greenhouse to utility room?

bozzy18

Hi, we currently have a wasted space at the back of the house that is inbetween the back of the house and garage - about 7 x 6 foot. It is paved with a manhole.  We were wondering about buying a used greenhouse or conservatory (double glazed?) and use this to cover this space then use it as our utility room thus giving us more room in the kitchen.  There is a W/C on the otherside of the wall so plumbing in hot and cold water should not be too much of problem.  What do you think?  Would welcome thoughts - good and bad please.  Thanks all.

ThisIsWeird

In theory that can be done. But no CH in there, now...

Best a bespoke timber construction? It would surely fit in better, and could be properly insulated. Tho' still no CH...

bozzy18

ThisIsWeird said:

In theory that can be done. But no CH in there, now...

Best a bespoke timber construction? It would surely fit in better, and could be properly insulated. Tho' still no CH...

thanks - does it need CH though?  I'm sure we could run off a radiator from the one off the inside of the house which is literally on the otherside of the wall!

FreeBear

bozzy18 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

In theory that can be done. But no CH in there, now...

Best a bespoke timber construction? It would surely fit in better, and could be properly insulated. Tho' still no CH...

thanks - does it need CH though?  I'm sure we could run off a radiator from the one off the inside of the house which is literally on the otherside of the wall!

The minute you plumb in a radiator, it becomes a habitable space - This brings a whole bunch of compliance requirements in (Building Regulations), and may need planning permission.

Assuming you don't want to dig up the paving to put in foundations (for a dwarf wall), then I'd go for an insulated timber construction and use (reclaimed ?) double glazed windows. Don't go for a greenhouse - They get ruddy cold during the winter, and are far from draught proof or water tight.

Nobbie1967

Rather than an old greenhouse or conservatory which would probably look pretty manky, what about using SIPS to make a structure linking the back wall of the kitchen to the garage wall?

https://www.sipsdirect.co.uk/product/219mm-panel/

Soot2006

I have a room like that; I consider it a indoor outdoor room as in, I accept it will never be 100% water tight and will always be quite cold in winter and hot in summer ... BUT within those parameters I really love having the space. Have decorated it nice and bright, have ventilation so it's not damp. I have a lovely old butcher's block that I use as an additional work surface + I've now installed the machine in there as well, albeit under it's own waterproof shelf .. I think it can be done cheap and fun and be a useful space, or it can be done "properly" and be a VERY useful space

bozzy18

Nobbie1967 said:

Rather than an old greenhouse or conservatory which would probably look pretty manky, what about using SIPS to make a structure linking the back wall of the kitchen to the garage wall?

https://www.sipsdirect.co.uk/product/219mm-panel/

thanks for this suggestion - the maximum width though is 1.2m and it would need to be at least 1.8m wide.

bozzy18

FreeBear said:

bozzy18 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

In theory that can be done. But no CH in there, now...

Best a bespoke timber construction? It would surely fit in better, and could be properly insulated. Tho' still no CH...

thanks - does it need CH though?  I'm sure we could run off a radiator from the one off the inside of the house which is literally on the otherside of the wall!

The minute you plumb in a radiator, it becomes a habitable space - This brings a whole bunch of compliance requirements in (Building Regulations), and may need planning permission.

Assuming you don't want to dig up the paving to put in foundations (for a dwarf wall), then I'd go for an insulated timber construction and use (reclaimed ?) double glazed windows. Don't go for a greenhouse - They get ruddy cold during the winter, and are far from draught proof or water tight.

FreeBear said:

bozzy18 said:

ThisIsWeird said:

In theory that can be done. But no CH in there, now...

Best a bespoke timber construction? It would surely fit in better, and could be properly insulated. Tho' still no CH...

thanks - does it need CH though?  I'm sure we could run off a radiator from the one off the inside of the house which is literally on the otherside of the wall!

The minute you plumb in a radiator, it becomes a habitable space - This brings a whole bunch of compliance requirements in (Building Regulations), and may need planning permission.

Assuming you don't want to dig up the paving to put in foundations (for a dwarf wall), then I'd go for an insulated timber construction and use (reclaimed ?) double glazed windows. Don't go for a greenhouse - They get ruddy cold during the winter, and are far from draught proof or water tight.

good point - its only to house the washing machine and tumble dryer so it probably doesn't matter about heating in there.  we do not want to add foundation - there is already paving slabs which should be sufficient.  we were thinking of glass roof because of the sunlight.

bozzy18

Soot2006 said:

I have a room like that; I consider it a indoor outdoor room as in, I accept it will never be 100% water tight and will always be quite cold in winter and hot in summer ... BUT within those parameters I really love having the space. Have decorated it nice and bright, have ventilation so it's not damp. I have a lovely old butcher's block that I use as an additional work surface + I've now installed the machine in there as well, albeit under it's own waterproof shelf .. I think it can be done cheap and fun and be a useful space, or it can be done "properly" and be a VERY useful space

fantastic - that is what we were thinking.  look for second hands or giveaways sink, worktop to go over the washing machine and tumble dryer and put up some shelves and possibly some cupboards as well.  keep costs as low as possible.

Jonboy_1984

bozzy18 said:

good point - its only to house the washing machine and tumble dryer so it probably doesn't matter about heating in there.  

Just beware that heat pump dryers really need to be in a room above 10 degrees C to work effectively (some have a slightly lower temp specified in the manual).

ka7e

Most condensing tumble driers require a minimum temp of 5-10 degrees to operate properly. You will also need to insulate all water pipes to your washing machine to protect against freezing. Maybe a greenhouse "frost protection" heater might be appropriate.