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Original poster

Putting a proper roof on a conservatory

35 replies

Chiwi · 27/03/2021 17:33

We are likely going to offer on a house. It has a conservatory off the living room. I hate conservatories, they're a waste of space and you can use them for about 6 days in April before they're too hot or too cold.
I have been looking into putting a proper insulated roof on it. But struggling to get a feel for the cost? Has anyone done this and was it worthwhile and what was the rough cost?

It could be a great space for a playroom if it was useable year round. So I think it's either this or knock it down and think about a proper extension.

OP posts:
tryingtocatchthewind · 27/03/2021 18:37

I’d love to know this too. We’re looking at a house on Monday with a conservatory. I agree with you, I hate the bloody things but I’m hoping a tiled roof might make it more useful

MaryIsA · 28/03/2021 08:01

Friends had it done on a really big conservatory, can’t remember the cost sorry, but I remember thinking, that’s reasonable. You’d probably get someone to quote fairly easily...

It’s made a huge difference to them, looks good, is warm and I was v impressed.

We knocked ours down, are building an extension and irks costing £70k....hmmmm.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 28/03/2021 08:05

How old is the conservatory? You need to know about the foundations and if they will take the weight of a solid roof.

We looked into doing this with our (very old) conservatory but it wasn't possible. We pulled it down and built a proper extension. Much costlier but I don't regret it for a moment.

Sunflowergirl1 · 28/03/2021 08:13

A lot of money better out towards a proper building usable all year around. Plus, many conservatories are built on a thin slab in concrete that won't take the extra weight and sink (many sink without the extra weight😂😂)

Honestly just demolish it if you have a choice

Original poster
Chiwi · 28/03/2021 09:08

Ow 70k is costly!! Don't think we could stretch to that.

The house is 25 years old and the conservatory wasn't on the Rightmove listing when it was last sold 12 years ago so it's relatively new.

Demolish would be my preference but it we could make it year round usable for a bit less I'd be willing to put my conservatory hate aside (mostly)

OP posts:
MaryIsA · 28/03/2021 09:23

@Chiwi. no, £70k is for our extension rather than getting a much cheaper roof put on the old conservatory! Friends was something like £12k but it was big and they knocked through too.

ScrumptiousBears · 28/03/2021 09:29

I got a Lyn estimate some years ago and it was £6500 for a 3m x 6m. We didn't do it as I'd hope to have moved but that hasn't happened yet. Last year we got the the underside insulated and plastered. Cost £2k and we are really pleased with it.

Cupcakegirl13 · 28/03/2021 09:29

We are just having a very dated white upvc conservatory updated buy getting rid of the glazed roof and upvc windows , keeping the dwarf wall and foundations. We are having a warm roof , new windows and also having bi folds put in to replace the traditional French doors. It’s costing us £24k.

Original poster
Chiwi · 28/03/2021 09:30

Ok 12k is a little less terrifying haha.

This is, I suspect, a much smaller space. We would probably consider knocking through too if it wasn't too much.

Do you think it made your friends one feel less conservatory-ey? @MaryIsA

OP posts:
Cupcakegirl13 · 28/03/2021 09:30

Should also add we are having the sliding patio doors that separate it from our house removed and new heating put in and that also includes plastering , electrics and decorating .

Original poster
Chiwi · 28/03/2021 09:31

@Cupcakegirl13 for all of that including bi-folds 24k sounds pretty reasonable.

Would love to hear how it turns out for you!

OP posts:
MaryIsA · 28/03/2021 09:35

It was transformative at our friends, really just like part of the house, like they’d had an extension to the living room. They got a couple of radiators put in.

Original poster
Chiwi · 28/03/2021 09:40

@MaryIsA ah that is exactly what I want to hear. Thank you! It could be such a nice space on this house and just give it that extra bit of space we would need an extra 50k of budget to buy a house with an extra 'proper' room in the same area. And I don't fancy mortgaging to the max!

