Making conservatory habitable in winter

lisa701

Is it possible to make an existing conservatory habitable in winter? Ours is baltic and it seems such a shame to have this unusable space.

Here are the details:

3.5 x 3m size with gable end to the front
Wooden frame, double glazed windows
Dwarf wall along one side & front, 3/4 wall alongside third wall
Triple wall poly carb roof
All walls have insulation in the cavity
Suspended wooden floor

We spoke to neighbours before we got it done and all the ones who had glass roofs said don't do it as it made theirs far too hot in summer. In turn this means they cannot use their lounge either as its impossible to get cool air inside because like us they have to open the door to the conservatory then open the conservatory door to get any ventillation to the lounge. We therefore opted for polycarb and I now think its too late to swap to glass as the structure probably wouldnt take the weight.

Any thoughts on what we can do? Knocking it down and building an extension is not an option as we don't have the funds to do so.

macman

What is the existing heating arrangement?
If wet CH, can you extend the circuit and place rads on the dwarf walls?
Usual issue with these conservatories, too hot in summer and too cold in winter!

grimsalve

You could try replacing the roof...

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/964503

Mankysteve

Its possible to heat the room but it will soon get expensive, as other have said either heat it with your CH or some other source. conservatory are best left for summer enjoyment/ keeping plants out of the worse of the winter weather other that there pretty much useless in the winter. Personally I would advise against have conservatories at all and go with a proper extension/sunroom.

Melaniep101

Our conservatory is freezing/damp in winter and boiling hot in summer! Shame cos it's a lovely room otherwise. Even putting central heating in, you'll be paying to heat the crows!

shegar

When we moved in here 7 years ago ,it as a " garden room", dwarf walls , then white DG windows all round , its 12 x 12 , also as a nice big radiator on the wall........

The roof is constructed of felt and baton with sterling board and celotex insulation , insulated dwarf walls , it keep lovely and warm in winter , plus its south facing so a lot of days this winter when the sun is out its very very warm in their without heating , so you really dont need heating on................

I cant say what or how much this would have been to build , but without it we wouldnt be able to use that room in the winter, its saved us lots in energy bills, we use the room all the time .......

You need to get some prices to put a roof on it , then you can use it all year round...............Good luck.....

lisa701

Thanks for all your replies.

We have looked into all our options and have decided to get some prices for the materials we need to upgrade the roof to glass. I've since found out that the conservatory was constructed it was built to take a glass roof but for various reasons we got polycarb instead.

We did consider a more solid roof when we had it built but after viewing a neighbours decided against it as it blocks out far too much light from the lounge - they end up switching on their ceiling light in the lounge during the day as the light is so poor.

Looks like we are going to be busy this year!

andrewf75

Look at the u values of the glass. You want argon-filled double glazing (or even triple) with as low a number as possible

I_have_spoken

Mine faces south and has a 60cm*60cm radiator connected to house CH.

As the sun has got higher over the last few weeks, the heat gain plus the radiator makes it OK to sit in from 12 noon to 5pm

lisa701

andrewf75 wrote: »

Look at the u values of the glass. You want argon-filled double glazing (or even triple) with as low a number as possible

Thanks andrewf75, thats really helpful.

Meats10

I fit suspended ceilings for a living and I have, in the last 2/3 years have had a high demand for fitting an insulated lightweight MF (plasterboard) ceiling in conservatories because of the same problem and every single person (approx 40 to 50) have been completely satisfied .. It's more affordable than these new roofs.. There's loads of different designs and lighting options ...