Conservatories [Title edited by MNHQ at OP's request]

[Itsrainingten]

We're looking at houses at the moment and I've realised I'd turn down a house with a conservatory over one without all things being equal. I just don't like them, and I'd rather have the extra outside space. If I had one I think all I'd really use it for is a fancy greenhouse.
Wondering on others views. Am I in the minority, or is this fairly common?

You need to ask for your heading to be edited. I think most people dislike traditional conservatories .

Maybe get MN to change the title of your thread - you might get more responses!

I hate conservatories. They are freezing in the winter and hotter than the surface of the sun in summer and they creak and crackle like mad.

Two houses identical in every way other than a conservatory I would pick the one without as Im like you and would rather have the outdoor space and it would end up being knocked down.

Sadly the house Im buying has a 'conservatory' (read lean to) as it was built to link the out house toilet and coal shed to the house so it's all enclosed. I'd rather have the outside downstairs toilet than this monstrosity but it's what it is as husband has told me its staying until the rest of the house is done

My parents have one and as a pp mentioned it’s either way too hot or too cold. They tend to use it as a clothes drying room, and as it’s next to the front door, to store coats and shoes in. Although it does get used for Christmas dinner 😃

No single answer on this really - totally depends on how the conservatory is being used. If it's incorporated into the building like a kitchen diner, but is only conservatory construction, then that would totally put me off. If the reception areas are really tiny without the conservatory and you'd need to use it as a room, again that would put me off. But if there's a nice downstairs and the conservatory is just an extra inside/outside sort of space where you could sit and enjoy the garden on a rainy day, then I'd see it as quite a nice extra feature.

I wouldn't want one, unless it had a proper slated insulated roof, in which case I think it is called something else.

We moved to house with a small conservatory in March. I honestly thought when we viewed the property and before moving in that we would end up getting it taken down but having lived with it I have to say I love it and use it everyday day. For us we don't need it, the house has all the space we need but I love sitting there having breakfast or a cup of tea in the morning. If it wasn't there it would be a patio and I know i wouldn't sit and eat my breakfast outside everyday even in nice weather. I'm sure we won't use it through the winter months but definitely won't be getting rid of it.

Our old house had a conservatory off lounge and kitchen doors. Cats loved it, and great space for DD and friends. If doors/windows opened not too bad in summer. It was cold in the winter but had a radiator so easy to add heat with electric/opening doors from lounge/kitchen.

My SIL has put a different roof on hers and use it as a dining room all year around.

We have one unfortunately. We were very naïve when we bought our house, and couldn’t believe how much larger the house was, and were thinking it’d be the perfect space to have a kitchen installed.

In the Winter we’re able to use a heater and be fairly comfortable, but in the Summer it is like a furnace, and it heats up the whole house too.

Our solution was to invest in knocking it down and have an extension built, but at £60,000 before a kitchen is added, it is far too expensive, and it wont’t add £60,000+ to the value of our home either.

We’ve recently looked at getting the roof replaced, but have been quoted around £16,000. We feel this is too expensive, especially when ours has no brick built construction at all - it is a uPVC palace. We’re now so pissed off and feel trapped, as we can’t afford to develop, nor to move to a house which better meets our needs, as they are outside of our budget.

Agree, they are unusable for a lot of the time but if you have one with a slated roof that would be ok. I think the slated roof is quite expensive to install. The spiders seem to love them.

We are the same as the PP - our house is a reasonable size and the conservatory is just a nice extra room. We put all the kids toys out there plus their gaming console and a few nice armchairs to have morning coffee in. It also has rads for heating in the winter but we tend to not use them as inefficient so it's essentially used from March to November each year.

It is north east facing though so in shade for most of the day other than early morning so that's what keeps it usable during summer (we are also in country where climate is temperate - doesn't get too hot usually mx 18-20 in summer)

I do hate the spiders and cobwebs though but got a special duster to clear these

I'd rather a conservatory than nothing as it's a lot of living space. But would rather an extension than a conservatory.

Our house had one, it was useless and we hated it so we sold it on eBay - the buyer hired a company to come and take it down.

I like ours. Like some others have said its a nice extra room. We had a proper roof put on it and it doesn't get too hot or cold and it's lovely to have the doors opening out onto the garden.

We have a conservatory as half of the kitchen-diner. It was freezing in winter and boiling in summer so we had it roofed over and now it’s brilliant, never too hot or too cold. It’s just extra space.