OP posts:
PresentingPercy · 28/03/2021 09:58

Few cheap conservatories are worth keeping. You need under floor heating and a proper construction to make them worthwhile and that’s expensive! You could consider a roof if the foundations are ok. So get them checked. Cheap plastic type conservatives rarely have them and a concrete slab isn’t good enough. We have 6ft foundations for ours. Plus very expensive glass etc. Ours was around £65,000 11 years ago.

I would pull down a cheap one. Good money spent on a poor building never works. I would get an extension and do it properly. Are there walls and do they have a cavity? Is that insulated? What about floor insulation and heating? What about high quality glazing? If it’s poor build quality a roof is only part of the issue.

pinktophat · 28/03/2021 11:08

We've had to pull ours done and build on the footprint. It needed new foundations dug out. 40k I'm afraid...

ThriceAsNaice · 28/03/2021 11:25

We had an internal insulated ceiling put in last summer for around £2k. It's been brilliant and changed the way we use the room. Along with a large thick rug we have a plug in oil filled radiator and we use it as a second living room now. We tend to sit in that room a lot during the day as its south facing and more pleasant to sit in than our north facing living room.

On milder winter days I've put the radiator for a bit to take the chill off in the morning and then its kept the heat well during the day.

The ceiling has helped so much with the brightness too, it was impossible to watch TV in there previously and some summer days it wasn't comfortable without sunglasses but now it's fine. Definitely money well spent for us, it's made a massive difference. Once rules are relaxed I'm expecting the teens to use it as a separate space in the evenings if they have friends over as we've kept the double doors into the dining room so it can be completely private from the house if wanted.

SmednotaSmoo · 28/03/2021 11:28

I wonder... having lived with a conservatory off a living space, and now with a velux glazed extension off a (different) living space... about the light effect on the internal room by roofing the conservatory. Our velux-extensioned room is lovely and bright and light, but the interior room is very dark and gloomy. Just something to ponder.

PresentingPercy · 28/03/2021 13:21

You have to open them up to let the light through. Not keep them as two rooms.

ErleighBird · 28/03/2021 13:48

We've just taken our inherited conservatory down and the difference to the light in the house is shocking - the room is so much brighter now.

Original poster
Chiwi · 28/03/2021 14:02

Lots of interesting food for thought here.

I suppose in an ideal world I would take the conservatory down and extend the living room with a single storey, I'm just not sure how soon we would be able to afford that.

Totally hadn't thought about the loss of light from putting a proper roof on, that's an excellent point.

I think it has to come down doesn't it!

OP posts:
EmmaGrundyForPM · 28/03/2021 15:10

@Cupcakegirl13

Should also add we are having the sliding patio doors that separate it from our house removed and new heating put in and that also includes plastering , electrics and decorating .
I'm.honestly amazed you managed to get that past building control. We had a bit of a nightmare with our extension as we wanted it all opened up with the kitchen and that was a proper brick built room. We eventually had to reinstate the loft to meet the thermal loss regulations. Friends who tried to do it with their conservatory couldn't get permission at all.

OP if you are going to do this in the hope of opening up between your conservatory and the rest of the house, please make sure you can meet the new thermal regulations.

PerfectPinecone · 28/03/2021 15:27

We have just finished knocking down the conservatory and had an extension built. It has cost us £30k and is 7m x 3m so a decent size. We have a large bifold door. Two velux roof windows and a side door. It's a much better space as the old conservatory was used as a dumping ground and was absolutely freezing most of the time. the extension is now used as a lovely reception room.

Campervan69 · 28/03/2021 18:07

My husband has insulated the side wall of our conservatory with thick insulation then plastered over it. Its made a massive difference and cost a couple of hundred pounds. I love the room as its a suntrap so even in the winter I sit in here to read. Its attached to our kitchen. A real roof would probably make a massive difference as well.

AfternoonToffee · 28/03/2021 19:46

We are having ours done. It is about 8k* but that also includes having all the glass renewed too. It will also have a Velux window. The roofs are light weight, not a standard roof tile.

(*I am NE of England)

TheCrowening · 28/03/2021 19:48

We have a brick built sunroom rather than a conservatory but it had an ageing polycarbonate roof which began to leak. We replaced with Cosyroof and it cost £7k (4x3m). Very happy with the quality of the job.

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