Conservatory?

[Motleyvegetables]

We currently live in a 3 bed mid-terrace house (me, husband and two children 9 & 5yrs) The house isn’t massive however it has a drive, back access, an extension (the kitchen) and a 130ft garden so ticks enough boxes for us to be perfectly happy here for the time being.

That said, I’m thinking about increasing our space downstairs, in particular whether to get a conservatory or not. I’m a bit worried that the sun would be on it all morning, although from around midday /1pm the area is mainly shaded for the rest of the day.

One neighbour has a ‘traditional’ conservatory and never seem to use it, it’s more a storage area. The others recently replaced theirs and have a non plastic roof, bi fold doors, modern windows etc. I would prefer this type for us.

Am I just kidding myself that we’ll use it. I know they can get too hot / too cold. Space isn’t an issue given the garden length but is it worth the cost?

I would save and get a proper extension tbh. A decent conservatory isn’t far off the price! I have never seen one that isn’t a thousand degrees in summer (and makes the house unbearably hot) or freezing in winter. Most people I know use it to keep shoes, coats etc.

I was thinking about an extension @Ostryga however, the house is already extended up to 3m from the original building and the planning portal states that is as far as it can go out. I’d imagine this is why the neighbours both have conservatories.

There are lot of anti-conservatory people in Mumsnet.

I had an old conservatory (PC roof) when I bought which was failing but paid to have a light weight warm roof put on and refreshed all the windows and put in french doors rather than sliding. It is now used all year round (we have a heater in winter) and is a dining room and playroom.

It is south west facing (and gets the sun most of the day) and with blinds and doors opens it never goes above 27C which is a lot less than the ‘old conservatory’.

If you get a decent one it can be used all the time and is worth it.

Suspect that the planning portal just refers to your 'permitted development' - ie what you can build without needing to apply for planning permission. Doesn't mean you can't extend again necessarily, just means that you would need to apply for planning permission first.

I wouldn't put a conservatory. You have said yourself it will be too hot some of the day and too cold for months at a time.

I love our conservatory although I have to admit that we don't really use it in the winter. Probably would if we bothered to put a heater in.

You can get a 'warm roof' (i think that's the term!) which stops the hot/cold thing.

We were skint and planning to move so put a glass roofed conservatory on. It was brilliant for us for 9 months of the year. Such a handy space. A young family does need space to store stuff, put laundry etc. I don't think they're completely useless and they can be a cheap solution.

What about a garden room which can become a man cave / teen hang out or (and my favourite) your retreat place. Then you can place it somewhere else in the garden where it won't over heat.

With such a big garden, a garden room away from the house would be my choice. Far more attractive than a conservatory which might put people off. Far more useful imo, for a gym, office, retreat etc.

We have one, currently used as a playroom and will be used as a snug as kids get older. It does get hot in the summer and cold in the winter, however nothing that stops us using it all year round with decent blinds / heaters.

The rules regarding permitted development and extensions apply to conservatories too! This is such a common misconception. If you have already extended by 3m, you cannot add a conservatory on the back without planning permission.

Glass roof, but choose the right glass. There are lots of special glass types, for heat retention, blocking too much heat, etc. and it comes in tints too- e.g., blue, straw, and even special grey glass for those of us who need a perfect colour spectrum.

Thanks everyone, really helpful, lots to think about. I’ll check out the planning permission too @wineymummy

You absolutely need to do some research on the right kind of roof to make it usable. We inherited ours with our house and it's absolutely useless aside from it being a place for the kids' toys to live. I'm getting rid of it asap.