Thinking of a conservatory/lean too, your thoughts please

shopaholicjules

Hi
I am thinking of having a small conservatory put on the back of my new house. It couldn't be that big, probably around 9ft by 6ft ish (don't really know).
My mum is obsessed by me having a dining table to eat at and one won't fir in the kitchen.
The thought in my head, haven't got any further than that is to have it leading out of the back door, not ideal but has to be, a door to the left to outside and the table and chairs further down if I am making any sense.
What are peoples thoughts, my neighbours have one but I think it is a DIY click together thing and a floor hasn't been put in, ply wood for the window sill etc so not what I want, my friend says its a glorified porch.
What kind of price am I looking at, hoping not to spend too much.

I'm rambling now but anyones thoughts and advice appreciated.
Thanks
Jules

benood

How about having a table in your living room - it would be much cheaper than a conservatory. I'd guess that you could probably put a small conservatory up for about £5,000. We did have a dining table in the conservatory in our last house and it was great.

Finally I'd say do what you think is best for you rather than what your mother thinks!

barrymung

Very hot in summer...very cold in winter...

shopaholicjules

Thanks
My living room wouldn't really fit a table and would like someone separate for it.
I have been looking at different sites but can't really get an idea of price.
My friend has one but she already had the foundations as she had taken her old one down so saved her money.
If it saved me money, I could get people to dig out what is needed before they came to fit it but as I am doing up a whole house, money is quite tight.
I am in the Bradford area, has anyone had any experience of good fitters etc.

Thanks
Jules

themusicbox

I know B&Q do one that you can put together yourself, if you can get someone that knows about foundations. It rests in fairly light metal girders. My brother in law has got one and it didn't take us more than a week to finish fully.

Thanks

ianeverton

I had one put up a couple of years ago.

It was 4m x 3m and i got it done as a foreigner.

I am an electrician who is quite handy so got the main structure built (1 full wall and 2 glass sides with dwarf walls). I then wired it and plastered it myself.

I also fitted the floor and skirting etc.

But if you can get someone in the know i guess 5K would be the price you should pay today for the size you need.

cliffe

We put one ip ourselves a few years ago and it was fairly straightforward for me and my Dad - both with reasonable DIY skills. The company we bought from (online) seems to have disappeared, but there were plenty at similar prices.

As far as I can tell, the windows and doors are all standard sizes, the size of the window opening can differ. When we looked I was convinced that they were all from the same supplier with a different "badge" on them.

If you decide to do a DIY conservatory there are 2 places where I think problems can occur:
1) the base. We bought a steel base which meant that we didn't have to worry about brickwork. It sits on concrete pads (which we just had to dig out and fill). It was a simple job and the base really did just bolt together! I would recommend looking for a steel base for the ease and speed of getting the conservatory up.

2) the flashing needs to be done carefully to prevent leaks. We used a self adhesive one, but it does go under some tiles so is protected from the worst of the weather.

All in all building our own conservatory was very rewarding and fun. It took us 2 days to prepare the base, 3 to fit it. The instructions were fine (like flat-pack furniture!) and the problems we had ( a damaged door seal and something was missing) were recitfied very quickly.

shopaholicjules

Thanks for your thoughts.
Two companies have rang me this evening to arrange to come and give me a quote. I gave them some basic idea of what I am looking for and they both said well it won't be 5k but it won't be 10k.
They asked what kind of roof I want but not sure.
My builder is starting soon to do all of the other things in the house so was thinking I could maybe buy one and get him to put it together with my dad as his labourer, digging out foundations etc. I don't know if this is a good idea or not.

Jules

cuffie

barrymung wrote: »

Very hot in summer...very cold in winter...

And very noisy when it chucks it down with rain!

wrote:

My builder is starting soon to do all of the other things in the house so was thinking I could maybe buy one and get him to put it together with my dad as his labourer, digging out foundations etc. I don't know if this is a good idea or not.

When we had ours done, the foundations were dug out, rafts needed to be laid (this was a requirement by our local council), dwarf wall put up then needed to leave it for 2 weeks before frame put on. Don't know how long your builder going to be there for, but there will be time inbetween foundations going in and actual construction of the frame. Are you having open plan or leaving doors on. If its open plan you might need planning permission (check). Are you having a radiator out there? what about electricity sockets, lighting etc? I personally would go with a company rather that do it yourself. Ours was done within a few weeks, they planned all the builders,plasterers, electricians etc exactly when they were needed. Also, if you have one, go for as big as you can. We had a large one on the back of our old house (Edwardian style) and our neighbour went for half the size (victorian style). Neighbours regretted it from day 1. They never used it because it was too small for them. Now we are in our new house we are not having one put on here. I did like it, but it was very hot in the summer (winter wasnt too bad as we had a radiator and other heating), but kids wouldn't eat out there if it was raining - you couldn't hear yourself think!!! Do check with planning department. I know they have relaxed rules a bit - other bods on here might know more - you might not have to worry about it, but we actually got a letter from our council to say that we didn't need planning permission for it. One of my friends was told by the company that she didn't need planning permission (she went all open plan and took out french doors), then tried to sell her house. She had a nightmare.
Anyway - good luck whatever you decide.