[Closed] Anyone had an Orangery built?

Next on the list after my Media Room is finished.

No, we don't eat enough oranges for it to be worth it.

With the variety of oranges available all year round for very little money you would need to be daft or really like oranges to build one these days.

Just done this, ripped off the crappy plastic roof and put up a solid one with windows inset, cut out the plastic panels under the side windowsand bricked up underneath and put 5m wide bifold doors across the back instead of the narrow patio doors and back windows/plastic panels,
As far as I can tell there's no cons it's as warm as the rest of the house now,
Because I did most of it myself I can't tell you a cost but 'not cheap' is a good start..
It's still a conservatory in my mind though as an orangery just sounds a bit [rude word]..

Slightly off topic.. 😆

but this is what I see every time someone mentions an orangery..

[img] [/img]

I'm thinking of building one to discourage crows from entering my house. 🙂

Any pleas from them to act in the capacity of a canine companion in order to gain entry will fall upon deaf ears.

A most civilised place to take one's afternoon tea

[img] [/img]

An Orangery still has a mainly glass roof. Its not that different from a conservatory.

Ooh, yes - Jetset Willy and Manic Miner. Lots of bother in those orangeries. 😀

Orangery's aren't exempt from Building Regs as conservatories are (due to amount of glazing), so factor that in, I'd guess £500 max, but will need an application.

Also I'd advise to have decent doors in between the main dwelling and the orangery, otherwise you'll need a SAP calculation to justify the heatloss as it's classed as a highly glazed extension when the glazed elements amount to more than 25% of the floor area. In any case they do act as a heatsink in winter so common sense to be able to separate it off when you're not using it, unless you don't mind the heating bills. Central heating should have it's own zone control.

One thing to watch is the roof, many these days go for a flat roof with atrium windows - falls, covering type, insulation and ventilation are critical to ensure it's longevity and that your head stays dry. Interstitial condensation is not good, but easily avoidable by having a proper 'warm roof' i.e. insulation over the joists. If pitched roof/ceiling things are simpler, but worth putting more insulation than is required by Building Regs. in to try and counteract heat loss through glazing.

Foundations, floor, DPC, plinth wall construction etc will all have to be as per any traditional extension.

I bet McMoonter has one already. 8)

I made one out of old filing cabinets.

I thought it would only take a few weeks but it was years before it was finished.

Louis XIV - he kept his unwashed jeans in it

Thanks core - really useful info.
Will be looking at keeping/replacing the doors from kitchen/dinner into the new space so we can shut it off if needed.
Good point about roof insulation etc. - will probably have to go flat roof with lantern light due to the current extension being flat roof.

I'd probably look at sunpipes over huge overheating/heatdraining rooflights.
#Niche

I bet McMoonter has one already.

Next door to the pineapplery, looking out towards the Mangoda.

[quote=perchypanther ]

I bet McMoonter has one already.

I bet he also built it in reclaimed timber from the Scottish parliament or similar.
OP - you have a high threshold to build to...

They don't have to be as grand as [b]mogrim[/b]'s.

We love ours.

[img] [/img]

Just done this, ripped off the crappy plastic roof and put up a solid one with windows inset, cut out the plastic panels under the side windowsand bricked up underneath and put 5m wide bifold doors across the back instead of the narrow patio doors and back windows/plastic panels,
As far as I can tell there's no cons it's as warm as the rest of the house now,
Because I did most of it myself I can't tell you a cost but 'not cheap' is a good start..
It's still a conservatory in my mind though as an orangery just sounds a bit ****tish..

Careful of building regs.

If you put an unglazed roof on a conservatory it's no longer a conservatory (even if it weighs the same). I've no idea how the professionals get around it but they do somehow.

The gist of it's here http://www.supaliteroof.co.uk/building-regulations/.

We're looking into it as we have a lean to conservatory with cavity walls each end and wooden joists (albeit widely spaced) in the roof. So in theory could be done simply by plaster boarding the inside and replacing the outer polycarbonate with one of the plastic tile systems (and adding velux windows etc).

