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Original poster

Do you actually use your conservatory?

84 replies

HairyPits · 02/05/2021 21:53

We’re looking at buying this year and I really want a conservatory.

The way I see it - it’s an extra lovely room, the dog can stay in it while he’s wet and muddy and if I do dog boarding, which I hope to, it could be a room (along with kitchen/hard floor areas) the dog(s) are in, without the rest of the house getting muddy and totally dusty.

However, I am also conscious that many are roasting in summer and freezing in winter. How to you make sure this doesn’t happen and how much do you actually use your conservatory?
Do you love it or regret it?

OP posts:
AmazingGrapes · 03/05/2021 07:04

I’m another person that scrolls past houses for sale with conservatories. To me they just scream 1980s and I only ever see conservatories full of mess so I think there must be something unusable about them. Must be the temperature control issue

Mustardbay · 03/05/2021 07:04

Ours is our playroom and we use it everyday. We have a heater and an aircon unit in there so it's always useable.

Sunflowergirl1 · 03/05/2021 07:32

Generally a waste of money...not classed as temporary structures for nothing..hence why you have to keep the external doors into them. Can't connect to mains central heating either unless you ignore building regs. Notorious for leaking after a few years (my neighbour was back up on his roof a few weeks ago again with his sealant gun)

Honestly wait until you can afford a proper extension room, built to building regs standard, that will add value and be usable all year around as opposed to a room that goes from a sauna to a feeezer.

pheasantsinlove · 03/05/2021 07:49

As someone else has said... you wouldn't be able to lock dogs in there in the summer.. it'd be like locking them in a car on a hot day... so please don't get one with a view to using it as the main room for dog boarding.

GooodMythicalMorning · 03/05/2021 08:13

Ours isn't completed yet and will be in the shade all year round as the house shadows it. Don't know which way it is. It'll be cool/cold all year but there is a radiator literally next to the back-door which opens to it so hoping it'll heat it enough and will be warm enough for the dogs to be out there. It'll also be insulated and have blinds so fingers crossed wont be too bad.

imaginethemdragons · 03/05/2021 08:16

Loads. I love it.
I have an air con unit in it. Blows cool in summer, warm air in winter. Remotely controlled. Wasn’t expensive,easy to fit.
Huge sofa, massive telly, wooden floors, love love love my conservatory.

PuppyMonkey · 03/05/2021 08:23

Ours is basically my dog’s bedroom - and stand down everyone, we can actually notice when it is or likely to be deathly hot in there during summer months, during which time he is not left in there during the day ever. Ours is glass and open to the main house rather than having a door etc so I think it’s more part of-the house.

Purplewithred · 03/05/2021 08:28

Too often conservatories suck all the light out of the room they are built on to - personally I hate the damn things. MIL has just forked out the best part of £10k to get the roof of hers properly insulated to avoid the freezing/baking/noisy problems of her east-facing 80s conservatory. I’d have spent the 10k knocking it down (and the useless garage with it) and building a nice west facing sunroom instead.

I am sure they can be good extra rooms if well planned and well built, and are less expensive than a proper extension, but I still hate them.

jessabell · 03/05/2021 08:31

Used mine from March to October. Lovely to sit in when was a bit cold outside. Summer never got too hot. But does depend on position of your house. I put the tumble dryer in it plus airer. Put a heater on if wanted to use it over winter.
Have now moved house. Not got a conservatory on but seeing if we miss it.

FourTurnings · 03/05/2021 08:33

My DH filled in the roof and we put comfy sofas and a big TV in there, we keep it warm. Use it all the time now.

Barefootinthecarpark · 03/05/2021 08:34

We love the one we have in this house as it’s huge! Room for Lshape sofa/tv/sideboard etc at one end and dining room table for six and storage at the other.
We had one in the last house but it wasn’t big enough to do anything with. Ended up being a drying room/dumping ground.

Tips: install proper heating, decent glass/brick wall ratio and go bigger than you originally planned. Also, agree with glass roof.

thefemaleJoshLyman · 03/05/2021 08:36

We use ours as a dining room. We do have our central heating in it (we did have a dodgy company - so it doesn't meet building regs) and a glass roof. It does get cold in winter but is never unusable it is SW facing and actually never gets too hot.

We looked at changing to an extension but would have needed pile driven foundations due to local trees and soil type so the cost was prohibitive - over double our extension budget!!!

SpringtimeSummertime · 03/05/2021 08:37

All the time!

I have a roof that stops the sun shining through - it’s kind of opaque but I don’t know the name of it.
In the winter an oil filled radiator keeps it warm.

