Decision time. Conservatory or no conservatory

Pythagorous

I'm stuck in limboland on whether to go ahead with adding a conservatory to our house.

The idea is to add a 3.75x3.6m glass roof Edwardian style conservatory as an open plan extension to the kitchen. The kitchen door and window will be removed to make it open plan (I'm aware that this 'may' cause issues when selling the house, but worst case scenario we will just have the door and window put back in).

The con location is south facing getting sunlight from early morning until 4 or 5 o clock in the summer. So basically it can be a bit of a sun trap, but then again we are in Northern Ireland which has very limited sun anyway!!

Considering its going to be open plan to the kitchen and south facing etc I'm concerned about the old problem of it being unbearably hot in the summer and far too cold in the Winter (a double radiator will be installed).

From the research I have done and from speaking to the various salesmen I've had out it seems that massive advancements have been made in the last few years with the glass quality etc meaning an all year round usable south facing con is possible.

The con will have a dwarf wall and the glazing is fully double glazed in 28mm British Kitemark units. All the glass will be Icosun energy saving glass. The roof glazing will also be Icosun self cleaning glass. I understand this will be argon gas filled and is similar to the Pilkington product.

Has anyone had a con installed in the last few years with this new glass and can you give me an indication as to whether you are able to use the room all year?

Also the quote was for £12,500. Does this seem reasonable?


Thanks everyone.

maveli

We built a sunroom (tiled roof) last year 5X4 m for 11K. If you are removing the door you may require planning permission. Last winter was tough, but we could use it all the time using a gas heater.
Let me know if you need the drawing

PS : I am also in NI.

kaggy

We had a conservatory built about 10 years ago and ours is all open plan (without planning). We too have a south facing garden and when it's colder all we need are 2 skirting board radiators for about 3 months of the year. We were dubious but it was the best thing we have ever done.

Up until 2 years ago the surveyor always said you would just need to put a concertina door in if we wanted to sell but earlier this year we were told that views had changed and due to the amount of heat it provides it would be unecessary to do this.

Karen

Pythagorous

Thank you both.

Mavelli - how much did you pay?
Kaggy - How is it in the summer and presumably you didn't put in the plikington argon gas filled glass?

maveli

£11,000.00 which includes two radiators 5 internal electric socket, 1 exterrnal socket and blinds

sashman

#1

Pythagorous



happy that conservatories have come a long way, if you want some advice speak to the ggf Glass and Glazing federation, ask for the CA conservatory association better still buy one of their guides £25 I think, it will answer all your questions (other than is it a fair price) it is THE industry bible.



www.ggf.org.uk



However I am concerned that you are removing the door/window. Conservatories dont need planning provided they are of reasonable size and comply with the exemption clause, namely that they are not heated from the house heating system, and the barrier (the door) is retained. This is because the government think heat will escape more quickly from the conservatory.



If you do want to open it then planning permission is needed (not just building control)



Again I think this is covered in the CA conservatory handbook



sashman

iamcornholio

You can connect the conservatory heating to the main house system - all that is required is that it can be controlled independently and isolated. A TRV on a radiator will do this

For winter use, yes heat will fly out the glass, but you just pay the extra cost of heating. An extra £50 or so is nothing really if it allows the room to be used all year.

But for winter use, however large, a traditional single emitter (radiator or electric) might heat the space but it may still feel draughty as the warm air moves about. So, an underfloor heating system (preferably wet) may make the conservatory feel warmer and more comfortable as this type gives off more even heat

planning_officer

Planning permission has nothing whatsoever to do with whether it is open to the rest of the house - that's Building Regulations (completely separate issues!).

Planning permission is dependent on size, and there are several criteria with which you need to comply, unless you want to have to submit a planning application. The most important criterion is depth (i.e. front to back measurement) - for a detached house you can go 4m deep beyond the original rear wall, or 3m deep for any other kind of house.

Gloomendoom

planning_officer wrote: »

The most important criterion is depth (i.e. front to back measurement) - for a detached house you can go 4m deep beyond the original rear wall, or 3m deep for any other kind of house.

If your house is 'L' shaped, with the base of the 'L' at the front, which wall is the rear wall?

planning_officer

In that situation, there are two rear walls making up the rear elevation - so for a detached house you can extend up to 4m beyond both of them (and in effect keep the L-shaped footprint). It's a common layout for Victorian terraces, which of course would be able to go back 3m in depth from each rear wall.

There have been several recent appeal decisions to confirm this.

Gloomendoom

planning_officer wrote: »

In that situation, there are two rear walls making up the rear elevation - so for a detached house you can extend up to 4m beyond both of them (and in effect keep the L-shaped footprint). It's a common layout for Victorian terraces, which of course would be able to go back 3m in depth from each rear wall.

There have been several recent appeal decisions to confirm this.

Thanks for that.

It may sound a daft question, but what determines whether, or not, a house is detached? My house is 'attached' to a neighbour's outbuilding. I regard it as semi-detached, however, others have disagreed with me.