Conservatory Woes

MoroseMagpie

Hello, First-Time poster here...

So we bought our 2nd House. Moved in beginning of July. We have a beautiful extension on the back that houses the dining room/kitchen. The Dining room is brick and mortar built, but the kitchen is more of a lean-to conservatory structure (My guess is it was originally conservatory use but they decided to put a lovely bespoke built kitchen in there to make it more of a usable space.)
The extension/conservatory is about 15 years old, and we have noticed a few drips emerging from the seals above the top windows along the kitchen counter, dripping down onto the plasterboard 'wall' behind the countertops. Nothing crazy, but enough to start lifting the wallpaper they had there.
So I have had multiple 'Experts' out to quote me for what I thought would need to be a new roof. (Cue the cosyroof sales pitches - Hahaha yeah right, not when they're asking 12-14000 pounds!!!:eek: )
I very quickly grew tired of hearing the same bull**** and sales tactics, so I cancelled all other appointments I had previously booked! However I had an independent guy come out and suggest to me that I may not need a new roof after all, and that the 'leak' is more than likely condensation build-up. The culprit? The UPVC Cladding that is covering the internal ceiling of the kitchen!
He suggested that we remove the cladding and start a process of elimination to rule out condensation as the issue before we fork out close to 7000 for a new glass/polycarb roof...
Sounds sensible to me, but I guess what I want to know is if anyone else has had a similar experience, and if so how we can get around it?
As the room is our kitchen, I don't want to remove the cladding and have a solely glass/poly roof structure, because the heat in the summer will be stifling, not to mention we will lose all the privacy we have currently! (it's a 1950's terrace - everyone around would be able to see in from their upstairs windows!!!) However there is no way on earth that I am prepared to fork out even close to the 12-14000 they are asking for an all-singing all-dancing eco-friendly plaster finished 'cosyroof'!
The only options I can think of currently are:
1) Find a way to keep the cladding and minimise condensation - Surely if we install ventilation/air bricks of some kind between the void area (if there is a void, as all the conservatory professionals seem to be suggesting...) this would help?
2) Pay out for a new Glass roof (the current Poly is a bit of an eyesore-I'll admit), frost the glass out for added privacy and then install some shutter style/electric conservatory blinds to help with temperature.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated at this point. We have a lot of home renovation to get done, new plastering, new bathroom, new skirting and architrave throughout, new upstairs flooring, and this issue has brought us to a bit of a standstill until we can figure out where it will leave us financially!

Thanks!

Aylesbury_Duck

I'd go for the second option but only after you've addressed the underlying issue of water dripping. Actually, I'd replace the whole thing with a proper extension if funds permit (see below).

I'd be surprised if it was condensation at this time of year, given that temperatures are likely to be relatively high. Do you do a lot of cooking and if so, what extraction/ventilation exists? If it is condensation then it is going to get much, much worse when winter arrives so you will need to investigate extraction and ventilation options.

If it isn't condensation (and I have my doubts, but that's without seeing the situation and based only on your description) then it must surely be rainwater. I don't know where you live but in this area (Kent) we've had some strong winds and heavy rain in recent weeks, weather conditions that will seek out the tiniest of gaps. Also, conservatories are cheaply built and it's probable that it's on nothing like the foundation the rest of the house is on so any movement will differ from the main house, which can open up gaps. My guess is that this is what has happened.

Having a kitchen in a conservatory doesn't sound like a great idea and if you're having problems now, I would be concerned about what you'll encounter in winter. You may want to consider changing things in the longer term so maybe a cheaper fix now is the way to go before having it pulled down and a proper extension built at some point.

MoroseMagpie

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

I'd go for the second option but only after you've addressed the underlying issue of water dripping. Actually, I'd replace the whole thing with a proper extension if funds permit (see below).

I'd be surprised if it was condensation at this time of year, given that temperatures are likely to be relatively high. Do you do a lot of cooking and if so, what extraction/ventilation exists? If it is condensation then it is going to get much, much worse when winter arrives so you will need to investigate extraction and ventilation options.

If it isn't condensation (and I have my doubts, but that's without seeing the situation and based only on your description) then it must surely be rainwater. I don't know where you live but in this area (Kent) we've had some strong winds and heavy rain in recent weeks, weather conditions that will seek out the tiniest of gaps. Also, conservatories are cheaply built and it's probable that it's on nothing like the foundation the rest of the house is on so any movement will differ from the main house, which can open up gaps. My guess is that this is what has happened.

Having a kitchen in a conservatory doesn't sound like a great idea and if you're having problems now, I would be concerned about what you'll encounter in winter. You may want to consider changing things in the longer term so maybe a cheaper fix now is the way to go before having it pulled down and a proper extension built at some point.

Yes we are leaning towards option 2 as well I think. I had said to the conservatory companies we had in that I would sooner pay out for a whole new extension than the cost of one of their cosyroofs, as I don't see as it's worth paying that much out to put a brand new roof structure on top of a 15 year old conservatory that will likely need further repairs/support replacements in the near future anyway.
Right now a brick built extension is not a feasible option for us financially, plus I'm not sure it would pay off as an investment when it comes to resale in the future given the street value, however who's to say we might not be in a better position to think about this further down the line!

keith969

I'm afraid if you want a combination of weather proofness, insulation (and the lack of ot in summer) , you might want a fixed roof with velux windows to let light IN. Plastic roofs will leak *and get incredibly hot/cold*.

An independent will be far far cheaper that the chains, go check a few and see their advice.

Mnd

That price seems very high. We just had a 12'square conservatory done with a cosy roof, Inc new frames, Windows double French doors, downlighters for less than that

MoroseMagpie

Mnd wrote: »

That price seems very high. We just had a 12'square conservatory done with a cosy roof, Inc new frames, Windows double French doors, downlighters for less than that

Yeah it's ridiculous money, that's why we told them we wouldn't be going for that option!

MoroseMagpie

keith969 wrote: »

I'm afraid if you want a combination of weather proofness, insulation (and the lack of ot in summer) , you might want a fixed roof with velux windows to let light IN. Plastic roofs will leak *and get incredibly hot/cold*.

An independent will be far far cheaper that the chains, go check a few and see their advice.

I've spoken to 2 independent guys who both said they wouldn't recommend any kind of cosyroof/plastered and tiled structure for what we have. They agreed that for the price of it we might as well just build a whole new one or go for a brick extension.