Conservatory Confusion?! What is allowed.

jake_shakey

Hi,

I've got such conflicting answers about my conservatory status and what I can, and can not do. We bought the property 18 months ago, with a conservatory which has a dining room at one side, and a kitchen extension at the other, the three rooms forming an L with the conservatory in the middle.

This has central heating radiator connected to main boiler, and french doors leading into it, although these are by no means thermal, external grade, they're thin wood and single glazed glass. According to the conservatoryland [dotcom] website blog "do-i-need-planning-permission-for-a-conservatory-with-a-radiator/" (too new to post links) it says "by law, your conservatory becomes a home extension". Does this mean I'm free to remove these doors with no issues? I'd also consider putting a light weight roof on.

Has anyone had experience with this? The layout works so well if opened up as a large social space, and thanks to the radiator we use it all year round. We're looking to improve market appeal to move in 3-4 years.

Owain_Moneysaver

No, the opposite.

Under Building Regulations new habitable space (extension) must comply with thermal insulation and other requirements and if you are converting a conservatory into a room you will go through the Building Regulations process.

The exemption from Building Regs from a conservatory only apply if the conservatory is separated from the habitable rooms by exterior grade doors and any heating is separately controlled (among other requirements).

Aylesbury_Duck

In my experience people do as they please. I inherited the same layout and bulldozed a very old aluminium-framed, single-glazed conservatory and replaced it with a decent one. I chose to maintain segregation from the dining room and kitchen with proper doors because we only use the conservatory eight months of the year and I see no point in heating the atmosphere more than I need to, but we have friends in similar houses who’ve opened theirs up into open-plan areas with no consequences (other than higher heating bills). The problem comes when they want to sell, because it will arise on a survey that it doesn’t comply with regs.