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Original poster

roughly how much does a conservatory cost?

29 replies

Meglet · 05/12/2009 15:50

We desperately need more space downstairs and I think a small conservatory might just help. Currently have a small open plan living / dining room and the dc's toys get everywhere, plus the fact they charge straight in from the garden into the living area with dirty shoes . I know they can be cold in winter and hot in summer but it will at least keep the garden dirt away from the living room and give us somewhere for the dc's to play.

It would only need to be 3m x 3m. Might consider blinds, even though they are £££££. Garden is south facing too so maybe it wouldn't be too bad on sunny winter days.

Any advice appreciated. TIA

OP posts:
FreeGeorgeJackson · 05/12/2009 15:56

we have one with special glass and ehating
have knocked through from kitchen so its huge.
i like it

get glass not crap plastic roof

Heated · 05/12/2009 16:04

We have a north west facing conservatory and it's extremely warm in the summer but would never have had one when we had a south facing garden, it would be unusable.

Don't know if it's in your budget but have you considered a garden room instead, which has a proper tiled roof, concrete pillars with wall-to-wall sliding doors.

FreeGeorgeJackson · 05/12/2009 16:27

ous is south facing
its not unusable but i want to know WHO is in a conserv when its hot and sunny outside?!

MortaIWombat · 05/12/2009 17:55

I found a complete set of parts for one in the house we just bought, so if you're in London you can have a Baltic Pine Co (or somesuch) one for a knockdown price, cos we've got no time or money to use it, and it's sitting in pieces in the outhouse...

Heated · 05/12/2009 18:04

However, you really don't want a greenhouse with temps of 120 degrees where anything that might feasibly melt has to be removed!

When we lived in Kent none of the ppl with south facing gardens had conservatories and on the other side of the street all had them!

We're in the process of rebuilding ours and we're giving serious consideration to underfloor heating so it's usable all year round rather than just in spring and autumn. Blinds will be a must.

Would really have liked to have gone the garden room route which is more 'now' and stylish but it would be much more ££ and, crucially for us, it would impact on our ability to extend elsewhere.

FreeGeorgeJackson · 05/12/2009 19:40

well then you open the doors?

thisisyesterday · 05/12/2009 19:42

that's why you get the blinds etc surely?

Heated · 05/12/2009 21:10

We had doors at either end and openers all the way round but if you're out in the day and have to have the doors shut it can get very very hot. Neighbour has an air-con unit fitted whilst other neighbour has automatic roof openers and we're all north-east or east facing.

thisisyesterday · 05/12/2009 21:16

nooo don't say that heated.
;ike the op i was also considering a small conservatory, but our garden is south-facing too. hmmmmmmmm

thisisyesterday · 05/12/2009 21:17

still, think of the tropical fruit i could grow!!! lol

Heated · 05/12/2009 21:19

'tis brilliant for drying clothes in about an hour! Also a bit of an insect graveyard

I'm really selling the idea to you, aren't I?

thisisyesterday · 05/12/2009 21:23

oooh now cloths drying could be the winner!!

and the children do quite like insects, dead or alive...

Original poster
Meglet · 05/12/2009 21:31

lots of replies, thank you!

Clothes drying would be a big bonus, we are lacking radiator space and the airer is currently stuck in my room so the dc's don't pull the clothes off all the time.

I can cope with dead insects, however I never dust so there would be the odd spiders web to catch them .

OP posts:
rebl · 05/12/2009 22:43

The spiders will die too!

We have a south facing conservatory that was on when we bought the house. Its freezing in winter and we can't use it and too hot in summer and we can't use it. I wouldn't spend money on one tbh. I would save a bit longer and get a proper extension.

Oh and tropical fruit can't cope with the summer heat either.

coolma · 08/12/2009 21:32

We have just bought one today! how wierd is that...It will be 3m x 3m, and the wall knocked through to fit french windows into it. Basic design, windows top to bottom, doors out onto the garden..£10,667 all in.

whoopstheregoesmymerkin · 11/12/2009 19:25

we had one this year. dwarf wall, good foundations, opening windows all round, vertical blinds, pointy opaque roof. £7k local east mids firm. Sat in it now with cosy small oil plug in radiator. Really happy.

sweetkitty · 12/12/2009 17:20

BF had one built recently don't know the dimensions but it cost 13K and I don't think it's worth the money TBH.

