Open plan conservatory

WIAWSNB

KittyCat246 said:

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?

Yes, go lightweight, so  possibly even the existing aluminium rafters can be used. Or, you may be advised to go a bit beefier. (A DIYed system would almost certainly retain the existing).
 You can get exterior 'tile' finished sheets, so it doesn't even have to look a compromise. (What is your main house roof covering? Any chance of a pic of the outside of the house showing the roof and Connie?)
When someone comes to buy your house in the future, they will have an improved building with significantly better insulation. I cannot imagine anyone is going to question the new insulated roof, or even ask for a BC completion cert. But, if they do, an indemnity policy would be peanuts for this sort of infinitesimally unlikely action by BC.
For your buyer, it would be, "What would you prefer - a polycarb roof, or this?" A no-brainer.

stuart45

Are you sure the house was built in 2006?

silvercar

If the house was originally built with this opening, then the opening would have been approved as part of the sign off to the house. 

I doubt any replacement to the roof would require any consents, provided you don’t make the insulation less effective.
(Worst case, the builder describes the work as repairs rather than replacement)

born_again

stuart45 said:

Are you sure the house was built in 2006?

You looking at the ceiling?

stuart45

born_again said:

stuart45 said:

Are you sure the house was built in 2006?

You looking at the ceiling?

Yes, I was amongst other things. The OP said there was zero insulation in the roof space. Also in 2006, although the regs weren't as strict as now for heat loss, there would need to be a lot of trade offs in the rest of the house to get that roof on a bay window passed.

WIAWSNB

KittyCat246 said:

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.

As said by others, the 2006 date doesn't make much sense.
Are there any other almost your design of house? If so, what do they have on that side of their house - windows? Patio doors? A combination?

KittyCat246

WIAWSNB said:

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. 

That's interesting to know! Thanks so much for your advice 😊 I'm feeling a little more optimistic now!

TELLIT01

That room looks quite dark now and it will be considerably darker once a solid roof in installed.  We had the roof of our conservatory replaced with a solid one but retained one fully glazed roof section.  The room is now far more useable but I certainly wouldn't want to lose the doors between the house and the conservatory.  Even with the new roof the conservatory does get up to 10c hotter than the rest of the house.  The conservatory does have a pitched roof, so there is a larger glass area, and it faces west so gets all the afternoon sun.  The roof we went for required a full replacement of the old roof, including the rafters and certainly wasn't a DIY job.