Conservatory help

sarahb7538

We have just purchased a house with a brick built conservatory (1 full brick wall, one half full half dwarf and one full glass wall). It has a standard fully glazed roof (no fancy argon filled glass etc). Apprx 3 m x 3.5m

The eventual plan is to take this down and build a full single story extension, but in the meantime i do want to make as much use of the space as possible, as there isnt a huge amount of downstairs space, but its a long term project for us. There is a radiator in it but i know its going to be freezing in the winter, and i already know from our viewings over the summer that is gets hot in there!

Its going to take us a few years to save for the extension so can anyone suggest anything in the short term to help make the space more usable?
I have read about the films you can get for the roof to help with glare and maybe heat deflection / heat loss etc. Has anyone any expereince of these? or any other suggestions people have used.

Thank in advance.

Davesnave

sarahb7538 wrote: »

I have read about the films you can get for the roof to help with glare and maybe heat deflection / heat loss etc. Has anyone any expereince of these? or any other suggestions people have used.

Heat transfer obeys the rules of physics. If insulation was just a matter of applying a film, we'd do that to conventional structures instead of using much thicker materials. Yes, it can help to reflect sunlight, but with a conservatory the key things are ventilation and a realistic idea of what it can do.

With the exception of the roof, our conservatory is built like a conventional extension and faces due south, so we designed in 8m2 of ventilation. We did this so that things in there wouldn't fry, because they would, even with the fancy sunshade glass in the roof.

On hot days, it can still hit 38c, but when it's 28c outside on the patio, an uplift of 10 degrees isn't bad. However, at those times we wouldn't sit on the patio either; we'd be in the north-facing kitchen-diner where it rarely goes above 24c....or under a big tree! It's mostly unrealistic to think of a conservatory as some kind of summer room,unless it faces away from the strongest sunshine.

Where a conservatory comes into its own is from now till about the end of April, and the better built it is the more it can be used. We had Christmas dinner in ours last year, and even when the Beast from the East was blowing, we were still working there. Like you, we've a radiator, but our wood burner in the room behind copes with heating it in daylight hours, or if it's sunny, the heat goes the other way, even in February. We close it up at night.

So, you may find the space more usable than you think, even in the winter, but summer will be more difficult. I know people use blinds to stop sunlight fading materials inside, but to us they're a faff and likely to collect dust and insects, so we just use furniture that can cope with strong light and wide temperature changes. That includes an old church pew, which seems no worse for being in there.

-taff

We have a lean to that's pretty much the same at the moment, and it's unbearably hot in the summer [thank you almost -south facing garden] and freezing in the winter. I put some curtains that were spare in there to attempt to cut out the glare/keep it warmer. It made a slight difference, but not much.

It's good for storing food in the winter. And it's a space to dump things. That's about all that can be said of it.
Personally, unless I had a beautifully positioned conservatory that was just right all year, and had a good heat source in the winter, I really can't see the point of them.
We're just putting up with it until it can get knocked down and turned into a proper extension.

Davesnave

The point of them, as I'm forever pointing-out here, is that in some circumstances, building-on a conventional extension leads either to lost light levels elsewhere, or considerable extra expense making alterations to counteract lost light levels. We've friends with garden rooms that have spoiled their other living space; particularly easy to do in bungalows - and those light tubes don't solve anything.

But I appreciate that everyone isn't at home during the shorter days, as we are, so wouldn't see the same benefit. It's also very hard to get a typical conservatory company to build to a good standard, or if they do, at a sensible price, which is why we built our own base, walls etc. Even then, as we discovered, they can mess-up.

Ant555

Our conservatory is habitable in winter evenings after I purchased an electric patio heater from Amazon and have it in the corner of the conservatory.

one of these...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Firefly-FreeStanding-Resistant-Infared-Electric/dp/B00518NBXE

We dont use it too often but in an evening if I want to watch the TV in there, or if the kids bring their friends round then its warm after 20 minutes or so.

At Christmas time, I open up the bifolds to the conservatory and have the dining table in there.
In summer, it goes back out into the shed as its actually pretty useless as a patio heater outside - but great inside which is the reason I bought it.

We call it 'the triffid'

hope this helps.

-taff

Davesnave wrote: »

The point of them, as I'm forever pointing-out here, is that in some circumstances, building-on a conventional extension leads either to lost light levels elsewhere, or considerable extra expense making alterations to counteract lost light levels.

I did qualify it with 'personally'..

Gloomendoom

Davesnave wrote: »

The point of them, as I'm forever pointing-out here, is that in some circumstances, building-on a conventional extension leads either to lost light levels elsewhere, or considerable extra expense making alterations to counteract lost light levels. We've friends with garden rooms that have spoiled their other living space; particularly easy to do in bungalows - and those light tubes don't solve anything.

Absolutely. We live in an old stone house with thick walls and small window openings. Building a conventional extension with a solid roof on the back of the house would mean we would need to use artificial lighting during the day in our sitting room, hall and kitchen.

What we have planned has a glass roof and one predominantly glass wall. The end wall will be stone and insulated, as will the floor.

Davesnave

-taff wrote: »

I did qualify it with 'personally'..

Yes, sorry, I don't want to come across as dogmatic. I included caveats too, because different approaches are validated by the individual property and its occupants' behaviour.


I wouldn't want to suggest conservatories are the better option in more than a minority of situations. If there are no down-sides and the money's there, most people should go for a solid roofed structure as it'll add more value.

bluewater

We are also moving to a house with a conservatory. It's 25 year's old, large with a polycarbonate roof and tiled floor. But it has a radiator.

We've never lived with a conservatory before. Considered one for our current house (all the neighbours have them) but built an extension instead - lean to 3m deep by 5m. Despite two full length windows and french doors and two very large roof lights the internal room is a bit gloomy, so Davesnave's point is well taken. But if you want to knock through (no doors) then it's the way to go. Lots of threads here about opening up conservatories by removing doors.

But regarding your question - I don't think there's much you can do. Just live with it and see.

Our neighbours use theirs all year with underfloor heating. But they don't care about the bills.

Davesnave

bluewater wrote: »

Our neighbours use theirs all year with underfloor heating. But they don't care about the bills.

Opening-up fully and then accepting higher bills is potentially a long term way of paying as much as it would have cost to have a real extension, but without the uplift in value.


Also may cause problems when selling.

-taff

A bit off topic but daylight bulbs really do make a difference [ used one for years above an easel and then again afterwards above the sewing machine] so if you do have dark areas, more wired lights with those would definitely help.