Afternoon chaps, looking at getting a new conservatory built but looking for information on typical costs, good suppliers fitters etc. Been trawling around on tinterweb to try to get an idea of a very rough cost for purchase and installation. Anyone here recently had one fitted if so by who and how was it? Ideally I'd like to buy a kit and fit it with a builder of choice. Tips or www addresses? Cheers.

Also remember about heating, go underfloor if you can.

TBH we have a conservatory (already on house when bought), but if I was replacing it I'd be putting on a 'sun-room' instead – better chance of it been fully utilised all year and properly insulated.

depending on size, but a 4m x 3m conservatory should come in somewhere between £11k and £15k fully built, wired & project managed. If you want to do it as a kit, try Wickes, Focus, B&Q etc for the materials but you'll still need to factor in the labour and the groundwork

And don't forget the roof blinds, they are essential to keep the sun out in the height of summer (not as daft as it sounds, even in the UK), and they are not cheap. I forget how much ours were, but with something stupid like 50% discount they still came in at a grand or two for blinds covering all roof and vertical panels, including the doors.

We inherited one when we moved into the current house. It hardly gets used – too cold in winter (yes, it is heated), too hot in summer – even with blinds & fans etc.

If we had the money, we'd demolish it and either build a sun room or a proper extension with nice velux windows.

I built one on the back of my house about 5 year back, it's about 6 x 4m.

I would never have one again. Ice station Zebra in the winter and sub tropical in the summer!

Don't bother, build a sun room instead.

Don't try and buy one as a kit, find an installer who will do the lot for you. The sides are just standard window frames so anybody can knock those out, the glass panels will made by another company and the roof will be made by third company.

The roof is the most important element, it holds the rest of it together and is where most of the heat is lost. Most roofs are produced by one of three companies, Synseal (branded the Global roof system), K2, not sure what their brand name is and Ultraframe, brands include Classic and Uzone (and Wendland although it's a downspecced Classic Roof). Who ever you get to install it ask them what roof system they're going to use. The more credible installers will sell on the basis of the roof systems, the less credible will just use the cheapest on the day. Ultraframe produce the best mainstream roof system (caveat I work for Ultraframe, but I do honestly believe it to be better than the competition), Companies like Anglian and Everest use our roof even though the pass it off as they're own.

Unfortunately the others are right about them being difficult to control the climate. You can do a couple of things to mitgate this but they will cost more. Have a glass roof, not polycarbonate. There are also glass units coated to improve heat retention, they do work. Ventilation, a better ventilated conservatory will handle heat better in the summer (Ultraframe conservatory roofs are designed with built in ventilation, not sure some of the others are). Half height walls will also reduce heat loss.

Blinds – difficult and expensive issue here. If you put blinds into the roof of your conservatory you will invalidate the warranty. The blinds are installed after building by people who have nothing to do with the roof manufacturers. When they instal the blinds they drill into the aluminium chassis of the roof and can cause leaks etc. You will also get massive heat build up (in excess of 100 degrees) which can warp the plastic claddings which in turn can cause the glass or polycarbonate roof panels to slip. The blinds installers won't tell you this. Better off spending the money on the best quality glass units you can afford. If you really want roof blinds and can wait a few months we're on the verge on launching the first properly designed integrated shading system. Not blinds but semi rigid panels that fit into the roof below the glass. They are removeable if you want to clean them or take them out in the winter for example. Many people who have blinds don't tend to open and shut them anyway (big faff) they just tend to close the ones where the sun comes in or the neighbours look through.

Sunrooms, if I'm reading the other posters correctly they are referring to proper extensions with big windows (correct me if I'm wrong guys, some companies also use the word Sunroom to describe certain types of conservatory shape). They probably are a better option for all year use but will cost a lot more, require planning permission (many conservatories don't) and will take longer to build with more disruption, deeper footings etc.

The real key is find a good specialist installer company, don't use a local builder unless you are sure they know what they are doing. The best roof and windows etc. don't work well if badly installed.

When they instal the blinds they drill into the aluminium chassis of the roof

Nope, you can get systems that require no drilling into frames.

we had a load of quotes recently

size of our conservatory is 3.9m x 3.2m

Leeks of Llantrisant quoted us 17.5k!!

Were going with a local buidlers firm for £11k reccomendation from friends and we have seen their work.

thats doing the groundwork, knocking down an external porch, putting lintel up and knocking through, all electrics, radiator and all plastering.

