Extensions v Conservatories

Jaynne

spindlegs wrote: »

I am over the moon with my conservatory and would recommend it, bearing in mind things have improved since the old type polycarbonate conservatories.

It cost £24,000 for everything. Hope that helps.

That's got to be pretty close to the cost of an extension though?

Furts

spindlegs wrote: »

I have just had a 6.5m x 3.5m conservatory built and have to disagree that it is not an all round room. With the adverse weather we have had its as warm as toast and we only have a small electric fire on in there as we are waiting or the electrics to be completed. We still havnt got the insulated floor yet. We did pay extra to have a special conservo glass roof (not polycarbonate), which they maintain keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. This has defintely worked as through this adverse conditions we still have snow on the glass and the space is still warm.

I am over the moon with my conservatory and would recommend it, bearing in mind things have improved since the old type polycarbonate conservatories.

It cost £24,000 for everything. Hope that helps.

Wowww! I have a similar view to Jaynne. That is coming in at over £1000 per metre squared. There are many conventional extensions built for less than that. OK prices vary around the country, but that is a substantial sum of money.

lizalloareds

I have a conservatory and it's not useable all year, would go for an extension if I could afford it.

sunshinetours

spindlegs wrote: »

I have just had a 6.5m x 3.5m conservatory built and have to disagree that it is not an all round room. With the adverse weather we have had its as warm as toast and we only have a small electric fire on in there as we are waiting or the electrics to be completed. We still havnt got the insulated floor yet. We did pay extra to have a special conservo glass roof (not polycarbonate), which they maintain keeps you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. This has defintely worked as through this adverse conditions we still have snow on the glass and the space is still warm.

I am over the moon with my conservatory and would recommend it, bearing in mind things have improved since the old type polycarbonate conservatories.

It cost £24,000 for everything. Hope that helps.

Thats great, so as per my post above you can spec up any conservatory so it is useable but you will end up paying similar to a traditional brick and roof extension as you have shown

Once again its not a cheap option if you want a useable room year round.....

Furts

sunshinetours wrote: »

Thats great, so as per my post above you can spec up any conservatory so it is useable but you will end up paying similar to a traditional brick and roof extension as you have shown

Once again its not a cheap option if you want a useable room year round.....

I mentioned costs in an earlier post. I have an extension on the side of my house - just needs some decorating and TLC and it should be finished. Size overall at 6mx3.3m This will have cost less than £10000.

I would suggest that with a traditional build it is possible to get lower costs than with buying a conservatory. Certainly one can achieve a far higher standard of finish and higher standards of insulation.

mogwai

I havent read through all the thread, but just to say that I love conservatories (to the poster who thought they were tacky), sunny, light and the heart of the home in my parents house. Also, its the warmest room in the winter as we have underfloor heating which works a treat and the coolest in the summer. Its brilliant in winter as even on grey days you get plenty of light

We are knocking down our conservatory and building an extension in my home but we are putting in a roof lantern and large windows to keep the light feel of a conservatory as a normal extension room doesnt compare

spindlegs

I just love my conservatory it was worth every penny. It is so light, airy and warm and has changed the footprint of my bunglow completely. Being south east facing I dont think it an extension would of given us he light we now have, and we also now have some stunning views too. Everyone who has seen is amazed at the improvement it has made to the bungalow. I do know now that we paid over the top for it, an expensive lesson learned and am sure you can get one cheaper but make sure you use the right glass for the roof otherwise it will not be an all year round room. x

katiemacc

Have you thought about a halfway-house and perhaps a contemporary glass extension or an orangery? I'm not a huge fan of conservatories but some of these glazed extensions are a bit more substantial and look like a 'proper' room and not just an after thought. We've been thinking about getting one as I think we'd get more use out of it than a conservatory and we really could do with the extra space!

dnmiw1

As a couple of people have mentioned you need to be careful as to the definition of conservatory or extension as Building Regulations differ for both. If the extended space forms part of the main house i.e is not thermally separated by external doors then Approved Document L1a applies, this may mean that in order to comply with the Building Regulations that you need to thermally upgrade the original building in order to comply. Various factors come into this depending on the amount of glazing to the proposed extension.

With a conservatory as long as it is thermally separated from the main building the rules become a lot clearer!

flea72

We have a conservatory and it's used as our main living room. So we sit in it all year round

Its about 26m/sq, has a polycarbonate roof, block dwarf walls on two external sides and a full height wall along the other external/boundary. A radiator that is the standard size for the space nd a carpeted floor.

Yes, it does get hot in the summer, but then again, it is south facing, so all rooms on that side of the house get hot. However I wouldn't say it's cold in the winter. I don't have to wear additional layers, or have extortionate heating bills. It does cool down quickly once the heating goes off, but I'm ready for bed then, so I makes no odds

The only downside is when its raining. It's so noisy you can't hear the tv. Other than that, for the price, I can't complain. I did consider a proper extension, but that was 3x the price and the solid roof would have made the internal rooms of the house darker