Open plan conservatory

KittyCat246

Hi all! I'm looking for some advice regarding the house my partner and I have bought. Unfortunately we weren't very 'savvy' during the buying process so please don't judge us! ☹️

We moved into this house in November, and our dining room is quite unusual. It's a normal room at one end, with a victorian-style conservatory tacked onto the other end - almost like a huge bay window (picture attached below). However, the roof is polycarbonate and we've really struggled controlling the temperature this year! As a result we're looking into having the polycarbonate roof changed.

My worry is regarding planning permission/building controls, etc. There is no divide between the 'conservatory' and the rest of the room, so this already doesn't meet regulations - I'm worried that if i contact the council for planning permission to have the roof changed, we will get backlash regarding the lack of divide. The house was built (with conservatory) in 2006, and I can see from old rightmove listings that there has been no divide since at least 2015.

I know this is something we should've considered before buying. How do you think we should approach this situation?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

jaybeetoo

If you change the roof, it will probably require Building Regs (ours did) rather than Planning Permission but it depends.  You are unlikely to get Building Regs approval because of the potential heat loss.  Hopefully, the company changing the roof will be able to advise you (if they are reputable).  When you bought the house did your solicitor advise you about Planning and Building Regs for the existing conservatory?

KittyCat246

 jaybeetoo said:

If you change the roof, it will probably require Building Regs (ours did) rather than Planning Permission but it depends.  You are unlikely to get Building Regs approval because of the potential heat loss.  Hopefully, the company changing the roof will be able to advise you (if they are reputable).  When you bought the house did your solicitor advise you about Planning and Building Regs for the existing conservatory?

No, the solicitor didn't mention the conservatory at all. We had a survey done, but they just acknowledged that the conservatory was 'open to the main dwelling and therefore required to perform as part of the habitable space'. I believe the actual conservatory was built with the house in 2006 but I'm not sure whether there was ever a divide between rooms.

I'm sad to hear it's unlikely to be approved - I was really hoping that improving the energy efficiency of the house would be a solid argument! 

The company we are looking at using is well-known locally, they seem kosher. Would my best course of action be to contact them and see what they can advise/offer?

Thanks so much for your help! 😊

Eldi_Dos

Find out what regulations would apply and what work needs doing for it to be considered a large bay window.

QrizB

KittyCat246 said:

 I believe the actual conservatory was built with the house in 2006 but I'm not sure whether there was ever a divide between rooms.

Is your property one of several built to the same pattern as part of a larger development? Are there any neighbouring properties of the same design where you could look and see whether there's a wall with eg. patio doors where your home is open to the conservatory?

Hypothetically, you could put that wall back in  ...

WIAWSNB

Are the windows in that room decent double-glazed units of suitable thickness? If so, then the likely areas of insulation improvement will be mainly the roof, and possibly the dwarf wall.
The latter would be relatively easily sorted using thermal plasterboard, bonded in place, and a deeper window board to suit. Cheap and easy. Very DIYable.
Then there's the roof. Do your research, and make sure you get the most effective - and attractive - system for your money.
Then, personally, I'd just have it done. 
Building Regs are there for the right reason. But sometimes it's bonkers. Your current setup is awful - a terrible loss of heat in winter, and possible overheating on sunny days. And yet there's nothing that BC can make you do about this - it's far too late for them to take action, even if they wanted to.
So the situation is, if you fit a new insulated roof, you'll be significantly improving the insulation value of your house, but if you first tell them you're doing this, they'll likely insist on silly standards that'll cost a small fortune, and possibly put you off doing the job at all. Nuts.
They can't make you change what you currently have, but if you tell them what you want to do, they could give you a too-high and offputtingly costly bar to reach, so it just doesn't happen.
Think - if you don't tell them, what's the worst that can happen? They somehow find out, and you'd need to partition off that 'bay' to 'conform'. And then remove it once they've gone again.
But that just won't happen - they are not going to be interested in someone improving the roof of a 'connie'. Unless you force them to by telling them...

Mr.Generous

What was the EPC rating when you bought the house?

KittyCat246

QrizB said:

KittyCat246 said:

 I believe the actual conservatory was built with the house in 2006 but I'm not sure whether there was ever a divide between rooms.

Is your property one of several built to the same pattern as part of a larger development? Are there any neighbouring properties of the same design where you could look and see whether there's a wall with eg. patio doors where your home is open to the conservatory?

Hypothetically, you could put that wall back in  ...

Yes, the house was built as part of an estate. There's one other house that's the same design as ours, they have a similar room, but the 'conservatory' is square-shaped and has a solid roof. There's no divide in their house either.

WIAWSNB

Replacing that polycarb roof with a lightweight insulated type is a straightforward job, and doesn't require specialists. It's even a cracking DIY job for those with the necessary skills.
So I'd look beyond those companies who 'specialise' in this, and at local joiners or general builders. See if any have done this before. I bet it'll cost very significantly less.
They may wish to replace the rafters with sturdier timber items, but even that is cheap. Tbh, even basic connie roofs have to withstand wind and potential snow loads; have you ever heard of one being blown off or collapsing? No, not me. 
All you are effectively adding is sheet insulation - featherweight - a finishing layer underneath,  and lightweight sheeting on top. 

KittyCat246

WIAWSNB said:

Are the windows in that room decent double-glazed units of suitable thickness? If so, then the likely areas of insulation improvement will be mainly the roof, and possibly the dwarf wall.
The latter would be relatively easily sorted using thermal plasterboard, bonded in place, and a deeper window board to suit. Cheap and easy. Very DIYable.
Then there's the roof. Do your research, and make sure you get the most effective - and attractive - system for your money.
Then, personally, I'd just have it done. 
Building Regs are there for the right reason. But sometimes it's bonkers. Your current setup is awful - a terrible loss of heat in winter, and possible overheating on sunny days. And yet there's nothing that BC can make you do about this - it's far too late for them to take action, even if they wanted to.
So the situation is, if you fit a new insulated roof, you'll be significantly improving the insulation value of your house, but if you tell them you're doing this, they'll likely insist on silly standards that'll cost a small fortune, and possibly put you off doing the job at all. Nuts.
They can't make you change what you currently have, but if you tell them what you want to do, they could give you a too-high and offputtingly costly bar to reach, so it just doesn't happen.
Think - if you don't tell them, what's the worst that can happen? They somehow find out, and you'd need to partition off that 'bay' to 'conform'. And then remove it once they've gone again.
But that just won't happen - they are not going to be interested in someone improving the roof of a 'connie'. Unless you force them to by telling them...

If I'm honest, I am tempted to do this. We were looking into the insulated panel systems rather than proper tiled roof (because we'll never be able to afford it) and part of me thinks that, if they find out in a few years time e.g. if we sell the house, then we'll just have to accept the loss and take it down. We can't live with it like this.

How much can indemnity insurance cost for these kind of things?

KittyCat246

Mr.Generous said:

What was the EPC rating when you bought the house?

EPC rating was D, score of 62. They didn't mention the conservatory either, their only gripe was 0mm loft insulation which we've fixed.