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Building reg's for conservatory

2

Comments

  • martinsurrey
    martinsurrey Posts: 3,368 Forumite
    Doozergirl wrote: »
    If the doors are in place and heating seperated, it is *exempt* from building regulations. (Provided it is within size restrictions)

    No building regulations requirement = no certificate needed = no indemnity needed.

    The doors and heating are the only issue. People are starting to complicate this! If you think it is a conservatory, then it is a conservatory. It's only the lack of doors and joined heating that make it an extension and therefore regs required.

    It shouldn't be an extension as far as building control is concerned; conservatories are outbuildings - as long as the doors are there (and you aren't attempting to heat the entire town via your central heating and a polycarb roof)

    just added a bit on heating. joined heating makes it part of the thermal envelope of the building, and within the scope of regs.
  • HouseBuyer77
    HouseBuyer77 Posts: 961 Forumite
    Combo Breaker First Anniversary
    If it's not a conservatory then it's going to cost a fair amount and a lot of upheaval to bring it up to building regs assuming there's no insulation in it. The roof is a bluey (coated?) plastic.I'm off to look at how much glass a conservatory needs to have!

    That'll be a polycarbonate roof.

    I have a very similar setup in my property. Conservatory with polycarbonate roof, one wall is fully brick (cavity I think, double skinned at least), has a radiator. It's open to the rest of the house.

    I'm not going to say it's perfect but it works fine. I decided that I can get doors fitted easily enough if I didn't get on with it but been there almost 2 years now and haven't felt the need. Energy bills seem reasonable, had no issues with it getting far too hot in the summer etc (though it is north facing).

    I briefly looked into upgrading the roof, plenty of companies claiming they have a perfect solution, plenty of warnings about how it's a bad idea (foundations/structure can't take the weight of a better roof, turns it into an actual extension for building regs etc).
  • misswoosie
    misswoosie Posts: 72 Forumite
    martinsurrey wrote: »
    just added a bit on heating. joined heating makes it part of the thermal envelope of the building, and within the scope of regs.

    But if it didn't have any heating at all and the doors were in place then it's a conservatory and exempt from building regs? Or does it have to have a source of heating?
  • martinsurrey
    martinsurrey Posts: 3,368 Forumite
    misswoosie wrote: »
    But if it didn't have any heating at all and the doors were in place then it's a conservatory and exempt from building regs? Or does it have to have a source of heating?

    yes, or if it has heating but that heating is completely independent of the rest of the houses system (seperate boiler, electric, solid fuel), it would also be exempt from regs.
  • misswoosie
    misswoosie Posts: 72 Forumite
    HouseBuyer77 wrote: »
    That'll be a polycarbonate roof.

    I have a very similar setup in my property. Conservatory with polycarbonate roof, one wall is fully brick (cavity I think, double skinned at least), has a radiator. It's open to the rest of the house.

    I'm not going to say it's perfect but it works fine. I decided that I can get doors fitted easily enough if I didn't get on with it but been there almost 2 years now and haven't felt the need. Energy bills seem reasonable, had no issues with it getting far too hot in the summer etc (though it is north facing).

    I briefly looked into upgrading the roof, plenty of companies claiming they have a perfect solution, plenty of warnings about how it's a bad idea (foundations/structure can't take the weight of a better roof, turns it into an actual extension for building regs etc).

    Actually, the walls may be double skinned as, looking at the photos, the windows aren't flush with the wall below them. There's a lip of around 6". This is the link to the property. See photos 5 and 9. http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43247409.html
  • misswoosie
    misswoosie Posts: 72 Forumite
    The vendor has agreed to a reduction in price of £400 which we're probably going to agree to.
  • foxy-stoat
    foxy-stoat Posts: 6,879 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Nice negotiating, you got 0.01% off the asking price.
  • martinsurrey
    martinsurrey Posts: 3,368 Forumite
    edited 15 March 2017 at 1:22PM
    foxy-stoat wrote: »
    Nice negotiating, you got 0.01% off the asking price.

    I don't want you to be my negotiator...

    £400 of £108,950 = 0.36%, only out by a factor of 36!
  • Typhoon2000
    Typhoon2000 Posts: 1,122 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
    We opened up the wall between the conservatory and kitchen. Put bifold doors in and got building control to sign off the work. Then took the doors off and stuck them in the garage.
    We also have radiators connected to the main central heating but have also put in underfloor heating, but didn't need it in the winter. The conservatory has a half height brick wall running all the way around except for the patio doors. The polycarbonate room was converted to a insulated tiled roof by the previous owners. Its plenty warm enough and much nicer with no doors to the kitchen.
  • misswoosie
    misswoosie Posts: 72 Forumite
    foxy-stoat wrote: »
    Nice negotiating, you got 0.01% off the asking price.

    Apart from the fact that your maths is incorrect , we were negotiating here based on the cost of installing external grade doors/door.
    The agreed sales price now is 4.9% lower than the asking price .
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