Conservatory roof replacement - Is this worth it?

flamenco45

Just had a letter “important information about your conservatory” no name or address, so a cold call in effect.
it’s from Greenspace UK who say I can replace the roof of my conservatory with an insulated alternative with a “substantial subsidy”.
So does anyone know
a) is it kosher?
b) is it the best way of getting any government subsidy for roof replacement?
c) is it worth it?

ABrass

flamenco45 said:

Just had a letter “important information about your conservatory” no name or address, so a cold call in effect.
it’s from Greenspace UK who say I can replace the roof of my conservatory with an insulated alternative with a “substantial subsidy”.
So does anyone know
a) is it kosher?
b) is it the best way of getting any government subsidy for roof replacement?
c) is it worth it?

A: Don't think so.

B: No such thing that I know of.

C: Nope.

I believe they replace your existing roof with some Aluminium Composite Material insulation panels. That will reduce heat loss or thermal gain during the summer. It'll also stop any light getting through but that's not automatically a bad thing.

But as for saving money? The panels will probably reduce heat loss during winter, but I'd be amazed if it was cost effective.

Petriix

We replaced a plastic conservatory roof with a properly insulated (130mm of cellotex) warm flat roof. It cost about £1000 to DIY but it was a relatively simple job because there were already structural walls at both sides.

Given that the total heating bill for our entire house is usually under £300, the negligible savings will never pay for the cost so there is definitely no saving. However, it has turned a useless space into a useable room which is well worth the expense.

Ro

Greenspace have terrible hard sell salespeople - a guy came to our house and didn't want to leave without a sale, altering the price by 10k during a brutal hour and a half sales pitch - I virtually had to throw him out in the end. Beware!

johnlake62

We've just had Sagars 365 insulate our conservatory roof. A fraction of the price of replacing with a tiled roof, and makes such a difference to the temperature. Would highly recommend them.

Verdigris

I think you may technically infringe planning regulations. A conservatory, built under Permitted Development, must have a "substantially glazed roof", so changing to a solid panel might land you with problems when you come to sell.

Also, any company that approaches you with a "bargain" will definitely be the winner.

arty688

I think the rules changed , which has spawned this new replacing conservatory roofs industry

Verdigris

arty688 said:

I think the rules changed , which has spawned this new replacing conservatory roofs industry

Interesting. What would define a conservatory, now, to fall within Permitted Development, I wonder? Or does this mean you now have to get PP, whatever?

arty688

I think no fixed heating, I'm not sure though 

QrizB

arty688 said:

I think the rules changed , which has spawned this new replacing conservatory roofs industry

Looks like it changed a little while ago.

From https://www.associatedwindows.co.uk/news/planning-permission-tiled-roof-on-a-conservatory

At the risk of oversimplifying, the answer to ‘do you need planning permission for a conservatory roof’ is no. Planning regulations were changed to allow conservatories to have a tiled/solid roof back in 2010. Prior to their changing, to be exempt from planning permission, conservatories had to have 75% of the roof glazed.

Verdigris

Thanks. I'm sure I read about the glazing requirement in a fairly recent Which? article. Standards are clearly slipping!