Experiences of conservatory roof replacement

[Melcl1987]

Hi, does anyone have any experience of replacing a conservatory roof and insulating it (e.g. with upvc panels, tiles or imitation tiles)?

I am looking at purchasing a house which is quite small downstairs but has a large conservatory that is used as an extra living space.

We would be quite reliant on the conservatory space but its really hot on warm days so we would be keen to replace the roof ASAP. I have seen quotes ranging from 8 to 20+k but I am wary we might end up spending a lot of money on something that is only slightly more usable so just wanted to understand if others have had positive experiences with this and if so what type of roof they had put on?

I wouldn’t build new conservatory - I would go with complete extension.

That would be preferable but the cost and disruption seem prohibitive. I think if it seems like a conservatory roof wouldn't make the room usable year round I will have to look at pther properties

My in-iaws did it. They bought a bungalow with a conservatory that over doubles the living space. In the first year there they could barely use it - too hot if it was warm and too cold if was even slightly chilly. They had the roof replaced with tile and it is a perfect space now, no issues with keeping it at a nice temperature at all.

Thanks that's good to know

Lightweight tiles and a radiator

We did it in my previous house. A large conservatory. We replaced with lightweight conservatory tiles. Was the horrible clear plastic pvc tube type before.

it was much cheaper than new conservatory…but ours already had 2 solid brick walls as built into an extension .

we had PIR insulation, and plastered the whole conservatory brick walls with insulated plaster board. It felt like proper room

the whole job was also around 2 weeks, so much quicker than new rebuild extension.

one thing I’d advise is putting in some velux windows in roof. Our building company said it wouldn’t be needed…but it was..they let the light into rooms behind still and allowed air in on hotter days

use a specialist company that knows insulation building regs - they’ve changed in 2022 since we had ours done

it doesn’t solve all the issues …it still will be colder in winter and warmer in summer than main body of house. But it is way, way better. Also quieter in rain. Think hard about heating in winter - do you need to increase radiator size? Could you add in underfloor heating ( electric) to boast on coldest winter days….

but yep,it was a massive improvement and worth doing.

Should add you MUST get building reg involved and ensure you get building completion certificate
don’t let dodgy companies tell you it’s not needed- it is for insulation and ventilation reasons..it doesn’t cost much on top of what you’ll pay otherwise.

without completion cert you house could be harder to sell

generally you won’t need planning consent- but a very good idea to ask local planning office and get them to confirm not required in email. Print out and keep with deeds. Again save you so much hassle when selling

Thanks, is that something you have had success with?

We had one which was about 6k. They put lightweight tiles on top of the existing roof, and insulated from the inside and put white pvc cladding with inset spotlights.
I’ve got to be honest it makes very little difference in the winter, but keeps it much cooler in summer.

We had an old conservatory with plastic roof. Had all the glazing replaced with top quality heat/light efficient glass and it’s now useable all year round. Glass roof panels with anti sun coating were a game changer.

We were quoted £100k to replace a 5x 3 conservatory as a proper extension, whereas we ended up renovating it as a solid roof conservatory at £23k to replace all windows with better quality, move french doors, add a solid wall, add radiator and replace roof (with 2 velux and spot lights)

it is now a very much used space- and done in 2 weeks. We are south facing so still need some precautions with extra blinds in summer but feels like part of the house, best thing we did x

Thanks, really helpful. Is it ok in winter too or does it get cold?

Can I also ask when you got it done? Just wondering if prices will have e gone up since

We have just done this, also planning to put underfloor heating in, we have internal and external bifold doors

We had a huge conservatory with a glass roof replaced with one of the superlite roof systems and it made the room use able all year. We also got thermal perfect fit blinds from blinds to go. We used it as a second lounge and even an occasional spare room. Needed an electric radiator on low overnight in the middle of winter but otherwise fine.

We have this glass and it's made no difference, still boiling in summer and freezing in winter. I wouldn't bother unless you're going to do a proper roof.

@Melcl1987 it was about 2 years ago and we are in southeast.

there is a bit of a chill first thing in the winter- we were advised to have 2 radiators but I opted not to due to how I wanted the layout of the room to be so it is my mistake- so advice would be to work out the room calculations properly and stick to the recommended number/size of radiators!! Once the heating gets going during the day it holds the heat in fine though.

On freezing mornings tends to start at 15/16’ so not awful but less cosy than rest of house but we have gotten by so far with a blast of a fan heater for 10mins to make more comfortable, but will look at where we can put a second radiator as using another heater is a bit of a faff!!

Thanks that's really helpful, did you need to get building regs approval?