We bought a house with one and we are currently in the process of knocking it down and building an extension instead. It didn't put me off buying the house though - we bought for location, lovely garden and lots of potential.

In fact having a conservatory worked in our favour. No one else wanted a house with a conservatory so we were able to negotiate the price down which in turn offset the cost of the new extension.
I know there are budget considerations but you could be missing out an otherwise great home which over a period of time you can change. Just because there is a conservatory now doesn't mean you have to keep it. You can always knock it down and make a big patio and build a pergola. Hot tub optional 😀

@Itsrainingten I guess you haven’t seen any decent conservatories. Mine is oak framed and was very expensive. It’s my kitchen. If you are talking about cheap tat conservatories, no, not worth paying extra for one. If the garden is reasonable, you do have footprint for something better though. Or put up a pergola eating area outside? Deduct cost of taking down conservatory from asking price.

Mine is wonderful. Lots of light. Opening side doors and roof, underfloor heating and attached on two sides to the house which is semi open plan.

I personally wouldn't buy a house with a traditional one.

I remember my grandma in the 90s using hers as a greenhouse and as a garden store. My aunt uses hers for drying clothes and as a posh shed. My best friend bought a house with one and it's freezing in the winter and an oven in the summer. They spent a fortune trying to keep it warm in the winter as it's part of the kitchen and knocking it down would leave them with a tiny kitchen and no dining space as they only have a small living room. They ended up hanging some curtains round the roof (bit like the posh ceiling drapes they do for weddings) to keep it cooler in the summer. They are currently saving up to have a proper slate insulated roof put on it and more bricks added to the bottom to make the windows smaller, then new triple glaze windows so basically paying out for a new extension.

Our neighbors have a "proper" one, with a proper roof, properly insulated, brick built with normal size triple glaze windows. It's fantastic and useable all year round. They use theirs as a play room.

I have got an old wooden one, which l thought l w would take down.

It's actually really nice sitting in it in the morning. It gets hot but l open the door and it's fine. I wouldn't discount a house for having one. It needs a purpose though, otherwise it will be a dumping ground.

We have one with 2 proper walls and 2 half walls. It does still have the plastic roof thing that we want to eventually change but I love it.

Its my favourite room in the house.

Its not too hot in summer with the windows open as its in the shade from 11am but it is cold in winter and at the moment I cant justify the electric to heat it when the rest of the house has central heating on so I'm looking forwards to the new roof.

We spend most of our time in ours when we’re at home. It has brick footings and a plastic corrugated roof which I’d change for aesthetic reasons mostly, with purpose made blinds which go across the roof and sides if needed. It’s carpeted and we have regular sofas and armchairs in it.

With the current heat wave, even with the blinds and roof ventilation etc it gets too hot for me when the sun is on it late afternoon, but on a normal summer day up to say mid 20 degrees it’s fine. It’s bright, has that outdoors but indoors feel, you don’t get bitten by mozzies and you’re cosy when it’s chilly outside. It has double doors that open out if you want. I decorate it for Christmas and visiting family see it as a tradition to have drinks there, very festive. It has heating but on v chilly winter days we’ll add a decent plug in heater as well.

We have a large garden and don’t need any more outdoor space. We have two large reception rooms too, which are mostly used evenings if we’re watching tv,

I feel that MN has a “thing” about conservatories, (similarly hot tubs!). I can’t understand for the life of me why you wouldn’t buy a house just because it has one, if there are enough other rooms. It’s illogical. If it bothers you that much, have it taken down surely? Controversial, but it seems to be some kind of reverse snobbery.

Surely it depends on a lot of factors? Ours is wonderful. A huge room that is used all year. We have the roof cladding that keeps it temperate.

If anyone is considering getting the cladding done, I would highly recommend it.

Just having a glass of Sauvignon blanc in ours now 😉Birds are flitting about outside, butterflies in the verbena, dog running in and out…. !

We had a proper roof put on ours (there are all sorts of options for this, varying in cost and efficiency). Big conservatory, so it wasn’t cheap, but has made a huge difference and it’s now a completely useable part of the house.

(Has also virtually eradicated the dead bees, butterflies and flies that are a fact of traditional clear roofed conservatories.)

We had a conservatory built onto our old house and it was excellent, I still miss it.
High vaulted glass roof with blinds, full height wall down one side and dwarf wall on other two, heating and fully furnished.
It was usable 12-months of the year and certainly was.

A well designed & built conservatory is an asset, a poor one is a liability.

If the house is otherwise everything you want, just factor in having it removed.