I'm also thinking of building the complete opposite to an orangery.
A room in the center of the house with no windows and no lights where I can sit in complete darkness.

I shall call it the mushroom.

It is glazed sort of, it's got four glass windows set in the roof and I've left the inside patio doors on so it's separated from the main house, I did get some advice from friends who know about such things but even they say it's a grey area, we're not moving anyway so pfffft...
[URL= http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad220/khani123123/4F52D7B4-EC84-4A91-9C02-71CAC967A34A_zpsnaokkbcv.jp g" target="_blank">http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/ad220/khani123123/4F52D7B4-EC84-4A91-9C02-71CAC967A34A_zpsnaokkbcv.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

but even they say it's a grey area

You should try opening the blinds. That should brighten it up a bit.

Boom tish!
Igyc...

Maybe that's what they should rename the White House

Khani - that looks similar to how I want ours.

As long as the outside wall is solid I don't mind - it'll block the view of the neighbour monstrosity....

Yeah, the converting a conservatory to an orangery/extension with a solid roof thing is a very grey area. As far as I can ascertain it means the structure is no longer exempt and requires an application.

Main implication of that being that the adequacy of the existing structure to support the roof comes into question and would need to be assessed/calculations provided.

However, LABC, the national body for Local Authority Building Control have issued type approvals and entered into some sort of agreement with some of the bigger players in the sector, with some suggesting they don't need applications as a result, flying in the face of what the regulations actually say.

From a practical perspextive (I'm here all week) if the load doesn't change, then I don't see any need to get too excited, but, the use will change, it may get heated, doors may come off etc changing the energy status. Existing thermal elements may (probably) not be up to current standards etc so there's a bit more to think about. Any structural alteration to the main dwelling would necessitate an application anyway.

That link, up there ^ to supalite roofs - all they are doing is using an Approved Inspector (private building control body) to inspect and certify their work, so it's still going through a Building Control process, you just have no control over it.

£400 fee for a replacement roof is way over the money for most of the country if using LABC. My guess is the company have partnered with JHAI and are enjoying some mutual beneits. If anybody goes that route I'd advise quotes are sought from a range of building control providers and the amount of input/number of inspections clearly quantified.

£400 fee for a replacement roof is way over the money for most of the country if using LABC. My guess is the company have partnered with JHAI and are enjoying some mutual beneits. If anybody goes that route I'd advise quotes are sought from a range of building control providers and the amount of input/number of inspections clearly quantified.

The indemnity on our conservatory was >£200, so it doesn't actually seem poor value if it's all signed off and above board.

There is a link within that link to the LABC guidance, which clears up their interpretation of the gray areas. The gist seems to be that any thermal elements you change have to meet the latest standards even if the existing structure doesn't, the foundation needs to be adequate, and it still has to be thermally separate from the house i.e. it has to have an external standard door between it and the house unless you bring the whole structure upto the standard required for an extension.

Slightly off topic..

but this is what I see every time someone mentions an orangery..

Same here

but this is what I see every time someone mentions an orangery..

You and me both.

Ooh, yes - Jetset Willy and Manic Miner. Lots of bother in those orangeries.

JSW. There was no orangery in MM that I can remember.

I still don't get the comments about conservatories being a cold room. It's only a few degrees outside and my wife and toddler are playing in ours, doing painting and treating it like the extension of the house that it is. There are two CH radiators in there and that's all that's required.

There are two CH radiators in there and [s]that's all that's required[/s] [b]they chuck out huge amounts of heat to keep it warm.[/b]

A modern house/extension/space should barely require space heating, until below zero for more than a few days IMO. The insulation and air-tight technology is there, and not expensive compared the the cost of lobbing heat into the atmosphere.

It seems that whist I thought we had a lean-to I've actually got Orangery.

It's not massive about 2m deep - it's too cold at the moment for anything but storage, not as cold as outside but who wants to hang around a room that's 8-10c my bike lives there at the moment.

Nah my citrus grow fine enough outdoors. Same for my mangos and bananas.