The builders do all the plans, draiwngs and buy the sized stuff from here..

good luck

Never been a fan of conservatories either, in the houses I've had them in. Sorry, I know it's not what you want on this thread but hey, this is STW 🙂

Ours has been here since 1900.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mcmoonter/GlassmountInteriors#5401043673967197730

http://picasaweb.google.com/mcmoonter/GlassmountInteriors#5401043702372149170

http://picasaweb.google.com/mcmoonter/GlassmountGardenAutumn08#5407324380126836130

That's a greenhoose, nae a conservatory 😉

Cant understand some of the comments regarding maintaining the temp in conservatories. We have a conservatory which we had built about 4yrs ago. Its 4m x 3.5m and acts as a play room for the kids. It was the best £10K i have ever spent. We got a family rate from sister in laws employer so we saved about £5k when pricing it up.

We only went for blinds on the sides as the roof is poly whatever but went for the best glass that was recommended. Anyhow, we didnt go for an install on the heating. Have looked into undefloor and been advised that with carpet flooring its a bit of a magnet for bugs etc. We just use a freestanding oil powered radiator which is on a timer through the winter and i guarentee by the time we are out of bed we are able to walk around it in our underwear on even the frostiest morning.

Cooling is taken care of by having small windows allround, roof window and double door entrance.

Honestly, i cant think of a single downside.

We had ours done about 6 monhs ago and it is much better than piece of poo single skin glass green house that was there. Definitely go for a glass roof – worth absolutely every penny. Ours is Ultrframe, coated glass and tinted. We have no blinds and the temperature is fine for most of the year. If it's too hot, open the doors and windows and if it's too cold then we have a radiant panel heater which is also great.

Ours was £12k, about 4m x 4m and required the existing raised footings digging out and replacing (it sits about 2 foot off the ground) and included a dwarf wall.

Make sure you find a company that wants NO money up front as I know of people who have been royally shafted by shoddy workmanship.

As above really, had the conservatory for three years now, £10,000 from cousins conservatories, 2 inch thick double glazing and just a oil filled rad which i have set to come on below 10 degrees to protect the plants.
it gets used for 10 months of the year.

£ 11k – thats doing the groundwork, knocking down an external porch, putting lintel up and knocking through, all electrics, radiator and all plastering.

Not a bad price, possibly a bit cheap, at least they say on the website whose roof they are using, not one of ours but a credible competitor. Just check what ground works they're doing though. We as a company didn't think there was a problem with groundworks until we started to do a bit of investigation with some of our customers (we are looking at joint venture with a specialist modular base system manufacturer), turned out failed bases are quite a problem in some areas, depends on the soil and if there are any big trees near by. Big trees suck a lot of water out of the ground in the summer which can cause the foundations to be undermined. Result, conservatory and house start to part company. For anyone thinking about installing a conservatory it might be worth checking your structural insurance will cover any issues, some insurers are starting to exclude them due to cowboy installations. Just as a matter of interest, the lintel they're installing, that is for replacement external doors? It's just as far as I am aware there's no conservatory on the market at the moment that will satisfy building regs unless they are separated for the rest of the house by external grade doors.

Good to hear people are able to use they're conservatories for most of the year, means the marketing literature is true 🙂

Don,t do it, there c**p. Took mine down and built a extension with velux windows. best thing we,ve done in the house. Never used conservatory, like others to hot/cold.

Thanks very much guys, some good pointers there. Stumpy, So where about's your firm/crew based? We are looking for Aberdeen, you guys work that far?. We know that the limit we can build is 12ft square (due to the next door having an extension already built) so it would be a 2 sided glass.

If your planning on heating it, you may well need to consider the upcoming building regs changes coming in in April regarding thermal losses

fwb2006,
I got mine built by Bon Acord Glass, really happy with build. It is north facing with K-glass roof. Glass roof was work it as its not like a biscuit tin when it rains, and you can look up and watch the clouds float by.
I'm in Danestone if you want to view it. If you need blinds for it I know a man who can give you a deal. 😉

B

As above. We had one built for £11k, it's brilliant. No idea why people have cold issues with theirs, we've used ours right the way through this winter which has been pretty cold and the two radiators have never been above mark 3 on the thermostat valves. I love it, it's like an extension but a third of the price. Obviously we don't know what it'll be like in summer but it's great when the sun shines in and warms it up now. We have windows on both sides to let the wind come through when it's warm.

4×4 for us. Personally I'd reccomend one. It's the best 11k we've ever spent.

two radiators have never been above mark 3 on the thermostat valves

That doesn't tell you anything… just that the temp in the room was level 3. You might've been burning a ton of gas to maintain that….

fwb2006 we cover the whole country. We sell to the installers who then then build your conservatory. Link to our website here.