She cannot use it just now as it's too cold, in Summer it's too hot (South facing), when it rains the noise is unbearable, do not get a plastic polycarbonate roof. It just looks bolted onto the patio doors at the back not an actual other room IYSWIM?

We were thinking about one but have decided against and going to go for a proper room now.

I think it's like everything else you need to pay a bit extra to get a decent space, I think a radiator would be a must.

Fizzylemonade · 13/12/2009 13:42

My conservatory faces the east, (inherited with the house) we put a double radiator in it and foils in the roof to reflect heat back in in the winter and off the roof in the summer.

It is the playroom so in the winter I have a heater in there too.

I would save up a bit more money and build an extension.

Our conservatory is dwarf wall all round so you can't have any high pieces of furniture, can't watch a tv in it as it is too bright, blinds are expensive (we had roller blinds put in by local company, no roof blinds)

A proper extension means you will have walls, and a roof so you won't bake.

Also we had to have ours cleaned on the outside this year as our neighbour had a new conservatory put in and it made ours look messy, window cleaner charges a fortune to clean all that glass, cannot clean my bedroom window as it is above the conservatory and they won't stand on the roof. Also it is like living in a goldfish bowl so everyone can see everything you do in there.

Can you tell I hate it

toja555 · 14/12/2009 09:36

This website gives some idea of prices. I just did my windows with this company and although not the top quality, it was good value for money.
Having said that, I have an old lean-to with dwarf walls on the back of my kitchen and I love it. Although cold there at this time of the year, I dry clothes there, keep my plants, veggies when my fridge is too full, gardening equipment, so to speak it is a good storage room for us.

noddyholder · 14/12/2009 09:39

Definitely get a good local builder to quote for a proper extension.Something small like that the difference would be minimal and they are a lot more useful.A proper pitched roof with a velux is better for climate control and they usually make the house look nice

llareggub · 14/12/2009 09:53

We've got one across the back of the house, and decided to have full-height walls on both ends which are plastered. Ours is open to the house but we have heating.

Ours is used all year round, and when it is really cold we do suffer. However during the spring, summer and autumn we don't get huge variations of temperature and I've never felt it to be too hot. I love sunny winter days because we get a bit of warmth and sun in there and it is very mood-boosting.

Like others have said, glass is a must and we had some sort of special glass to make it cooler in summer.

Ours is big and we had our kitchen done at the same time so pointless telling you how much it cost but we don't regret it at all, apart from the warmth issue right now!

morningpaper · 14/12/2009 09:57

Ours was around 25k although we didn't put it in, the previous owners did. It's 3m x 6m I think.

It's south-west facing and yes in the summer if you have to close the doors (e.g. you are going out) then everything melts such as crayons etc.

cheekyCheeks · 05/01/2010 13:29

Hiya, my fella supplies DIY Conservatories. Have put link for website. Don't know much about them but he says about £2.5K for that size depending on style.

Ours has a tinted plastic roof, we're south facing and it's not too bad in summer.

FlightAttendant · 05/01/2010 13:40

I'd second a proper extension.

Have had two conservatories. First was east facing and CRAP< it was aluminium stuff and dreadfully ropey, rain poured in every time it rained and ruined all the stuff in there...proper flood, not just drips, it was like a very wide bath tap was on! Landlord refused to get it replaced but now he has since we moved out

Here we have a wooden one, which is far easier to fix if need be and very nicely made. I think it faces westish - we have a garden that gets full sun all day in summer, apart from early morning...and it isn't too hot to bear at all. But a bit too much for guinea pigs in summer so they go to outdoor hutch.
We don't spend much time in it in the winter as even though it has a radiator, it would go straight through the roof so a waste of money - but it is a useful storage area and playroom in summer/autumn/spring.

I'd go with proper roof and brick walls if I were building something myself - even this one leaks a bit andit's only 2 years old.

jemart · 05/01/2010 13:52

This is one of those "How long is a piece of string" questions, depends what you want and where you buy it from. I think you can spend anything from 3K-30K though for a little one you would probably get something reasonable for about 8K including cost of building the thing, flooring and decoration.

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