Replace or reroof conservatory, or something else entirely

[TiddleTaddleTat]

Hi
We’ve been in our house 2.5years, renovating throughout (though nothing structural as yet), doing it all as we go with income savings/short term 0% cc debt etc. Quite proud to say we have no debt outstanding on it except for the mortgage.

We need to do something about the old polycarbonate conservatory roof. It’s leaking, the room gets mouldy, there’s bad condensation despite my best efforts. I love the conservatory about 8 months of the year for reading, yoga, birdwatching etc. But it needs reroofing, decorating, flooring.

We have had a quote for £10.5k to put on a new tiled roof , seems extortionate and prices have clearly risen a lot as we had several quotes 2y ago about 20% less than this.

The rest of the 3x3m structure is about 12 years old and in good condition.

Wondering whether to replace it all (so roof and conservatory are same age and last longer) or just the roof or knock it down and replace with an extension. We could potentially wrap around side of the house although would only gain about 2mx3m additional by doing this. However could really do with a bigger kitchen as we have the standard tiny 30s semi kitchen. It’s dilapidated and due for replacement asap as well.

I’m just torn because I really can’t face taking on debt of any magnitude - my understanding is that extensions start at £2k per metre and often go over budget. We’d be adding to the mortgage in that case, extra £400 a month, extra £15k in interest over the 17 year term (staggering when you look at those numbers).

The alternative with the reroof option we were quoted today was 50% upfront (I could use 0% CC) and the rest interest free over 5 years with no penalty for paying off early.

I’d rather take on a loan than remortgage because of additional interest.

I’m aware that many consider a conservatory to be a poor man’s extension, although I do like aspects of ours.

Any words of wisdom?!

Supalite is a brand of lightweight tiled roof. They're based in Preston I think and then they pass the enquiries to local businesses they've vetted.

I’d have that on a garden building but not on my house.

@TizerorFizz
Your orangerie sounds fabulous. I totally understand your comments about value and the essential shortcomings of the original structure. Like anything for us it’s a case of prioritising all the different things we want to do with the house and deciding where to spend and where to make do.
@ginislife
It’s a supalite roof we’ve been quoted for. I’ve chatted with the LA building control before about them and they were positive (but then I understand they may have an financial incentive if they will be checking!)

Why would building control have a financial incentive? Does your building control take bribes and backhanders?

I think if you intend to stay in the house you deserve better construction. Making sure you retain heat is important in winter. Quick cheap solutions don’t usually pay off long term. I don’t really see why a small mortgage is such a goal when you could have a much better house.

@TizerorFizz simply because they charge a fee to inspect the work. They were very helpful when I enquired about these rooves overall.

This is all food for thought…

How much is your house worth? I think a replacement roof would be the solution on something worth 300k but absolutely not on something worth 700k for example

@LargeBowl that’s a good point - it’s probably worth between about £340-£360k as it stands

What is the expected life of these rooted? 20 years max? You obviously pay money and make a choice but in the long run it’s a false economy. You don’t have a robust extension with foundations or roof. It would be subject to movement and is essentially sub standard. Building regs won’t really care but prospective purchasers and surveyors might.

Where in the UK are you ? That will also influence cost.

We’re up north , Yorkshire area.
The supalite roof we’ve had quoted at £10.5k by one company is apparently guaranteed for 10years on installation, roof itself for 40. But I’m mindful that it’s probably the remaining upvc windows and structure that’ll fail first as they have a 10-15 year headstart. Having looked again today they are in good nick with pilkington glass, the upvc door has a multipoint locking device, etc.

@Swimmingwiththefishes

Hi 👋🏻. This time last year, we were in the same boat and are now mid way through an extension.

Our situation (moved in 2016):
-Conservatory built c2006
-one full shared wall, one half brick, UPVC glazing with roof, French doors etc
-roof started leaking 2 years ago
-conservatory is 3x4 metres

We had several companies come and have a look and we enquired about a replacement roof. We were pretty underwhelmed with the options and realised part of the issue was guttering around the conservatory which was part of the problem. All companies said they couldn't guarantee a full fix for a long length of time due to this guttering problem had infiltrated the walls too.

We thought back to when we first moved in and it wasn't leaking and realised that we hardly ever used it. It was too hot in the summer and we had insects come in and an absolute tonne of spiders in the ceiling-and it was too cold in the winter, even with new radiator and non leaking roof.

It was also a size that meant it didn't quite know what it wanted to be-and we had internal doors separating it from another room. It ultimately became a storage room.

So we decided to change it to an extension with sloped roof. We are also extended it out a couple of metres (we would have loved to wrap around and link to kitchen but it's just out of our budget!). Total space 3x7 metres

When we spoke to various builders, they all had different views on what the foundations could take and ultimately a very kind builder said we really should go through an architect and structural engineer as although it seemed straightforward, it had load bearing walls and the foundations were unknown

Architect and structural engineer made it clear it's not as simple as just taking the roof and glass down and building up. Foundations need digging a little deeper as a full roof is heavier. It was essentially money well spent to get it drawn up, planning permission etc

So we're now knocking out the internal doors and seeing it as an extension of the room
It connects to. Nice window seat with picture window. , big bifold doors and some massive skylights: but walls are far more insulated, floor is concrete and it is, in essence, better put together with longer life span.

The total cost including architect, structural engineer, materials, glazing etc is going to be c £45k for knocking down 99% of the conservatory, adding on 2 metres and finishing it with joinery, electric speakers etc so a fairly high spec. This is about £15k more than when we asked around 2 years ago but it's not such a surprise with costs going up.

We are pleased we decided to do this rather than replace the roof as we feel the space will be much more usable.

Sorry it's long but hope that helps (we're south east London)

Wow, £45k is really decent. Does this include everything including plastering, painting, flooring etc?

@absentbf It was the most decent quote we had (one was c£90k!!) BUT the space it's creating isn't that big (3x5 into 3x7m). And most of the foundations are there, just need to dig slightly deeper and new concrete floor.

No plumbing or bathroom/kitchen... no decorating included.

So it's to knock down conservatory, build up again with solid, insulated walls, bifold doors, picture fixed window, 2 x large velux, joinery for window seat and storage, all electrics and fittings for lights, outside lights and built in speakers (additional cost for us to purchase), supply and fit flooring. My DH is decorating so that's the only thing it doesn't include!

We did get some quotes a couple of years ago and it was £25k so it feels like a lot at the moment!