It’s like a second sitting room with sofas and a tv doubled up as an Art room. It’s quite big and has full view of the garden. My favourite room in the house!

Yolanda524 · 03/05/2021 08:37

I had a conservatory in our last rented house and absolutely loved it. Was warm from March to October and then it had heating in it so used it everyday all year round. It was generally a play room but also I guess another reception room. I would absolutely love another one.
My in-laws also have one and also love theirs and they use it a lot as well. I don’t get the hate towards them. Though I think to make it worthwhile it needs some heating so it can be used all year round.

upsydaisyssinging · 03/05/2021 08:44

Ours is our dining room, it's north west facing with underfloor heating for the winter and it's quite a high quality/ new one. I love it. It's a replacement for an older one which did get far too cold in the winter.
I just really like feeling like I'm outside & I watch the wildlife in the garden from there.

DinosaurDiana · 03/05/2021 08:45

You can’t leave dogs in it in the summer, they’ll be too hot.

Serialcatmum · 03/05/2021 08:47

We love ours. Sit in it most days for lunch / reading space and look over the garden. I don’t enjoy watching TV and the living room is very much set up around the Tv. We have a portable heater for winter. Takes less than 5 mins to warm the room, it’s not too bad in summer. Especially with the patio doors open.

DobbyTheHouseElk · 03/05/2021 08:50

Ours is brick and wooden windows. It’s beautiful and we use it a lot. It’s lovely and warm at this time of year. Has incredible views so we sit and have a coffee in there.

In the summer we live in there really. At the end of the day the washing goes in to dry as the tiled floor retains the heat. It’s a lovely room and visitors always gravitate towards it.

Ariannah · 03/05/2021 08:51

We had a conservatory that was open to the living space (no doors). In the summer it was nice, but in the winter the warm air from the house would flow out there and condense on the cold glass. There would be water streaming down the windows and in the end we had to install double doors to close the conservatory off from the house. Basically to prevent condensation in the winter when the house was warm and the conservatory was cold.

Figmentofimagination · 03/05/2021 08:52

We have a large one across the whole back of our house (south facing) with a proper glass roof. It was built in 2006 by the previous owners with a large radiator across the large brick wall. We have a sofa and armchair in there and it's used as a playroom. We love it and use it all year round (and it's never leaked), though it can get very hot in the summer. It would have been better if it had french doors in the middle to help reduce the heat in the summer, instead it has a single door at the side. We did buy a freestanding air cooler to help with the heat, just fill with water.
I will admit though that I am moving house, and whilst I won't discount a conservatory with a glass roof, I'm looking for a house with either an extension or a conservatory with a covered roof.

TunstallTansy · 03/05/2021 08:58

We had the newer glass roof and it was still a waste of time, we've got rid of it now.

It was useful for dumping stuff in, it made the room it came off really dark - since removing it the difference is stark.

Londontown12 · 03/05/2021 08:59

We use ours all the time !
We have a special blue tinted glass roof ! Also have our central heating in there as well ! Our dog loves it .
And it’s peaceful When u wanna read a book x

redcandlelight · 03/05/2021 09:01

we used the one in a previous house mainly for drying laundry.
it was perfect for that, very drafty.
but too small (was only 1.5x2m) for much else really and too cold in winter. not so much of an issue in summer as it was north facing.
tbh a proper extension as utility room would have been a lot more practical.

I0NA · 03/05/2021 09:03

Ours is technically an orangery as it has a sold roof with a huge roof lantern. So it’s more like an extension with glass walls.

We use it every day - it’s off the kitchen and now we hardly ever use our living room.

It’s north facing so only gets direct sun in the morning and evening.

It never gets too hot as we have temperature controlled roof lights. On sunny days we have the windows and the bifold doors open all day so it’s like a half way between sitting outside and in.

It’s never too cold as we have under floor heating and the glass is double and triple glazed.

However it wasn’t cheap. It’s not a temporary structure as someone has suggested. It’s a permanent extension, we needed planning permission and a building warrant.

Before we did it, we had to move down pipes from the back of the house and we chose to move the drains that would have been underneath. We also replaced the gutters above as they were over 100 years old.

It’s the best thing we have ever done in our house, it’s totally transformed how we use the whole downstairs. I feel like I’m out in the garden all the time and it makes me very happy.

Thefamilybusiness · 03/05/2021 09:06

Yes every day. It's South facing and opens onto the garden, I love it.
We got a new roof last year which has made a huge difference. It was glass and got roasting in summer and freezing and moldy in winter, it's now a proper roof. Love it.