DIY CONSERVATORIES and DURABASE BASES

woodbutcher_2

Hmmmmm..........first time posters promoting companies again.Haven't we been here before?

woodbutcher_2

Just noticed thread started 3 years ago,dodgy or what?

deanos

:dance: .

mrs_pepperpot_3

lincolnshire..... home of the sausage.......
try crystal canopies..... im going to.... ooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Dylstardelux

??? No, actually I came across the Oct07 post whilst googling the contact details for this company to pass to a friend, then had second thoughts upon reading the forum comments. Try it yourself, this forum comes up when the company name is googled!!! I've since done a bit of digging myself and find the company's no longer trading anyway. No offence meant.....

Steel_2

We're coming towards the end of fitting a conservatory DIY, although we didn't use a Durabase base, and I have to say it was a far more expensive exercise than I thought it would be. Really do your home work on what will be required based on where you will be erecting it. Don't go cheap just for the sake of it - it could come back and bite you later. I've laid out a few of our costs to help give you and anyone interested some idea of what was involved when we did ours.

We built a 13ft by 12ft Edwardian conservatory with a half height, cavity dwarf wall. We bought an ex-display model for £3,000 - an 80% discount over what we would have paid if we'd bought new.

We built on clay which was saturated with water and dug foundations a metre deep and a metre wide to ensure it was well stabilised. This was what the conservatory company recommended and based on the amount of work and money going into the project we decided not to skimp and took their advice. We had around 16 tons of materials (type 1, sand, concrete etc) delivered to fill the hole and put down for the concrete base. The bill for materials and equipment was around £2000. This included hire of concrete mixer for several days, skips and a grab lorry to take away the clay, a DPM and a layer of foam insulation above this and underneath the concrete base.

Don't underestimate the costs of getting rid of the earth you dig out for the foundations. Every local skip company we tried refused to supply any bigger than six yard skips for the clay - any bigger would have caused problems for the lorry trying to pick it up. After five skips we opted for a grab lorry and wished we'd done it from the beginning - it would have saved us a small fortune.

The we paid a labourer to dig out the foundations and base (2 days work ~200), then the bricklayer also cost money as did the cavity insulation and bricks we chose (inside, outside and engineering). We won't be plastering the dwarf wall inside so bought 'nice' bricks to show, but we could have done it ~ £300 cheaper if we did the internal wall with breeze blocks and then plastered). Total cost for that stage of the build was around £1300.

Up went the frame over two days and we got the labourer back to help out with that ~£200. Luckily, he had a steel saw and was kind enough to cut the lead flashing into the brickwork to seal the roof structure to the house wall.

The drains that were needed ~£300 for labour, Acco drains and materials.

Huge amounts of clear, white and also 'damp-proof' brown mastic (our was a wood effect frame) to seal the whole thing ~ £80. I kid you not. I was flabbergasted when hubby wheeled the trolley towards me with all the 'branded' mastic he wanted and it was almost £130. I made him change it all for generic and go to Screwfix and check for cheaper prices.

So what's all that? Nearly £7,000?

I know for a fact we have spent £7,500 so far so there must be lots of other little bits we have bought that have added to the bill. And we still haven't knocked through from the kitchen and inserted french doors yet (we are lucky and were given our doors so that saved us £300). Niether have we put flooring down, put in electrics and heating, or plastered the surface of the weathered outside (now inside) house wall.

Despite all the costs, it's the best thing we've ever done. It has added a bright, light dining room to our house so we can have sit down meals and has transfomed a grotty, flooded north facing area into a lovely space. We can't wait until it's finished.

rayz_x

I'm thinking of doing this in summer, almost identical and about 4.5m by 3m. Have clay soil but don't think it's as wet as yours (hope). Was thinking of getting conservatory from u-fit, or maybe conservatories direct4u. I was going to build the base but it sounds more expensive than I thought. Do you think it's worth putting the insulation in the base? Seems a lot of extra work.
Ray

markie1980

We used to install alot of the Wickes DIY conservatories, untill they stopped selling them due to there supplier going bust.
I believe there are only a few DIY manufacturers that supply most of the retailers ie B&Q and Screwfix conservatories are the same etc.
I have no experience of the steel basework, but personally i would go for a proper, brick built dwarfwall everytime. My baselayer does bases for me at around £1400 all in.

thebaldwindowfitter

rayz_x wrote: »

I'm thinking of doing this in summer, almost identical and about 4.5m by 3m. Have clay soil but don't think it's as wet as yours (hope). Was thinking of getting conservatory from u-fit, or maybe conservatories direct4u. I was going to build the base but it sounds more expensive than I thought. Do you think it's worth putting the insulation in the base? Seems a lot of extra work.
Ray

always seems starnge to me when a post is rekindle after 6 months and company names are mentioned

rayz_x

a6windows wrote: »

always seems starnge to me when a post is rekindle after 6 months and company names are mentioned

Sorry, hope I haven't broken any rules there. I didn't recommend anyone but was looking for feedback - as I said, I am thinking of taking on a major and expensive project. It's difficult to make consumer choices if no-one mentions names surely?

Ray