Conservatory Questions: Steel base - Yes/No? Glass roof - Yes/No?

GuiltyCol

Hi all, I'm looking at getting my first conservatory and have a couple of questions that I'm hoping people with experience of their own conservatories will be able to answer please:

1) If your conservatory used a steel base (rather than a "proper" foundation), e.g. ConservaBase, Instabuild, Durabase, Easybase etc, how has it stood the test of time?  Has your conservatory shifted / subsided at all in the X number of years you've had it?  Would you do another conservatory using a steel base again?

2) Did a glass roof make your conservatory too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter? Have you had it replaced with a tiled roof?  Does your answer change if you use the new self cleaning, blue tint solar control glazing you can get?

Thanks in advance. 

Rosa_Damascena

I can't speak about the steel base as I don't have one, but I would be reluctant to go down that route when I know that solid foundations are standard practice.

As for roofs, its the old polycarbonate ones that are the culprits of extreme micro-climates. I have one in my large south-facing conservatory and the thermometer that sits in the corner regularly exceeds the limits of its scale, ie 50 degrees C. I'm planning to have the whole structure enlarged into a brick built orangery and that means foundations deep enough for a double storey, an insulated flat roof and tinted glass lanterns so the room can be used in all weathers and temperatures. If I feel a little chilly in the summer  shall just gravitate towards one of the many windows and catch some rays.

fenwick458

get an orangery. conservatories are dreadfully tacky bits of rubbish that detract from the value of a house, need replacing every 15 years, and are too hot in summer and too cold in winter.
or as a compromise, get a solid roof on your conservatory

Jonesya

My relatives have a conservatory with a glass roof and it does suffer from very high temperatures in the summer and is quite cold in the winter, so it's a less usable space than say a normal extension, so you need to be prepared for this and certainly have a ceiling fan, roof windows and even blinds or other coverings.

Not sure about it needing replacing every 15 years, they had a good quality UPVC conservatory fitted and it remains in excellent condition.

Personally, I'd look at having an extension with lots of windows and roof lights,to make it bright and airy, with enough wall and insulation so it's a usable space all year around, but not a full glass conservatory.

Davesnave

No conservatory is going to behave like a conventional room because its construction is different. Sometimes it's better than a conventional room and at other times, worse. The best times for a conservatory are generally spring and autumn, but if it's built well and faces the right way, winter can be OK too. Light levels in winter are better than anywhere else for a start.

If you build a conservatory with a steel base, will it allow you to put 1000mm of insulation in the floor and will you be able to construct cavity walls with at least 50mm insulation in them? That's what my conservatory has, and they're key to using it all year round, except high summer when it's too warm and I can sit outside anyway.....or in the current heatwave, when I go into the kitchen/diner where it's never above 23c. My guess is that if you are skipping foundations etc the overall build will be cheap and short on opportunities to insulate.

I'm not sure why one poster seems to think the structure will need replacing every 15 years. All my conservatory windows are the same as those fitted to houses and the ones in my last house were fine after 25 years, but the quality of anything may vary.

I have a conservatory on the back of my property because I worked out that any other structure would make the room behind too dark. I have friends who went for garden rooms or covered the glass roof in an attempt to reduce heat gain and all they did was mess up their main living space. I have the blue glass  roof. It's better than the plain ones and much better than polycarbonate, but it doesn't stop the conservatory getting over-warm; tilt and turn windows and roof lights do that.

GuiltyCol

Thanks for the replies all. 

Loanranger21

We replaced our polycarbonate old conservatory roof with a vaulted glass roof. We also replaced the windows and door. We added a pelmet with lights inset. It looks exactly like  an orangery except we don't grow oranges in it. 
We are delighted with it and it is light and bright. We have an electric wall mounted heater for cool days. 
 I love to look up and watch the clouds scudding across the sky. 
I don't know why people are so snobbish about conservatories; done well they serve a specific purpose.