Considering replacing a conservatory with orangey - any experience?

NickK · 27 Jan 2018 at 20:36

we have a conservatory, with 3/4 wall and 1/4 walls what we’re thinking of doing is getting an extension/orangery then putting a beam to open up the back into it.
We may even move the kitchen to make the back one larger space.

Has anyone done something similar? Any experienced thoughts welcome.

a1ex2001 · 29 Jan 2018 at 05:32

Build a proper extension conservatorys & orangeries are naff.

Relentless81 · 30 Jan 2018 at 07:56

My kitchen is an orangery, absolutely roasting in the summer and damp in the winter, dehumidifer on 24/7.

We bought the house with it and it looks nice but I would never be interested in anything similar again as I'm more of a function over form and minimalistic type of person and an orangery style kitchen is just too much for me. For others they might like it just because it looks nice and be willing to put up with the caveats, it is pretty cool cooking your tea under the stars.

Felix · 30 Jan 2018 at 08:45

NickK said:
we have a conservatory, with 3/4 wall and 1/4 walls what we’re thinking of doing is getting an extension/orangery then putting a beam to open up the back into it.
We may even move the kitchen to make the back one larger space.

Has anyone done something similar? Any experienced thoughts welcome.

Get a proper extension with large skylights.

NickK · 30 Jan 2018 at 10:44

Relentless81 said:
My kitchen is an orangery, absolutely roasting in the summer and damp in the winter, dehumidifer on 24/7.

We bought the house with it and it looks nice but I would never be interested in anything similar again as I'm more of a function over form and minimalistic type of person and an orangery style kitchen is just too much for me. For others they might like it just because it looks nice and be willing to put up with the caveats, it is pretty cool cooking your tea under the stars.

Good point - we have a conservatory that the wife will open the window in the kitchen into (still have the outside wall) and the entire place steams up with condensation. We have the dehumidifier tablet devices to combat that.

One option is to change the layout so that the we switch so there's a kitchen and a larger living space. Extension with skylights is sort of what we're looking at - not a complete glass style orangery for the reason of minimising the 59degC in summer and have some insulation properties in winter. I'd also hope the extension style also facilitates some air flow around too by extending the heating into it - either way I will be fitting a big (over spec'd flow rate) kitchen extractor fan.

Sort of this style.. http://www.croftconservatories.co.u...ry-extension-by-croft-conservatories-preston/ which has more skylights than conservatory style.

If we get this built one thing I may ask for is a little ledge up in the skylights, so we can put dehumidifier tablet things up, so regardless of the situation the warm moist air trapped there will be dried out.

Solus · 30 Jan 2018 at 18:52

We looked at everything, even a conservatory with false insulated ceiling or those new lightweight tiled roofs. Ended up more cost effective just to get a proper extension done, which is what we did.

a1ex2001 · 1 Feb 2018 at 03:13

NickK said:
Good point - we have a conservatory that the wife will open the window in the kitchen into (still have the outside wall) and the entire place steams up with condensation. We have the dehumidifier tablet devices to combat that.

One option is to change the layout so that the we switch so there's a kitchen and a larger living space. Extension with skylights is sort of what we're looking at - not a complete glass style orangery for the reason of minimising the 59degC in summer and have some insulation properties in winter. I'd also hope the extension style also facilitates some air flow around too by extending the heating into it - either way I will be fitting a big (over spec'd flow rate) kitchen extractor fan.

Sort of this style.. http://www.croftconservatories.co.u...ry-extension-by-croft-conservatories-preston/ which has more skylights than conservatory style.

If we get this built one thing I may ask for is a little ledge up in the skylights, so we can put dehumidifier tablet things up, so regardless of the situation the warm moist air trapped there will be dried out.

lol that's not an orangery that's an extension stupid website! Getting that much glass past building regs will be a challenge particularly if you have a modern house.

novaenough · 1 Feb 2018 at 12:35

a1ex2001 said:
lol that's not an orangery that's an extension stupid website! .

