly to do this rather than an extension, updating it to an extension would mean ground works and as our existing conservatory was placed over the drains and manhole that would mean rerouting drains at the least and digging up foundations without damaging drains and then putting in new foundations which don’t damage the drains - which adds significant cost and time.

We decided a full extension wasn’t for us so went for a good quality update.

End of the day we are happy and our solution is working for us. And we went in knowing the strengths and limitations of our chosen option.

We had a 90s conservatory which had gone past its sell-by date. We replaced it by retaining the dwarf walls but renewing everything else. We had a glass roof with the latest technological coating which means (1) more light and (2) none of the too hot / too cold thing. It is an all-year-round room. And it was much cheaper than the £30k you are talking about.

Will wfh work in a conservatory, won't you get glare on computer screens?

Food for thought, thank you.

In terms of floor plan garage is integrated and at the front of house. Kitchen is at back of house looking into the garden and conservatory is off the back of the dining room (it's all knocked into one long big room but the bit the kitchen opens onto). If I put a proper extension on I'd worry the lounge diner then extension would be too long and formless iyswim as there are no windows on the side of the house, only front and back. Having patio doors leading into the conservatory breaks the space up.

The kitchen door and the conservatory doors open into the patio in an L shape which is lovely in summer. So it's not across the whole of the back, just half of it. I have wfh in there before and glare not an issue.

DH is worried about the groundworks aspect (and the money from my mum but let's not go there). He's keenest on a refurb.

We have a great local window/conservatory firm who did our double glazing last year. I may get them out to quote on the refurb and the replace options so I understand cost more.

I guess where my head is that at the moment it's an eyesore and needs something done to it as it's probably a liability in terms of value therefore any kind of refurb will improve both value and usefulness.

So if I could refurb (and not spend all of mums money) and it works, great and i do keep the garage option as a plan b if it's not exactly right. I definitely couldn't afford extension and garage but could maybe afford garage and refurb if I had to.

But maybe flawed logic and extension is the way forward.

If the main aim is office space, you could convert half the garage, leaving the other half for storage

I have a conservatory in the position you describe with very thick glazing, underfloor heating etc I love it and use it a lot.

If I had the funds I would definitely rebuild as an orangery with brick pillars lots of glazing and velux or roof lantern. This will still give you a light airy room that is usable all year without the chill factor.

If you go for the garage conversion you are removing useful storage space and would then mess up your garden with a large shed.