Our conservatory roof needs replacing

Greasbygirl

Our conservatory roof needs replacing and we have been researching various options. I would like to keep the height and light as it forms part of the kitchen but runs the length of the back of the house which also includes a living room.It has solid walls at each end and a stud wall separating the kitchen from the living room. Cost is important and we have discounted the 'solid roof' replacements after reviews from various friends and the prohibitive cost for the size of our conservatory. We are currently looking at planitherm glass replacement, does anyone know if this will be considerably warmer/quieter than the current poly-carbonate??

Davesnave

Any double glazed glass roof is going to improve on your polycarb one.

As to whether a particular brand will be a great option is another matter, bearing in mind the cost of installation/projected payback. There are various brands and coatings to choose from, but windows are not the most transparent (!) of matters on which to find hard comparative data from unbiased sources. Shark-infested water, conservatories!

Many people, me included, would tell you that not being able to shut the conservatory off from the rest of the house in cold weather is a serious design fault which no fancy glass will remediate. However if you have to live with that arrangement, then money spent on replacing the polycarb will be worth it, provided the rest of the structure is likely to last another 10 years+.

Furts

Glass should be quieter, but warmth is another matter. You need to measure the thickness of your current polycarb sheets then compare this against whatever sealed unit thickness you are considering fitting. Only you know this, and I cannot crystal ball this.

In long term life and cleaning terms you would be foolish to replace your existing polycarb with a new polycarb roof. But the decision here is bound to come down to costs.

PhilE

If your conservatory is 10 years plus, I'd knock it down and build a proper extension in its place. Unless its walls were built with proper foundations and rain water drainage, ie built to last, its probably not worth the new windows.

SatanicHare

You'll be adding a significant amount of extra weight if you change to glass from poly, make sure the foundations are adequate and extra tie bars are fitted where required. These things are usually built down to a price not over engineered for future upgrades

Silvertabby

When we looked at changing our poly roof to glass the cost (nearly £5K) was more than we wanted to pay, bearing in mind our conservatory was 16 years old.

To cut a long story short, we had the whole shebang knocked back down to foundation level and re-built as a hybrid conservatory/orangery. That cost £9K, just £4K more than the roof alone.

Glass is definitely quieter than poly, and the tint/extra brickwork makes it slightly cooler in summer, which is not a bad thing, and the extra insulation makes it warmer in winter.

Monika333

I can't say about glass, but my husband and I are going to replace our garage roof. We decided to cover it with shingles. As the price is important, we found out that the most inexpensive shingles are asphalt. Also having looked through different websites, I was lucky to find a good source with a guide on how to calculate a roof replacing. It includes the most necessary information that should be taken into account, and I should say, it helped us a lot. I hope it will be helpful for you too!

ytfcmad

If you go down the glass rout get the Planitherm in the laminated version and ask for Krypton gas instead of Argon (if the structure can take the weight) you wont hear a thing compared to the polycarb.