Conservatory v Extension

ankspon

For those of you who have a conservatory or an extension,my parents are looking at one or the other about 3m x 3m or 3m x 4m.What are the hidden costs you have to take into account.Do you have to have a base wall built separately,the flooring base,etc.Would be grateful if you could reveal the cost of having yours done,thanks.

slummymummyof3

You also need to consider that with a conservatory it may be just too hot in the summer and too cold in winter. Extensions win hands down for me every time.

Foundations will depend on ground conditions and walls etc depend on whether you are just having blockwork to be rendered or facing brick, pitched roof/flat roof. All of these need to be factored in as they will make a big difference to prices, as will your whereabouts in the country.

We have avoided having skips when the foundations were dug out and had tipper lorries instead as this worked out loads cheaper. Soil expands massively when it comes out of the ground and you can end up paying £180 per skip and needing shed loads of them.

We have built a single storey extension 11mx2.5m with mono pitch roof and velux windows in addition to windows, tandem length garage with pitched roof and a double storey 11mx4.5m extension for 30k but we have built it ourselves apart from the facing brickwork, so massive savings have been made. We have also sourced all the materials ourselves and drawn our own plans and submitted our own building regs.

Roof tiles we have sourced from ebay @ 1p for all of them - otherwise they were going to cost 64p each + vat and we needed about 4000 of them! Obviously we had to then pay for van hire and diesel to transport them. Depends how much faffing around you are prepared to do to save money.

Windows we bought from dunster house (made to measure upvc) and replaced exisisting house windows at the same time. Celotex (cavity wall insulation and insulation for floor) we bought from seconds and co. We also opened up trade accounts with build center and Jewsons.

We also bought our window lintels from Wickes as they were far cheaper than buying from build center/Jewsons.

Hope this helps.

DevilsAdvocate1

I agree. We built a conservatory and then hardly used it. We've just knocked it down and built an extension in its place. The conservatory was too hot in summer and freezing in winter.

To built a proper extension we had to have planning permission which we had not needed with the conservatory. However, this might have been because of the size of our extension.

I can't compare costs as we replaced the conservatory with a 2 storey extension, replacing both the kitchen and bathroom in the process.

D.

must_try_harder_2

I also cannot comment on the costs because the conservatory at our old house was built before we moved in. But whatever the extra for an extension is, it would be worth it.

Our conservatory was freezing in winter and boiling in the summer, to the point that it was unusable for 6 months of the year.

iamcornholio

The first decision is to determine exactly what the room will be used for.

Heating/shading can be sorted for a conservatory, but if they want to sit in there with no walls and look at the garden (or curtains/blinds at night), with limited layouts, limited furniture, no wall decor/art/lights then a consevatory it is

If they want more layout scope, things on walls, more furniture, different lighting and a whole differnt atmosphere, then its an extension

There are no hidden costs - one just costs more than the other. However, sealed DG units only have a life of approx 10 years before misting up and needing repalcement - this is not usually in the glossy brouchure for some reason

niamhtra66

Sorry but i agree with going down the extension route, we have a 7m x 3m conservatory which cost £10k 3 years ago, i only go in to hoover all the dead flies of the window ledges! we only use it for our christmas dinner ( with fan heaters on everywhere ) and the odd day through the year when it's not to hot or to cold. It's a beautiful conservatory and the price was perfect and it is a great size for our family but we are now planning to replace it with an extension just so we can use it. If we had to choose again it would have to be an extension, more to pay but at least you get a room that can be used all year round.

EllaKeat

Has anyone considered converting a conservatory into a garden room? I agree that conservatories are a waste of space for most of the year, but I am thinking about putting a proper roof on the conservatory, thus keeping it warmer in winter and cooler in summer? Or am I taking rubbish?

LandyAndy

slummymummyof3 wrote: »

Roof tiles we have sourced from ebay @ 1p for all of them

:rotfl::rotfl:

Sorry, I don't think you quite meant that.;)

redwineguzzler

Extension every time - If and when you sell, people will favour extensions over conservatorys any time!
xx

Swipe

LandyAndy wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl:

Sorry, I don't think you quite meant that.;)

You'd be surprised what you can find on ebay. My friends dad bought a huge P shaped conservatory for 99p. The guy just wanted rid of it and had been quoted £300 to have it dismantled.

N9eav

redwineguzzler wrote: »

Extension every time - If and when you sell, people will favour extensions over conservatorys any time!
xx

I agree. Hidden cost will be planning permission in most cases. Our conservatory did not need any, but a solid roof or heating did.

A conservatory is cold in the winter and almost unusable.