Conservatory vs Extension

gazfocus

Went to see a conservatory company local to our area and they estimated about £9000 for the size we want and are coming out to do a full quote. I'll post the quote when we get it to see what's what.

martinsurrey

fluffymuffy wrote: »

Single storey extensions are £1800 - £2000 per square metre. So about £23,000, then with the Unforseen, best have a budget of up to £30K ready.

... Not sure what builders you've been ussing, but they saw you coming!

this is a basic extension, with one lighting circuit, one steel, one radiator and a few power points.

If you cant get it for under £15k (fully painted with the dining table set, and maybe the first meal cooked for you) you're not trying hard enough.

gazfocus

Right, it looks like we're getting a conservatory. The cost of a conservatory is going to be approx 35% cheaper than an equivalent sized extension and the extra money we would be saving would pay to refurnish the entire house so it's a no brainer really.

We've got a local conservatory company coming out tomorrow to measure up and do a fully itemised quote, so just need to get our heads around what we actually want.

We are going to have an Edwardian conservatory with a dwarf wall, but we're unsure whether we want the brickwork plastered....any opinions?

Ant555

We are going to have an Edwardian conservatory with a dwarf wall, but we're unsure whether we want the brickwork plastered....any opinions?

I am pretty sure you will want to consider getting the brickwork plastered.

Depending on the layout, and if it is an option, I would also advise getting the doors to the side rather than having the conservatory as a corridor as it makes it far more practical to use.

Is a full height wall along one side going to be an option for you?

Lucyadams184

It depends on your budget as to what you have done. We had a conservatory a few years ago which has added 10k to our house and it cost us 4K but my husband built it with a bit of help with the plastering and the underfloor heating.

ian103

We had a fantastic conservatory at the last house, it was 'good' value and it made a real feature of the garden and was a massive benefit when we were selling the house. We did suffer with heat gain in the summer months, and it could be cold in the middle of winter, but if it was too cold we just shut it off from the house, butr in fairness even a winters sunny day soon warmed it up. At the time I thought about air con to make it useable with shading etc but the budget didn't stretch that far. OH wants a conservatory at the new house, its a nice to have but the budget really won't stretch that far at present.

gazfocus

Ant555 wrote: »

I am pretty sure you will want to consider getting the brickwork plastered.

Depending on the layout, and if it is an option, I would also advise getting the doors to the side rather than having the conservatory as a corridor as it makes it far more practical to use.

Is a full height wall along one side going to be an option for you?

Thanks, this is along the lines of what I'm thinking but the mrs isn't so keen. We would have the dwarf wall and the original outside wall of the house plastered to make it look/feel like a proper room.

I don't think our budget will stretch to a full height wall unfortunately but I can always ask it if would be possible where the fence will be right by the side of the conservatory.

Lucyadams184 wrote: »

It depends on your budget as to what you have done. We had a conservatory a few years ago which has added 10k to our house and it cost us 4K but my husband built it with a bit of help with the plastering and the underfloor heating.

To be honest, we're not really doing it to 'add value' but it is a consideration in the back of our heads. We're not planning on selling up for at least 10 years so by the time we do sell, we'll have spent the equivalent of £900 a year for the conservatory.

ian103 wrote: »

We had a fantastic conservatory at the last house, it was 'good' value and it made a real feature of the garden and was a massive benefit when we were selling the house. We did suffer with heat gain in the summer months, and it could be cold in the middle of winter, but if it was too cold we just shut it off from the house, butr in fairness even a winters sunny day soon warmed it up. At the time I thought about air con to make it useable with shading etc but the budget didn't stretch that far. OH wants a conservatory at the new house, its a nice to have but the budget really won't stretch that far at present.

Thanks, our Garden is on the small side but it does catch the sun all day (from about 8AM to 8PM on a summers day) so we would definitely need some sort of air con or thick curtains to block out the heat. I don't think winter would be much of an issue as we're thinking of having 2 x 2KW convector heaters in there on a timer. The heaters have thermostats built in so that they keep a constant temperature.

Ant555

I don't think our budget will stretch to a full height wall unfortunately but I can always ask it if would be possible where the fence will be right by the side of the conservatory.

I understand there are budget constraints however you will almost certainly need blinds on the wall with the fence behind to block out the view (or non-view).

We opted for a full height wall on the side that runs along the fence. We had to step the wall back a few inches so the foundations it didn't encroach on next door and the gutter is wholly on my side of the fence etc. but I guess I would have had to do that with a dwarf wall too?
The alternative is mirrored glass, frosted glass or just blinds to mask the fence.

Oh, and I am sure its already been discussed but ask about underfloor heating and see how much that would cost. Its my one regret that we didn't go for it, it was on the quote as an 'ad-on' but we said no and I truly wish I had said yes.

Hope this helps.

gazfocus

Ant555 wrote: »

I understand there are budget constraints however you will almost certainly need blinds on the wall with the fence behind to block out the view (or non-view).

We opted for a full height wall on the side that runs along the fence. We had to step the wall back a few inches so the foundations it didn't encroach on next door and the gutter is wholly on my side of the fence etc. but I guess I would have had to do that with a dwarf wall too?
The alternative is mirrored glass, frosted glass or just blinds to mask the fence.

Oh, and I am sure its already been discussed but ask about underfloor heating and see how much that would cost. Its my one regret that we didn't go for it, it was on the quote as an 'ad-on' but we said no and I truly wish I had said yes.

Hope this helps.

Thanks Ant555. I will ask about a full height wall on that side, but I guess blinds would be a happy medium.

The company have already quoted £1200 for underfloor heating as an add on, but I work for a radiator company so can get two nice looking, 1.4m long, white convector heaters for about £40 each and that'd give us a total of 4KW of power.

DevilDamo

About the wall adjacent/on the boundary... it is common practice for this to be full height because as well as providing privacy between you and your neighbour, it is also a fire/building regulation requirement. Masonry walls will provide the required fire resistance whereas normal glass would not. If you were opting for glass on that side, it would have to fire resisting as well as obscured. This would obviously bump up the cost.

This is obviously assuming you would need BR approval for the conservatory. But even still, the safety of people is more crucial.