Removing Door between house and conservatory

gazfocus

We have just had a conservatory built on the back of our house. In the process we've removed the french doors that once led from the kitchen to the garden in order to create an opening between the kitchen and the conservatory.

I was just wondering if anyone that's up to date with all the building regs, etc, could advise whether we would need building regs approval for the conservatory now that the doors have been removed.

Thanks

Polmop

We have done the same, i was advised we would get planning permission to do it if we applied but it wouldnt get through the building regs.
We will just put the doors back in if we plan to sell the house

System

you wouldn't ever require planning permission to remove the door between a conservatory and a house...

It's a brave move at this time of year to remove the doors!
As said, just keep the doors somewhere and re-hang them when you are selling, unless you have a new house it would be a nightmare to try and get through building regs approval

gazfocus

the_r_sole wrote: »

you wouldn't ever require planning permission to remove the door between a conservatory and a house...

It's a brave move at this time of year to remove the doors!
As said, just keep the doors somewhere and re-hang them when you are selling, unless you have a new house it would be a nightmare to try and get through building regs approval

It's the building regulations I'm enquiring about, not planning permission.

The conservatory is a bare shell (has only just been plastered at the moment) and is warm enough so not concerned about the heat yet

Unfortunately, we don't have room to keep the doors so we'd have to buy new ones should we want to put something back.

System

I know you didn't mention planning, but someone else did and there is a general confusion about the roles of these departments, so just wanted to clarify...
You would have to get building regulation approval if you don't have a thermal break between the existing house and the new conservatory because you are not meeting one of the conditions for exemption.
To get building standards approval you will have to meet current heat loss standards over the whole house, which will be very difficult to achieve

27col

The reason that they insist that there are doors between the house and the conservatory is because the conservatory structure does not conform to the insulation standard that is required for the house. Removing the doors will adversely affect the heat loss of the whole structure.
A conservatory is not an extension to the house, it is just a sort of green house and will normally be very poor at keeping in your expensively bought heat. Take the doors off, if you feel you must, but don't complain about the subsequent energy bills. Leaving the doors in place is a no-brainer. Quite apart from ignoring the building regs.
Most of the building regs are common sense and keeping the insulation value as high as possible is an integral part of that common sense.

andrewf75

Seems pretty crazy to remove doors to a conservatory...

although you say you've just had it built. Are they built to proper insulation standards these days?

gazfocus

andrewf75 wrote: »

Seems pretty crazy to remove doors to a conservatory...

although you say you've just had it built. Are they built to proper insulation standards these days?

I get what some of you are saying about the heat issue but try living in a room in your house without any heating on in the winter...it's not going to happen (we had to in February and it was painfully cold).

The conservatory as it stands has only just been plastered this week and still has concrete floors. I would not say it's particularly cold at night (without any heating on in there) and it doesn't make the kitchen particularly colder than normal.

System

gazfocus wrote: »

I get what some of you are saying about the heat issue but try living in a room in your house without any heating on in the winter...it's not going to happen (we had to in February and it was painfully cold).

try living in a green house...

lostinrates

Cannot you just leave the doors wide open? Or have them put on parliament hinges so they open flat?

It seems a limiting move to remove them completely ( typed by a woman who is living in a house with no heating for the THIRD winter)

Johnandabby

If you want something built to proper insulation standards, then it's an extension built to Building Regulations standard and not a conservatory. There are no standards for insulation in conservatories.