Will a 400mm foundation take the load of a GRP roof ?

Davesnave

stator wrote: »

You shouldn't be heating a conservatory. Whoever fitted a radiator into a conservatory was breaking building regulations

Depends how it's heated. You're not supposed to extend a wet central heating system into a conservatory.

But it might not be necessary anyway. We have a wide set of exterior doors between our living room & conservatory and often, even in winter, the conservatory can add solar heat to the house during the day, so they're frequently opened-up.

If it's a dull, 'dreich' day like today, we might keep the doors closed, but if it's cold we'll have the woodburner on, so the option to use the extra space exists. Last winter we needed to use it during 'The Beast from the East ' period. The stove can easily cope with heating the conservatory in addition the other living areas, and as it costs us very little to run on our own wood, it's a perfect solution.

Obviously, circumstances vary widely. Just sticking a GRP roof on an old, badly-built structure might not give the sort of results the OP wants, which is why I suggested experimenting before committing to it. As a room used every day, it might be very disappointing and expensive to keep comfortable.

Doozergirl

Typhoon2000 wrote: »

Yeah right, my house must fail every single building regulation going being built before such things existed.
I have the doors in the garage to back on if every looking like the place is going to fall down from the cowboy builders.

Like I said, no point in having the regulations then.

Feel free to do what you like, but if you're on a board with professionals who care about building standards and are bored with reading about failed building projects because people seem to expect things to go wrong, don't expect an easy ride when you're blatantly flouting the rules.

Thankfully there's enough work out there for those who take pride in a job well done.

Typhoon2000

Doozergirl wrote: »

Like I said, no point in having the regulations then.

Feel free to do what you like.

Regulations that say I should keep the doors between the conservatory closed or if I don’t want it closed, I have to have it open and place all the time? Err there is no such regulation. Go read up.


Yes I am free and happy with no unwanted obstruction between my rooms.

Doozergirl

Typhoon2000 wrote: »

Regulations that say I should keep the doors between the conservatory closed or if I don’t want it closed, I have to have it open and place all the time? Err there is no such regulation. Go read up.


Yes I am free and happy with no unwanted obstruction between my rooms.

Regulations say that in order to be exempt from regulations and classed as an *outbuilding* there should be an external quality door separating the conservatory from the house.

If you remove the doors then it is an *extension* and it should meet certain quality standards. Your *extension* will meet virtually none of the standards laid out.

It isn't something to brag about.

Typhoon2000

What if I open the doors? Is that allowed? Do I have to close them in the evenings? Remove the door for cleaning, is that allowed. How long can I have the doors off? What do the regulations say?

The conservatory was already there and I have a building control certificate. Yes it has radiators too.

I windened the opening. I got building control certificate for the work done.

What “quality standards” do my house have to meet ( never mind the conservatory/ extension). As it’s old I bet it meets none of them. I am not bragging that my house probably fails all the “ quality standards”. I am asking why removing the doors rather than keeping them open would bother me / make my house unsafe? Oh and my single glazed windows certainly don’t have a FENSA certificate.

I am just applying some common sense. Building regulations change all the time. Just because something does not meet the current standards does mean it’s unsafe or all wrong. I appreciate as a builder you have to follow regulations and can’t always apply common sense.

EachPenny

Typhoon2000 wrote: »

What if I open the doors? Is that allowed? Do I have to close them in the evenings? Remove the door for cleaning, is that allowed. How long can I have the doors off? What do the regulations say?

The conservatory was already there and I have a building control certificate. Yes it has radiators too.

I windened the opening. I got building control certificate for the work done.

What “quality standards” do my house have to meet ( never mind the conservatory/ extension). As it’s old I bet it meets none of them. I am not bragging that my house probably fails all the “ quality standards”. I am asking why removing the doors rather than keeping them open would bother me / make my house unsafe? Oh and my single glazed windows certainly don’t have a FENSA certificate.

I am just applying some common sense. Building regulations change all the time. Just because something does not meet the current standards does mean it’s unsafe or all wrong. I appreciate as a builder you have to follow regulations and can’t always apply common sense.

If it isn't a big deal, then why did you wait until you had the BC signoff before then removing the doors?

Typhoon2000 wrote: »

My house came with a light weight tiled roof and insulated and plastered ceiling in the conservatory which is 5m x 4m. It already had radiators in it and is perfectly useable all year round. We widened the opening from the kitchen to the conservatory and took off the new doors once building control signed off the work.

Doozergirl

I don't have to follow building regulations at all. The responsibility for following them belongs to the homeowner and goodness knows people on these boards know how to purchase indemnity policies. Building Regulations do change. They improve. They are a minimum standard. Why would I want to employ anything less than the minimum standard? Why would I want to work for anybody that wanted me to employ less than the minimum standard?

Houses weren't built to modern regulations, but we all make improvements to make them safer and warmer and there are standards that apply for those improvements too. Not many people live in houses with no plumbing, an outdoor loo, single glazing with ice on the insides, no central heating, no insulation anymore. Each of those improvements is governed by a standard.

I apply common sense every day. By building things that are made to last, by improving upon what has gone before, by ensuring that people's investments are safe, by taking some responsibility for our planet and attempting to "conserve" energy. By doing things once and properly - spending on the fabric first.

The building regulations (none) that apply to a conservatory apply to a shed. If employing common sense means employing people who operate with low standards then I'll carry on operating with no common sense.

The idea of a conservatory is that it isn't connected to the central heating system so that the doors stay shut when they need to be shut - when significant energy is needed to heat it.

We can build houses now that require virtually no heating at all. The regulations don't come anywhere close to that - we don't demand what we're capable of creating. Improving building stadards is common sense, not dismissing building regulations because we used to build draughty old boxes. We can set higher standards for ourselves.

Bandia

The current roof is nothing but plastic panels, so there is no structure on the top what so ever to place the Kingspan. I am intending to brick up the existing walls with some more brick work and add large sized windows. As the current walls are cavity walls, when I get rid of the current 20 year old windows I am hoping that I can insert quality insulation all around the walls. Idea is have a thick underlay and carpet on the current tiled flooring and to pray for the GRP roof to do its job with out any problems around the 400 mm foundation.

I live in Ashford Middlesex area and I was told by a builder that the bungalows we live in here don't have foundations greater than 500mm when they were originally built in 1930 (really unsure how true that can be) but if he happens to be right, I wouldn't have to worry too much about GRP roof on 400mm foundations.

Bandia

Typhoon2000 wrote: »

Yeah right, my house must fail every single building regulation going being built before such things existed.
I have the doors in the garage to back on if every looking like the place is going to fall down from the cowboy builders.

What's the foundation beneath your conservatory ?

Typhoon2000

Bandia wrote: »

What's the foundation beneath your conservatory ?

I am sorry I don’t know, didn’t built it but it’s been here over 20yrs and the roof at least 5yrs. The tiled Floor that must weigh more than the roof, never mind the dinning table and all the other furniture people have in their conservatories these days.