Loads of info on there and you can find local approved installers as well.

That doesn't tell you anything… just that the temp in the room was level 3. You might've been burning a ton of gas to maintain that….

Apart from the central heating on/off switch being controlled by the living room thermostat…..

We had ours done in the summer and apart from some minor issues to begin with, to do with planning permission, all went fairly smoothly.
Decent blinds are a must have, and also under floor heating is well worth the expense.
I used this handy conservatory website. as a good start off, if you have trouble with the initial planning permission, or have concerns about this area.

Just as a matter of interest, the lintel they’re installing, that is for replacement external doors? It’s just as far as I am aware there’s no conservatory on the market at the moment that will satisfy building regs unless they are separated for the rest of the house by external grade doors.

why is that? i ask because i want to take out my living room window to my conservatory and put nothing in its place, so it is just a big gap. is this bad? 😐

Wtf!!!

This has to be thread resurrection of the month!!!

ha ha. i read all the posts and didnt even notice the dates 😳

Hth if anyone needs planning advice btw…

Hazza is a spammer. conservatories-planning.co.uk are cowboys and scammers. I’d recomemmend them to my worst enemy.

End of review.

Not sure why Hazza resurrected this old post but spammer I think not, I actually know the owner of the site he mentioned and he has no idea who Hazza is. He said to say thank you by the way! I guess sometimes a useful link is just that .. a useful link.

Hi fwb2006,

I have just stumbled across this conversation and I thought I’d add my two cents worth. My parents was looking for a conservatory earlier last year and they didn’t know where to start (they’re not the most computer savi) so I offered to do a bit of looking around for them.

The hardest part was that they was working to a fairly low budget so it limited their options. Eventually I came across an option that I didn’t really know existed, which was Build your own conservatory. From what I found there aren’t that many companies that offer this option, that was in our budget especially in the Manchester area. I ran through several websites including:
http://www.expressconservatories.comand http://www.dreamconservatoriesonline.co.uk but I finally settled on a company called NTC in Oldham Manchester, their website is http://www.diyconservatory.net bit obvious I know but to be fair it’s how I found them.

Anyway, my Dad and I took all the measurements ourselves and requested a quote online, it was surprisingly cost effective even though the price did change a little after they called but it still came in around budget.

Overall, I would say that it was the best option available considering our budget and although it was a bit of a learning curve when it came to building it. My parents were really happy with the end result, so I would recommend looking into this side of the industry, I’m not sure where you’re based but I’m sure there will be one local to you.

Hope that helps

Warren

why is that? i ask because i want to take out my living room window to my conservatory and put nothing in its place, so it is just a big gap. is this bad?

*runs off to buy shares in all the energy suppliers*

Me thinks Warren “works for NTC in Oldham” 🙄

So, Samuri, how’s the heating bill working out?

(I’d chop ours in for an extension if I had the money)

Great! In winter it gets a bit cold and we need to shut the door from the conservatory at night because we can feel the cold coming through. In summer it’s very hot, we have to have airflow otherwise it heats the rest of the house massively.

I’m a very poor sleeper. I will happily go into the conservatory and shut myself in and sleep far better because it’s so quiet in there. Double glazing all round. The only problem ther is if it rains, then it’s too noisy.

I have a 10 year old conservatory which is about 4 x 3 m. Best thing I ever put on my house. It’s attached to our kitchen, and we use it as our dining room, so it gets used every day of the year. It’s beautiful in the snow. We got doublr doors so over heating in the summer is not an issue.

Our downstairs is quite open plan, we had a block built conservatory, floor to ceiling windows on two sides with a column in between, one side floor to ceiling glass with French doors, the other side is open to our lounge, with no doors on. Had to have all the relevant heat loss calcs done for building control. It’s been plenty warm enough through the winter so far.

It’s been plenty warm enough through the winter so far.

How are you heating it? Or, more pertinently, how much has it cost? And, what provisions do you have for keeping it cool/useable in the summer?

We’re heating it with god old fashioned radiators, tall column ones with trv’s on. Fitted a new Worcester greenstar 37cdi boiler too. The house has been so well insulated, the heating is rarely on, we’ve got our room stat set to 21, and had a bit trial an error of moving it about to get the overall heat temperature about right.

Energy efficient glass and good insulation seems to be the key here

I dont know the cost of the orangery on its own, and I daren’t tell the rest of the cost of the build 😳