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Original poster

Knocking down a conservatory

26 replies

TinyGlassOwl · 10/05/2021 17:11

We are buying a house with an incredibly ugly and depressing conservatory which takes up a huge area of the south-facing patio and sucks the life and light out of the kitchen. It is so horrible that when our offer was accepted the EA actually said 'I was so pleased when you said you're going to knock that thing down'.

I have a vision of replacing it with a lovely wooden pergola, with some tasteful lights and climbing plants and a comfy seating area with a nice big table. It would give us some shade in the summer but hopefully wouldn't block the light in the same way.

Has anyone done this? Did you pay someone to knock it down and take it all away? It's divided from the kitchen by glass sliding doors - I assume they'd be ok to keep until we can afford to replace them too Would I need to lay decking as well?

Any experiences of getting rid would be helpful!

OP posts:

Beebumble2 · 10/05/2021 20:32

We hired a skip and knocked down the awful wooden conservatory. We taped the glass on the sides, had hard hats, gloves and goggles and then threw a crow bar at it. We wheelbarrowed the glas to the skip. The wooden part was easy, but the wired glass roof took a bit of effort, and tow rope to pull it down.
Hard work, but so therapeutic! Warn the neighbour, the noise of smacking glass was quite something.
Modern conservatories probably have removable panels.

Beebumble2 · 10/05/2021 20:33

To add, we were left with a raised concrete base, so put decking down to level the garden.

JenniferWeCantGoWrong · 10/05/2021 22:32

We sold ours on eBay, a company, paid for by the buyer, removed it.

We paid someone to remove the dwarf wall afterwards.

Original poster

TinyGlassOwl · 11/05/2021 07:49

Love the idea of chucking a crow bar at the damn thing

OP posts:

MissFritton65 · 11/05/2021 11:46

We are in the middle of having an extension and part of it involves having a PVC conservatory removed. My husband sold it via Facebook marketplace and the people who bought it took it down as part of the deal. We were delighted as I'd assumed it would just go in a skip!

VanceRefridgeration · 11/05/2021 11:51

Hey @JenniferWeCantGoWrong and @MissFritton65 can I ask what condition yours were in when sold.

We are actually doing the same and getting rid of a conservatory and turning it into an extension. I hadn't even thought about selling it. It's got one solid side so not even sure it would sell as a legitimate conservatory.

Could we sell it for scrap do you think?

OP we considered knocking ours down too but as it's a mix of solid wall too we decided to change it to an extant ion

Wideawakeandconfused · 11/05/2021 11:52

Is it UPVC or wood? Our house came with an awful wooden conservatory so we had builder take all the sides down and left the roof, had new steel pillars made for it, replaced the glass and painted it all. We’ve added lights under the glass, a heater and patio furniture. It’s our favourite part of the garden now and used it loads in the winter. It’s now a real outside/inside space.

VanceRefridgeration · 11/05/2021 11:53

*extension!

@MissFritton65 can I also ask under the anonymity of the internet what yours is costing as we were a bit surprised!

Ours is being knocked down but floor foundations staying in place with added insulation. Then we're extending out from where the conservatory was by 1metre. Pitched roof with a couple of velux and bifolding doors. Quote for £30k currently in planning with council (south east London)

bungabungaboo · 11/05/2021 11:54

We paid for ours to be dismantled as it was over 30 years old and a wreck

Did not replace it with a structure but have put seating in its place

It is a secluded and sunny spot now rather than a greenhouse

MissFritton65 · 11/05/2021 12:02

@VanceRefridgeration

Hey *@JenniferWeCantGoWrong and @MissFritton65* can I ask what condition yours were in when sold.

Could we sell it for scrap do you think?

OP we considered knocking ours down too but as it's a mix of solid wall too we decided to change it to an extant ion

Ours was put up about 15 years ago and the previous owners used it as a second sitting room. It had heating, electrics etc; it was ok condition but horrible in my opinion as south facing so not really a usable space.

Roboticcarrot · 11/05/2021 12:05

@MissFritton65

We did similar, I was really surprised! It was in really good condition though, it just didn't work for us due to the ridiculous extremes of temp (it did have underfloor heating but we never used it), we wanted the garden space.

MissFritton65 · 11/05/2021 12:06

@VanceRefridgeration

*extension!