Glad it wasn't just me that thought it was an extension.
I suppose an orangery sounds fancier and therefore more expensive

the_r_sole · 1 Feb 2018 at 14:26

a1ex2001 said:
lol that's not an orangery that's an extension stupid website! Getting that much glass past building regs will be a challenge particularly if you have a modern house.

It looks like it would meet the criteria for being classed as a conservatory - so don't be surprised if it still needs thermal separation from the rest of the house for building reg approval and has extremes of temperature just like a traditional conservatory.
An extension with that much glazing as part of the insulation envelope would need some serious spec of glazing (although it's sometimes surprising how poor the english regs are!)

Felix · 1 Feb 2018 at 15:40

the_r_sole said:
It looks like it would meet the criteria for being classed as a conservatory - so don't be surprised if it still needs thermal separation from the rest of the house for building reg approval and has extremes of temperature just like a traditional conservatory.
An extension with that much glazing as part of the insulation envelope would need some serious spec of glazing (although it's sometimes surprising how poor the english regs are!)

Can home owners just remove the thermal seperation once the build is signed off?

the_r_sole · 1 Feb 2018 at 17:14

Felix said:
Can home owners just remove the thermal seperation once the build is signed off?

Course they can, you do whatever you like after BC sign off, only really becomes an issue when selling, and only then if a solicitor picks it up, you'd be amazed at the number of people who remove internal conservatory doors without knowing it means they no longer comply with regs!

NickK · 1 Feb 2018 at 18:15

Hehe true.

The idea is only one set of folding doors; not really much different to an externsion with fancy patio doors

It would probably need classification as an extension so the heat can also be extended into that space.

a1ex2001 · 2 Feb 2018 at 04:16

NickK said:
Hehe true.

The idea is only one set of folding doors; not really much different to an externsion with fancy patio doors

It would probably need classification as an extension so the heat can also be extended into that space.

You can put heat anywhere you like, shed garage etc it stops being a conservatory if it is part of your home and not separated by locking doors or similar.

kefkef · 2 Feb 2018 at 12:18

We had a set of patio doors leading out to a small conservatory. Knocked the conservatory down, opened up the back wall of the house completely with a couple of 2m span of steel and built out 4m back from the rear of the house and 7.5m wide with skylights in the roof. Opened it up into a big kitchen diner and play area for the daughter. You can see the beam at the top of the photo which used to be the back wall of the house.

kefkef · 2 Feb 2018 at 12:23

the_r_sole said:
It looks like it would meet the criteria for being classed as a conservatory - so don't be surprised if it still needs thermal separation from the rest of the house for building reg approval and has extremes of temperature just like a traditional conservatory.
An extension with that much glazing as part of the insulation envelope would need some serious spec of glazing (although it's sometimes surprising how poor the english regs are!)

Friends familly have done pretty mich the same thing with a kitchen inside it, it was classed as an extension and did meet all relevant building regs for sign off. Heat isnt an issue for them but they did have some pretty hefty underfloor heating put in.

a1ex2001 · 2 Feb 2018 at 19:52

kefkef said:
Friends familly have done pretty mich the same thing with a kitchen inside it, it was classed as an extension and did meet all relevant building regs for sign off. Heat isnt an issue for them but they did have some pretty hefty underfloor heating put in.

It's not heat that is the issue but insulation building an extension with large amounts of glass particularly in a relatively moder house can be tricky as you must maintain the overall performance of the building.

a1ex2001 · 2 Feb 2018 at 19:53

kefkef said:
We had a set of patio doors leading out to a small conservatory. Knocked the conservatory down, opened up the back wall of the house completely with a couple of 2m span of steel and built out 4m back from the rear of the house and 7.5m wide with skylights in the roof. Opened it up into a big kitchen diner and play area for the daughter. You can see the beam at the top of the photo which used to be the back wall of the house.

A million times better than any conservatory! Costs more and is loads more hassle butva much better investment! We've just done the side return on our Victorian terrace to make a kitchen dinner/family space with bi folds onto the garden very similar but smaller scale!

kefkef · 2 Feb 2018 at 20:29

We got quotes around £25k for the same size conservatory for a half wall, but that didn’t include any unforeseen costs. The extension was £55k but that was with £15k’ish on the kitchen, solid wood floors etc