Are conservatories a waste of time?

iB1

I have just bought a house with a sun room on the back of it. It's south facing so in theory would be fantastic in the summer, but it looks like a blind, drunk man built it in a hurricane :eek:

It is structurally sound, but it's single skin and single glazed so utterly useless in the winter. No heating and no pipework for utility room usage so it's either a case of ripping most of it to shreds and building it back up, or knocking it down altogether to give me a bigger garden...

sunshinetours

As others have said - it depends really

Ours is north facing and used as a play room year round. We have an oil filled radiator on a timer and that works fine for keeping it cosy. Nice in the summer when it doesn't get too hot in there

If I was building from scratch, like Doozergirl, I would have a proper extension with lots of windows and skylights which i think is much better suited for year round use in this country

Would it stop me from buying a house - no I doubt it unless it was awful or the only reception space for instance

ladymarmalade1970

Ours is south facing and we just had a proper radiator put in running off the same system as the rest of the house. We use it all the time and its the most used room in the house. It's about 16 foot x 11 foot in space and cost us < 20k 3 years ago this year. It's guaranteed for 10 years.
If you heat them properly i would thoroughly recommend. It's particularly nice if you have a nice garden as you get to see it all year round.

Owain_Moneysaver

Pointless and naff (unless you really like pot plants which is all they are good for)

A porch on the front or back door is handy for mucky boots and mops etc.

kazmc

I was chuffed to bits with mine when I bought my house 5 years ago but I cant afford to heat it so cannot use during the colder months!!! If you could afford it I would go for an orangery instead

kazmc

ladymarmalade1970 wrote: »

Ours is south facing and we just had a proper radiator put in running off the same system as the rest of the house. We use it all the time and its the most used room in the house. It's about 16 foot x 11 foot in space and cost us < 20k 3 years ago this year. It's guaranteed for 10 years.
If you heat them properly i would thoroughly recommend. It's particularly nice if you have a nice garden as you get to see it all year round.

Oh a builder told me if I wanted a radiator put into mine running off my house I would need planning permission as it would change the 'type' of room it was. Id be really interested to know if this isnt true as I would definitely have one put it.
I just took what he said as gospel, he probably couldnt be bothered with the extra work!!:(

amcluesent

Great info. I have a easterly facing patio which would take a reasonably sized conservatory no problem and have pretty much the same floor area as the kitchen/diner, with the option of having mains lecky and a radiator fed from the gas C/H.

I imagine it being good for the 'feel' of outdoors without having noise from malodorous chav's 'boom boxes' from the nearby BTLs as you do sitting in the garden itself. Plus boost to warmth of kitchen, already d/g.

Quotes of about £9K. I'm tempted.

SuzieSue

I think it depends whether you need the extra space eg for a growing family. If you do, then I would definitely go for a proper extension as you will be able to use it all year round and it doesn't matter which way it faces.

If you don't mind not using the space all year round and your garden is east or north facing then I would consider a conservatory. Mine is east facing and I can generally use it from March to October. If it is sunny, it warms up in the morning and will usually stay warm until evening. It is large enough to have sun loungers and I love sun bathing under parasols without the annoyance of clouds obscuring the sun and insects or next door's kids.

If it is south facing, then I would imagine it would be unbearable in the summer even with blinds. West facing might be ok, but I don't have any experience.

I personally wouldn't pay too much extra for a house just because it had a conservatory.

Johnhowell

Our large conservatory is very usable - we have an Air Source Heat Pump to cool for summer and heat for winter - as there is no elements only pumps it is not that expensive to run. It only takes 10mins to heat/cool to be usable. Christmas days are great. Summer evenings are great. We have blinds for the sun glare, but no problem with the heat - we have lots of windows and then the French doors to vary the amount of draft. Last summer it reached 40C but the ASHP cooled it down nicely.

Obviously a conservatory can not be as efficient for insulation as a full build - but then it would not be a conservatory. But you can make it usable.

John

PasturesNew

I've always liked the idea of them - then I finally got to live in a house for a couple of months that had one - and I lived out there in it. They're brilliant. My 'forever house' will definitely have one and I'll spend most of my time out there, because it's so light and so many houses are so hideously dark and you have to physically stand up and walk over to a window and stand to look out, whereas in a conservatory you simply glance up and can see around you/the garden/any view. I want to be outside, out of the elements.... to be able to read the paper without it blowing around, to be able to sit as if I'm in the garden when it's raining or getting to dusk.

However, there are some right g0d-awful ones out there, chosen by idiots and built by wallies.