Come speak with me about conservatories...

[MayorNaze]

how much, ballpark? and how long will it take to do?

have paced out the space and it will be about 14x7 paces...

just want to be forearmed before i go browsing for quotes

thanks

somebody somewhere must have one...

so about 18ft by 40ft (that's very big unless your paces are very small)

Dwarf wall, half wall, no wall

Polycarbonate roof or glass roof or solid

uPVC or softwood or hardwood

With heating or without

How many doors

It could cost as little as £2-3,000 (glorified greenhouse) to £50,000 (hardwood extension type thingie)

it will effectively extend the whole of one side of our house so is prob accurate paces?

it will need heating. and one door. and prob half wall.

the other stuff i have no idea really what it means

thank you

I want to get one with a steel base so I don't have to have my patio dug up and had a company recommended to me. Can't find the email

Any recommendations for a company, we are in NW Surrey?

Ok

White plastic frames (no maintenance)
Softwood frames (needs painting every 3-5 yrs)
Hardwood frames (longterm stain/varnish - might need redoing in 10-12 yrs)

Roof
Glass - expensive
Polycarbonate - cheaper but make it quite hot
Solid (tiled) - expensive but what I would go for & make a 'garden room' rather than conservatory

Walls - do you want windows that go to the floor, windows that start about 2 ft from the floor or windows that start about waist height

cool

ok - white frames i should think...

windows that start about 2ft - will mean digging up patio but lawn is raised so windows will effectively open onto lawn.

maybe solid roof? not sure tbh...would that not make it a conservatory any more?

we did think about a bog standard extension but it is £££ and also that side of the house is quite dark (ie always need lights on, even in day), hence conservatory idea.

well, my idea.

have yet to run it past dh

You can get a durabase for conservatories now, no digging up for foundations if you've already got a solid base.......

see? i know NOTHING

Well............... all our friends who have them say....

DON'T

(sorry)

Without exception, of the 8 people we know with traditional conservatories, they all say they wish they hadn't built them , or built them differently. They are all too hot in summer/ too cold in winter. We are building an extension, but deliberately making it more of an 'orangery' (pretentious? Moi?!) to avoid this, so
-triple glazing/ solar reflective glass
-under floor heating

• air-con

-special venting

• not more than 60% glass
• roof lantern - not solid glass roof.

Which direction do you face?

This site has approximate quotes on it for difference sizes and styles

www.tradepriceconservatories.com/

o gosh.

we face west-ish but surrounded by houses so lots of shade (typical late 90's housing estate)

i am liking the idea of an orangery...

actually CarGirl it is looking cheaper than i thought, if i am reading the site right...

could be an interesting discussion with dh tonight...

thanks for all your help

Presumably fitting cost is on top!

What do you want to use it for? If you want to use it as an actual extra room then I would suggest going for more of a garden room or orangery type build.

As Whippet said.

MIL has a conservatory along the side of her house and it is very useful for chilling drinks in winter as it gets so cold! And in summer it is too hot to use.

Well - we build the things and yep - I'd second much of what Whippet says.

If you're going for plastic - don't go for the cheapest - it'll buckle and be a nightmare to put up! If the fitting is wrong, then rain, condensation etc will be horrendous.

If you're worried about the heat (getting too hot AND escaping in the winter) then you must think about the glass you use...as this will save you a small fortune very quickly.

Cut down on the glass in the roof - so you in effect have an orangery (poncy name!) which is a good middle ground between extension / conservatory. Personally I think from a style point of view it looks nicer too.

I'd advise against soft wood - we just get call outs all the time from people who find they disintigrate - especially since all this rain has been about. I think you're better off with a good plastic one - or hardwood.

Try and look for a good local firm...just that some of the big boys really don't pay any attention to the fitting and that's where a lot of the trouble comes in.

If you can afford it then under floor heating will make a big difference. Enjoy talking to your DH.

jeanjeannie don't suppose you supply and fit my bit of Surrey do you? J11 of M25?

Sorry CarGirl - almost - we cover Bucks, Berks and Oxford! You live in a nice part of the world though - maybe worth checking out some of the nice local mags to see if there are any ads. Also we get recommended via landscape gardeners and good kitchen design shops! Might be worth asking a few of those to see if they know of any good local companies

Nice part of the world - that is hysterical I live in one of the most deprived towns in Surrey it is grim, as is our ex council house surrounded by maisonettes, tower blocks, car parks and concrete. Unfortunately the extra £100k to buy something nice down the road is not a possibility............

Ahhh - sorry about that I shouldn't have made an assumption, especially as I live in Bucks....in a town that someone on here recently called a sh*t hole! And yep - I know what you mean about an extra £100k...ours is also an ex council house and it really is that much to move just down the road.

Or the house you can see over the road.Problem is living so close to Weybridge where so many people have so much money that ermmmm well many people charge a premium around here. As for some of the kitchen stores etc etc etc.

It's a nightmare and you really do have to go by recommendation from people rather than names out of any where . Anyway I think I may have a hit a problem in our '60s brick and timber framed house, the windows reach right up to the tiles that cover the first floor so there isn't actually anything to attach the conservatory too - surely then need to attach to brick????

thanks jeanjeannie - that all sounds great and is enormously helpful

dh home later...will plan my speech...

You don't live in W or HW do you? It's only 30 minutes away!!! Best friend lives in Stokenchurch so do that drive regularly (usually timed for when the M25 is quiet though!)

Conservatories can be very nice if done well. Garden rooms are far more up-to-date and usable space - but are also more expensive/req planning. In fact if it has the appearance of a solid roof you need to apply for planning and probably will count as an extension - conservatories with glass or polycarb roofs don't.

All round use means heating and underfloor heating ime to take the chill off the floor.

We have just replaced our conservatory - 32sqm - rather than go the garden room route, because we have plans to extend elsewhere and don;t want to exceed permissible limits. Flooring (incl underfloor heating) about 5k. Total cost about 17k - we could easily have spent a lot more!

Hahahahahah OUTED! Yes, yes, I do live in HW Hahahah a good friend of mine lives the otherside of Stokenchurch - we also do that drive (past the doggie home!) regularly!

Just asked DP and he said that the tiles shouldn't be a problem - they take them off - put lead flashings where the conservatory fits to the house and the tiles then fit back round the conservatory. It shouldn't be too much ££$!

I know exactly though what you mean about the prices shooting up when you live so close to all the wealth. Feel so silly making such an assumption - especially when we're in such a similar position!

BEfore my friends lived in S they rented a house in a very scary road in west wycombe I think. So HW not that bad at all I reckon.

You have given me hope that I may yet have a utility room conservatory!