Conservatory roof. Has anyone changed to roof tiles?

[Abitbored]

I've looked on previous threads and it seems that the general consensus on here is people don't really like conservatories ! . However, we love ours, it's huge and we use it all the time . Only problem is the usuial - too cold of an evening. I think it would cost thousands to have the roof changed to those lightweight tiles and am hoping that someone who has recently had this done could give me a review? Is it worth it? Thanks

We haven't but are also thinking about it. We've had a couple of companies out but they always just heavily push pulling the structure down and putting a new orangery up, I guess because that's how they make proper money. When pressed they just mumble about being unsure whether the structure can take the weight of the tiles. I wonder whether you should go to a specialist company that only does the tiling and has no incentive to upsell a new conservatory.

Following with interest.the children are robust enough to enjoy the conservatory as a playroom but when they are older I would like to make it a more usable room to relax in

We spent just over £6k a couple of years ago having light weight tiles put on ours. Best thing we did. We had the patio doors removed so the conservatory is now open to the lounge. It’s gone from a plastic box on the back of the house to a proper room that gets used daily. I love it!

Some pictures

We've had the internal insulation and plaster ceiling done. Massive difference in summer, able to use comfortably even on the hottest brightest day. Big reduction in noise from rain. Fine so far on cold days, keeps the heat from the heater we have. Haven't had a winter with it yet though so I don't know how we'll fare when its freezing. Very pleased so far though.

My mum did the thing where they put a plastered ceiling on it, under the roof. She was really pleased with it.

I've been considering this. There's a company near me who do the internal insulated ceiling thing for about 1.5k for our size conservatory (box room size).

It depends on the construction and foundations as to whether you can add weight to the roof or not. Some well built conservatories can be used all year round. Mine is my kitchen. Others are too cold or too hot. I would save up and replace it.

@PresentingPercy

It depends on the construction and foundations as to whether you can add weight to the roof or not. Some well built conservatories can be used all year round. Mine is my kitchen. Others are too cold or too hot. I would save up and replace it.

@PresentingPercy you have plumbing etc in your conservatory??

Yes. It’s my kitchen but it’s oak frame construction. Two sinks and full electrics. Glass on two sides and great views of my garden! I love it.

Thanks all for your replies. Ours has good foundation and lots of brick columns. Think it would be able to take a tile roof.

That's really good to know. Thanks @PaxMalmKallax Enjoy!

Yes last year, it has made the world of difference and the temperature is in line with the rest of the house now. It also looks like a real room inside once plastered. We have extra insulation, spotlights and a hanging chandelier over the table and outside lights all under the roof ridge. They also put a string light on the end so we have good lighting on the patio.

It’s lovely.

@HaggieMaggie that does sound nice! Think I will get some quotes. I was just worried about the cost if it wouldn't be much warmer. Like the sound of those outside lights

Why do you have pillars inside? That shouldn’t be remotely necessary. You would need the foundations checked because a roof is heavier. I would get a roof properly designed and get the columns removed. They cannot be necessary. You can easily span 5m with a beam!

Hopefully getting this done early next year but we are replacing everything from the dwarf walls up.

Testing foundations first to ensure can manage the weight but have had 2 different companies and a builder all think they look reasonable so fingers crossed.

I have spent a lot of time researching these as an option and they do seem to get mostly positive reviews. Not cheap though.

It adds more value to your home too. We had ours replaced with tiles, and it’s now a proper usable room.

We have clay soil here and our foundations are 6ft. When rebuilding you also have to factor in movement between the house and the new room, even if it’s a fairly basic one. Or you get cracks.

We got some quotes in the summer, to change the roof on ours from polycarbonate to light weight tiles. Best quote was just over £9k, and the most expensive was £16k. These would also depend if our foundations were ok/no other work needed once they started the job. Our conservatory is 3m x 4m and we are in the south east if that helps.

I'm not sure if the rules have changed recently but you should really check with the local building regulation people before adding a solid roof as some regard a solid roofed conservatory as no longer a conservatory but an extension that will require full building regs approval.

Thanks all for your replies. @Neron that's really helpful, thanks. Are you getting it done or is that too expensive? Ours is similar size but goes around a corner as well. I have been comparing options. Will see if the original builders might be able to upgrade the roof to a more efficient glass. That might be a good middle option

@Hopespring we decided not to go ahead in the end as may do an extension in time, which would be more than double the space, as our conservatory is less then half of the back of the house.
We also looked in to doing the roof ourselves in some way. You can leave the polycarbonate on the outside, but inside you can put up a frame, boarding and plaster over that. Got the idea from a budget DIY group

I use my conservatory constantly - since WFH became the norm it's become my office (only really spare space in the house where I can shut the door and ignore the kids when on work-related calls)... I've considered changing the roof (it's mainly the rain noise that I find problematic to be honest not the temperature) but it's not worth it for the benefit in our case - if we were spending I'd rather do a full extension - and we really need to move to a physically larger house anyway.

I do wish we'd gone bigger with the conservatory seeing as the room intended for ME to use seems to also be a magnet for every other bloody member of the family to come in and annoy me (even the dog) so we usually end up with an empty living room and every bugger in here!