Conservatory roof replacement materials

nikirushka

Hello!

I have a friend who's wanting to have her conservatory roof replaced. She currently has polycarbonate panels, and the whole thing is around 15 years old.

One place only quoted her for a full tiled roof, but I understand that weight can be an issue, and she doesn't want it any darker inside than it already is.

She's had a quote for glass and has been to see a glass-roofed one, and likes it, but is concerned about the temperature issue.

Basically what she wants is a conservatory that's house temperature, so she can spend her days out there over the coming winter while she sorts through the clutter indoors. Steady temperature, not the freezing-in-winter, roasting-in-summer she currently gets.

Opinions? Is there a particular kind of glass or material that's more suited to what she wants?

Thanks.

Davesnave

nikirushka wrote: »

Basically what she wants is a conservatory that's house temperature, so she can spend her days out there over the coming winter while she sorts through the clutter indoors. Steady temperature, not the freezing-in-winter, roasting-in-summer she currently gets.

Basically, what she wants is impossible.

Building regulations don't apply to conservatories because they tend to leak heat like a sieve and cannot comply.

If it were so easy to get a heat efficient building as cheaply as a conservatory, we'd all do it and save the bother of getting our extensions past the building regs for heat loss.

That said, there are glass roofs that reflect more light/heat, so they warm up more slowly and lose heat a little less fast, but they won't turn a conservatory into an all-year, anytime structure.

https://www.pilkington.com/en-gb/uk/products/product-categories/solar-control

nikirushka

I know it's impossible, I'm just trying to steer her to the best option for what she's already got - unless knocking down and starting again would be the best option, of course.

Davesnave

It's very difficult to say without seeing the site and the construction of what she has.

I'm currently building a replacement conservatory, which will have an insulated floor, insulated cavity walling and a blue glass roof like the one in the link. I won't be heating it though, or expecting to be in it every day. It backs onto a room where I run a wood burner most of the time in winter, so if the weather's OK, I'll just open up the doors. That's what I did with the last one.

Your friend might be better off with a solid-roofed garden room, but it will cost more and might make the room behind dark. That would depend on availability of other light sources. I'm sticking with a conservatory because I want excellent light levels in my living room.

nikirushka

Right, ok. Have relayed info. She doesn't want a tile roof, it would be too dark and with how old what she's already got is, would most likely be too heavy so a rebuild would be required.

I'm now looking at heating options for her, including special blinds. Possibly she may still need a more efficient replacement roof but she's currently thinking she'd like to repair what's there (some leaking down the house wall from the seals along the polycarbonate) then install a heating system of some kind. She'd like underfloor but that appears to be very inefficient, so I've said I'll find out what the various options are. She's got no room for a proper radiator really so it would need to have its own system rather than being plumbed into the central heating.

Now I may be going crazy, but, is there such a thing as an aircon system that both heats and cools? For some reason I think there is but that may just be my brain going wonky with trying to sift through the mountains of info out there!

Alternatively, someone's just mentioned special blinds that help regulate temperature to go under the roof, alongside some heating for the winter. Thoughts?

scooo

What you're thinking of is a reverse cycle air conditioner
https://www.saturnsales.co.uk/Mitsubishi-SRK25ZMP-S-Air-Conditioner.html?gclid=CKLMyPnDuc4CFRVmGwodeT4EEg

Alternatively you can look at a composite tiled roof which is much lighter however it may still contravene building regs.
Or a livinroof, these are a really nice compromise but the price is steep:

http://www.ultraframe-conservatories.co.uk/solid-roofs/livinroof/

Lorian

My conservatory roof is triple wall polycarb, 17 years old and doesn't appear to have degraded much at all - are you sure the current stuff needs replacing?

magn8p

@Nikirushka - sorry for interrupting the flow of your post.

@Davesnave - I have similar requirements to Nikirushka's friend, but I am planning to build a new Northeast facing 5m x 3m conservatory. The initial thought was to go with a tiled roof, but users like Furts warned me about potential issues.

So, I have decided to go ahead with something like this, to ensure there is enough sun and ventilation. I am also going to opt for under floor heating and intend to use the room most part of the year except very cold winters.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByzZtpskPzlFVXBaSU5TcUVtdXc/view?usp=sharing

Please can you tell me how much would a 5m x 3m conservatory like above cost?

Davesnave

magn8p wrote: »

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByzZtpskPzlFVXBaSU5TcUVtdXc/view?usp=sharing

Please can you tell me how much would a 5m x 3m conservatory like above cost?

I'm sorry I can't, exactly. I can only tell you about mine. You might infer a price for yours, but details of the spec will make a difference.

My new conservatory is 7.5m x 3.5m approx and it also has a porch section 3m x 1.8m. It will sit on dwarf walls about 450mm high. The conservatory co are charging me £13 500 to include a gutter in aluminium which will collect from the whole of the rear roof.

I'm building everything from the groundworks up for the conservatory to sit on. Materials are in the region of £1500 and there will be some labour from a builder friend.

I expect it to cost around £18000, but it could be slightly more if I go for an expensive flooring option.

I like the style of the conservatory in your picture, but it isn't obvious where the ventilation is. Obviously there will be a higher cost in building the two end walls if they're in brick to match the house.

bouncydog1

Our conservatory is open plan to our kitchen (with full building control approval). We are replacing all of the glass with pilkington glass including all of the windows, rather than just the roof. We are also insulating the dwarf walls, installing an underfloor heating wet system and insulating all of the floors. We will be using it all of the year round.

However, costwise, we could have replaced it with a proper extension for less, but didn't want to lose the light. The replacement works are costing more than the original structure!

nikirushka

No problem magn8p!

Lorian - possibly not. She'd got it into her head that it needed doing but now we're thinking she might be able to repair what's there and then just do the heating/cooliing options instead. The polycarbonate needs resealing by the house as there are water stains on the wall and it's got muck inside it.

I've spoken to a friend who's suggested a Fischer radiator and decent blinds for the roof, so I'll run that by her tomorrow.

Scooo - thanks very much, nice to know I'm not going nuts and it does exist! Not so good on power usage though, but the Fischer above looks really good.