Conservatory - what to ask for

[takealettermsjones]

I have a conservatory with the classic problem - too cold in winter, too hot in summer. There's a sweet spot of about three weeks when it's usable.

To describe it, the walls are a third exposed brick, then double paned glass in wooden frames. The roof is some kind of plastic, again with wooden framing.

I don't think replacing the roof will be enough. The whole thing was obviously thrown up and there are gaps underneath the brickwork where ants can get in. I also just don't like it - the dark wooden framing looks dated and doesn't match the rest of the house.

So anyway, the question is, what do I ask for? I've confused myself looking at conservatories with insulated roofs vs orangeries, sun rooms etc. What's the difference? And can anyone give me a ballpark of the costs?

Thank you for any help/advice!

Are you looking to renovate the existing conservatory or get rid of it completely.
The best option would be to knock it down and start again with an extension but this would obviously be ££
I know a few people who have gone down the insulated roof option. I think at the cheaper end with just insulating the roof it's anything from around 6k.
If you have a complete refurb with velux windows, lighting, plastering, bifolds etc then you coukd be looking in excess of 20k It all depends what spec you want really. My brother had an orangery type conservatory built from scratch recently with brick walls and special roof glass, plastering, flooring etc. It cost 20k
We are in the same boat as you as we need to sort our freezing conservatory - not sure what we'll do yet but I think knocking it down is probably our best bet.

We had a conservatory that had gone beyond its sell-by date. We replaced it, keeping the same footprint and dwarf walls. We had previously had the dreaded polycarbonate roof but this time we had a glass one with Pilkington Activ.
We have lost the too hot / too cold thing; the solar gain/loss claims have held true for us. One unanticipated benefit was that, because it is (almost) clear glass, we get better light coming into the room it is off.
It cost us about £10k but that was pre-Covid.

Thank you both. I really want to knock it down and start again but I suppose we could keep the dwarf walls, if the gaps could be filled in somehow. The last thing I want though is to get something cheaper and then it ends up still having problems!

I wouldn't have another conservatory and we have a good one with blue glass roof etc. I would have a proper sun room with floor to ceiling windows and a proper roof.

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor please can I ask you why i.e. what problems are you having even with a 'good' conservatory?

It's in the perfect position in the garden, not too hot, not too cold but still needs loads of heating due to it all being glass.

The super duper megga expensive self cleaning roof still needs cleaning a LOT.

Inside needs cleaning loads too due to all the millions of insects, it's like an insect graveyard in there.

You will need blinds, they are hugely expensive, even the cheaper ones.

It's expensive having a window cleaner come and clean the roof and windows- £50!! 😱

I would never have another, we replaced an old one that sounds like the one you have. I would definitely have a sun room with a proper roof. There are companies that specialist in putting proper roofs on conservatories now.

Things fade in there even with the super duper roof that is meant to not allow fading.

As you can tell, I'm not a fan 😂

I can indeed tell 😆 that's really helpful though, thank you!

It's expensive having a window cleaner come and clean the roof and windows- £50!!
I'll grant you that one. I have a friend with a very high conservatory. She is too old to be clambering ladders to clean the inside of the roof. She has had some horrendous quotes from window cleaners.

My exterior self-cleaning glass does what it claims, though. We occasionally hose it, but not often.

If we put a solid roof on ours then we would lose about three-quarters of our current view. We wouldn't see the trees, the birds, the sky, the clouds, the ever-changing weather ...

I'm not lazy about cleaning windows normally, I do all the house ones by hand but I can't climb ladders to do the roof. When ds is home I rope him to help but he's a busy bee these days.

I’ve a conservatory (actually we’ve got 2 - why???). One is very big and fantastic - like having the best patio in the world! I’d not want one to use as proper living space as it’s too cold from about now (mid October) to mid- February, but it doesnt get much direct sun so with the windows open in the summer it’s brilliant.

So... what di you want to use it for? If it’s a room as part if the house then that’s a very different approach to a covered garden.

I think especially now (young child, one on the way) I want it to be an extra living space. So I think that's probably swing it hasn't it... ( cries in pound signs ) 😆

We use ours every day, it's got the dining table and some sofas in.
We have underfloor heating to keep it cosy in the winter I love it in there, it really feels like you are in the garden.

Think what a conservatory is supposed to be for.

We had a conservatory in our previous home, we very rarely used it. Wouldn’t get another one.

I agree with @MrsPelligrinoPetrichor.

We use our conservatory as our main sitting room. It faces north and east but even so, and with decent glass and blinds, it gets too hot in the summer. It also gets too cold in the winter, especially for my husband. When it rains, we can't hear the television. The wooden floor has faded.

I shall miss the light, but after a few years of discussion and disagreement, we have decided to have the roof replaced. They start later this week.

This is our before and after. Originally we were just looking at the roof, but I sat in the rooms lot during COVID times, and realised I could see sunlight through the frame. So we kept the dwarf wall and replaced the glass and a lightweight roof. We had a velux put it on the opposite side to the picture. We instantly noticed a difference, previously we'd open the doors and the hot air would hit you, but after it was pleasant. In the massive heatwave it wasn't, but then nowhere was.

It was about £15k (NE England)

Mine was turned into a sort of extension about 6 years ago by the builder who built the original conservatory 20 years ago
patio doors and windows across the width of the room opening into the garden, a lantern glass roof, plastered insulated side walls and a radiator put in. Doors to lounge removed so like one through room.
Its transformed my living space , I can’t remember how much it cost but has double the size of my living area in a very small house. I think the “ proper” glass roof is the expensive bit but that apparently is what makes the best improvement.

We had the same. We kept the dwarf walls (but had any external gaps cemented and the internal fully re-plastered and re-floored so it is now properly sealed). New PVC window frames and roof frames with top quality double glazed glass windows and roof (it has some kind of "film" to keep excesses of sun out). It's now useable 365 days of the year. The difference in terms of keeping heat in during winter and out during summer is amazing. Total cost (inc re-plastering and re-flooring) was about £9k I think.

We also did a small porch that was in effect a very small conservatory with a dwarf wall, double glazed windows and plastic roof. That was the same, too hot/too cold, but we didn't want to spend much on it, so just replaced the windows with modern double glazed units (not top of the range, not filmed etc), and modern pvc roof. Cost was £2.5k but even though we didn't go "top of the range", there was still a massive improvement on what was there before even though it was genuinely more "Like for like". The joiner who did it told us that it would be a lot better, just by using modern materials, as the modern plastic roof sheeting has a lot more insulation properties than the stuff they used 20 years ago, and he was right!

Ah yes, it's worth paying a little more for the self-cleaning glass roof, they really do "clean" themselves in that whatever film/coating they put on does limit any build up of dirt/algae etc. A quick hose down once a year is enough, just to get rid of dust, bits of branches. leaves, etc. The most impressive thing with the self cleaning glass is that bird droppings don't "stick" to it, they just wash off in the rain!

My OH gets a ladder every 2 or 3 years to go up to clean it, but he concentrates on the plastic struts/frames which do tend to attract marks/algae etc, but he never really bothers with the glass itself other than a superficial hose down.

Tinted UV glass roof, with opening lights in the roof to let the heat out when it's hot.