quote for conservatory

griffga

we've had 2 quotes for a new conservatory
the outside measurements will be 3500 by 6000
one long wall is to be brick, plastered on the inside
work to include knocking out kitchen window and wall and laying base
white uPVC
all top windows to open
safety toughened K glass
moving water pipe
4 double sockets
6 spotlights

1st quote was £15,400 and included free floor tiles
2nd quote was £16,995 no tiles, they would be £800 extra

2nd quote uses Ultraframe roofing system

Alfrescodave

Griffga,Thats very interesting but do you have an actual question?

My comment would be that the 2nd quote is considerably more and what are you getting for that ? Would it look £2400 better. Always helps to get 3 quotes

griffga

I wanted to know whether the prices seemed fair or are they way out
the 1st quote the tiles are a free gift so shouldn't really be included in the price comparison

the 2nd company look slicker and seem to use better materials (according to their salesman)
we are waiting for a 3rd quote

are there any questions I could ask to make sure I'm getting good quality

Geordinho

Griffga,

We've just been through a similar experience with ours. Getting three companies to give us a price was difficult enough but ours ranged from £11.5k - £16k for a 4.5x3.5m edwardian.

I would always recommend trying to negotiate down as a lot of the firms that we dealt with started at a ridiculously high price and were very quick to knock ££££s off after some simple questionning.

There is a lot of information out there to decipher but we found Conservatories Online really helpful in terms of what to ask about specifications etc. It won't make you an expert but might make you feel a little bit more comfortable regarding what you're getting for your money.

wilroda

I agree with Geordinho - Conservatories online are very helpful. We had a 4m by 3.5 m conservatory installed last year and quotes ranged from 12k up to 17 k! We decided to go for a locally recommended company and negotiated the price down from 12K to 9K and we are very happy with the result. To get this good price we decided to do the hard work of levelling the garden etc ourselves ( quote to do that was over 1.5K and we did it for the cost of 2 skips - £100 each)
We did not chose a national company - deciding to keep it local and we are very pleased with the result and their after sales service. Incidentally comes with a ten yr guarantee - be sure you get one.

Browntrout_2

Ask for two reference sites where you can preferably visit and speak to the owner or at least phone them, that way you can check all the issues, including total time taken, clearing up, dealing with leaks etc.

A lot of the cost in the shape, square being lowest cost, then 3 or 5 sided bell

I recommend under-floor heating fed by your central heating set into the concrete under the tiles.

That said conservatories are over-rated, too hot in summer, too cold in winter.

We use ours to play pool on a 5' table and dry clothes, sometimes watch football...

Tilemeister

regarding the tiling i would charge £400 including adhesive grout & labour + tiles
to give you an idea of cost for that part of your project
good luck
steve

garreth

I run a conservatory company in portsmouth, email me the details and i would gladly price it for you to compare, it doesnt look too bad depending on the roof content. A very good tip is to ask for sgg planitherm glass instead of Pilkington K as I believe it to be a better glass. Check out the U values, (the measurement of the insulation values of anything, you are after the lower the better) argon filling the glass is a good investment, should cost around £7 a unit but you will recover that cost in reduced heating bills after a while,(argon filling reduces the U value of low e glass by about 0.2. and its a bit quieter)
As for the roof, Ultraframe is a good system, as is K2 as is global. It depends of course what material you are having. The global system does not bolt through the rain channels on the bars, I think the others still do, however if a roof is fitted well that does not matter. 35mm polycarbonate is not much more than 25mm and is probably a worthwhile investment as long as your site will not get a lot of sun during the afternoon. If this is the case and you cannot stretch to a solar control glass then ask for a product called smartpoly. it retails at about £25 a square meter more than normal poly and reflects very well, as good as a solar control glass.
The key things with conservatories are having a good and level base is your starter, but slightly more important I think is having a good fitter. A good fitter can overcome problems with a base that is out, roof that is not square etc. I cannot stress enough the importance of speaking to previous customers, and try to pick from a customer list yourself. Most people understandably will only volunteer jobs that have gone well. Better than that is to ask people you know for recommendations.
The unfortunate thing about conservatories is the amount of variables but if you have any other questions, drop me an email and ill try to answer them.
The note above about not being frightened to bargain is a good one, most large conservatory companies have a large trade side (except the nationals) and can give substantial discounts and still make a reasonable profit. If you find someone you want to do business with though because you feel you can trust them then its fair to expect to pay a reasonable price and expect a very good job done in return
Garreth