@MissFritton65 can I also ask under the anonymity of the internet what yours is costing as we were a bit surprised!

We are having a single storey extension across the back on a bigger footprint than the conservatory plus a double storey extension on the side of the house. We are increasing our living space by 80% so it is a big project! We are paying more than £200k excluding kitchens, bathrooms etc. This was more than our architect predicted but less than several of the other quotes we had. We are based in South Manchester.

JellyBabiesFan · 11/05/2021 12:49

Hideous things they are.

I cannot for the life of me see the appeal in sticking a plastic monstrosity to the back of your house.

Sticks out like a sore thumb, too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer, on display for all the neighbours to see.

If you want somewhere nice to sit overlooking the garden in the summer, then buy a nice chair and sit in the sodding garden to begin with.

VanceRefridgeration · 11/05/2021 13:19

@JellyBabiesFan

Hideous things they are.

I cannot for the life of me see the appeal in sticking a plastic monstrosity to the back of your house.

Sticks out like a sore thumb, too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer, on display for all the neighbours to see.

If you want somewhere nice to sit overlooking the garden in the summer, then buy a nice chair and sit in the sodding garden to begin with.

You seem very upset about this? Have you read the OPs post? She is planning on doing just that: tearing it down and creating a nice place to sit in her garden

Original poster

TinyGlassOwl · 11/05/2021 13:21

If you want somewhere nice to sit overlooking the garden in the summer, then buy a nice chair and sit in the sodding garden to begin with

My thoughts exactly! I can see how it might work in some houses - my dad has a bungalow with a genuinely useful and attractive conservatory which is lovely to spend time in (and really more like an extension) - but sadly this is not one of those.

Plus the new house is on a slightly odd-shaped, wraparound plot and the conservatory takes up 80% of the sunniest, south-facing part of it! Criminal imo.

I will definitely look at putting it up on FB and see if anyone wants to come and take it away. I'll even give 'em a cup of tea and a biscuit for their trouble

OP posts:

VanceRefridgeration · 11/05/2021 13:21

Thanks @MissFritton65 sounds like a very exciting project!!

Ours is nowhere near as ambitious but I'm hoping it won't be more than the architect predicted as it felt very expensive! But I've nothing to compare that too.

Hope it all goes well!

Original poster

TinyGlassOwl · 11/05/2021 13:22

Lol @VanceRefridgeration - tbf I read that post as a rant on my behalf

OP posts:

VanceRefridgeration · 11/05/2021 13:23

@TinyGlassOwl

Lol *@VanceRefridgeration* - tbf I read that post as a rant on my behalf

😆 you never quite know with Mumsnet!!

MissFritton65 · 11/05/2021 13:26

It's definitely worth a shot; ours got over 500 views and my husband had 4 phone calls from people very keen to buy it. The people who did buy hired a van and drove from Birmingham. They were here 9 hours dismantling it; we did give them several cups tea!

MissFritton65 · 11/05/2021 13:31

@VanceRefridgeration

Thanks *@MissFritton65* sounds like a very exciting project!!

Ours is nowhere near as ambitious but I'm hoping it won't be more than the architect predicted as it felt very expensive! But I've nothing to compare that too.

Hope it all goes well!

Thank you; We hope so too! We are on week 12 .........

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 11/05/2021 14:07

I sold mine on Facebook. A builder bought it for his daughter. He. Am with a team, tagged it, dismantled it and took it away. And paid me £500 for the pleasure! I had planned to dump it so was very pleased with the outcome. Used the mine to pave where I'd had stood and bought new pits and plants. Best thing I ever did.

JustGotToKeepOnKeepingOn · 11/05/2021 14:08

Sorry for all the typos!!

Sowingbees · 11/05/2021 14:11

Price. Price is why people have a conservatory and not an extension.

BarkingUpTheWrongRoseBush · 11/05/2021 14:12

You will probably need new doors into the house and decking over the concrete foundation. Ours left a very unsightly concrete lump of foundation and quite a bit of damage to the render where it had joined the house.

We didn't sell ours as it was crap and only 2 sides to it.

Getting an extension built instead. That's fucking expensive but at least we'll be able to use it in winter and when its raining.

JenniferWeCantGoWrong · 11/05/2021 18:47

@VanceRefridgeration ours was in ok condition but a really weird shape. Didn't seem to matter - we had tons of interest in it.

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