New roof etc for old Conservatory ??

homerhotspur

Anyone looked into or had their old Conservatory refurbished by one of the many companies advertising new roofs etc( eg Wetheralds).

Our Conservatory is the classic case - 20 years old, basic UPVC. South facing and absolutely impossible to use in the summer. No plants can survive in there and all furniture/flooring is bleached/ruined over time. Most of the glazing is also now misted up and will need replacing or re-sealing.

I have read mixed views about the varous options on offer and wondered if anyone had any recommendations or other stories to share?

robotrobo

homerhotspur wrote: »

Anyone looked into or had their old Conservatory refurbished by one of the many companies advertising new roofs etc( eg Wetheralds).

Our Conservatory is the classic case - 20 years old, basic UPVC. South facing and absolutely impossible to use in the summer. No plants can survive in there and all furniture/flooring is bleached/ruined over time. Most of the glazing is also now misted up and will need replacing or re-sealing.

I have read mixed views about the varous options on offer and wondered if anyone had any recommendations or other stories to share?

I think i would scrap it completley!, if your loaded with dosh, i would price up a orangery, my favourite would be a sun room , big windows, nice double doors , and most of all a proper roof.
I am in a similar situation to you , except mine looks and is in very good condition, im looking to build another garage and do away with the coservatory & build a sun room on the end of it.
But i have yet to get a builder to come around and give me a ball park figure to see if its feasible or not.

kraftykat

I also think you could be paying a lot of money to redo your conservatory. Ours is 10 years old, pvc windows with French doors and a polycarbonate roof. It's too hot in Summer and freezing in Winter....unless we keep the heating running all the time.

We're taking ours down and adding an extension instead. I have to say I won't miss it. If you like yours, you could price new glass and the like of these new lightweight roofs. I priced the lightweight roof for ours and it was coming in around £5,500, but we decided not to put anymore money into it.

homerhotspur

It's a fair point, unfortunately!

bouncydog1

We're having ours reglazed with thermally efficient glass and installing underfloor heating. Neighbours have done the same and say they have noticed a real difference. Solid roof was an option but it would block out too much light and we would lose the enjoyment of using the conservatory. Cost is around £7k but it is quite big!

photobec

I'm just buying a property with a p shaped conservatory that has a polycarbonate roof which needs replacing. I've been quoted £12,000 for it to be replaced with glass. It seems really expensive to me but I've had 3 quotes all similarly priced.

kraftykat

I really wish we had known someone who had a conservatory before we had ours built. I think for us it has been the biggest waste of money ever. That's why we decided not to spend any more money on a new roof for it. Freezing in Winter and boiling hot in Summer, I keep my tumble dryer in it now, my husband calls our conservatory the most expensive laundry room around.....I also have a clothes horse in there for stuff that can't be tumble dried. ��

Davesnave

kraftykat wrote: »

I really wish we had known someone who had a conservatory before we had ours built. I think for us it has been the biggest waste of money ever. That's why we decided not to spend any more money on a new roof for it. Freezing in Winter and boiling hot in Summer, I keep my tumble dryer in it now, my husband calls our conservatory the most expensive laundry room around.....I also have a clothes horse in there for stuff that can't be tumble dried. ��

On the other hand, I'm replacing mine because building an extra, largely opaque part on to a property often ruins an existing room through light reduction. There are ways around this sometimes, but they're often expensive.

I wouldn't put good money into refurbishing our existing conservatory, but the previous owners got the ventilation right and so shall we. Much more is needed than you're often given by default and anyone who wants to heat one in really cold weather must be bonkers.

We've had good use out of ours, even in February, though we're present at the times when solar gain is useful, but not everyone is.

The best time to get a deal on a conservatory is probably December or January, but expect to fight for it. A quote is just a starting point. Never accept it.

bmthmark

I had a conservatory built and I went for the upgraded blue pilkington self cleaning glass roof. We also opted for a larger wall on the side (trying to conserve heat). But unfortunately it made no difference, it was extremely hot in summer and very cold in the winter.
We paid £12k to get ours fitted which I was happy with as it was cheaper than an extension and it did look good, this definitely helped us when we came to sell.

My advice would be if you are planning on staying there a long time look at an extension, if not I would leave it as it is as the room will still be too hot in summer and too cold in winter.