Flooring a Conservatory

Makhaira · 20 May 2014 at 11:54

Right, in a few weeks I'm going to be happy owner of a conservatory, albeit one where the floor is left as a trowelled concrete base finish.

Temperature fluctuations shouldn't be as extreme as some conservatories as it's going to be insulated on the base and dwarf walls, and it's A4 glass throughout with that level of solar reflectivity on it to help against the room getting ridiculously hot. That said, it's still going to vary a fair bit just from the nature of what it is.

The choice then, is what to floor it with.

Carpet - No. Just no.
Ceramic tiles - Traditional option, could lay myself, relatively cheap, hard wearing, but on the downside they'll be very cold if the sun isn't out in my experience.
Laminate/Wood - Would be nice in terms of warmth, but I'm worried about the level of contraction/expansion and resultant gaps given the variation in temperature in the room.
Toughened Vinyl (Karndean/Flotex) - On the face of it they seem like a great technical option, but an eyewatering price per metre when you've accounted for fitting and screeding.
Polished concrete - Not something I've ever seen in a conservatory, but a couple of people have mentioned it to me now. Not convinced it will look right though.

Any and all suggestions/advice welcome!

Bunka · 20 May 2014 at 12:57

Stone/Ceramic tiles with underfloor heating. Covers all bases.

Adam · 20 May 2014 at 13:03

I don't believe underfloor heating is recommended in conservatories due to heat loss. Maybe someone knows more?

Bunka · 20 May 2014 at 13:52

You could be right, however I've read in the past that underfloor heating is better than conventional radiators in conservatories. This is due to the fact that the heat is spread evenly across the room rather than a single radiator emitting heat that rises in one place.

Even if a radiator is used as well, the underfloor heating will take the chill off the tiles. I've seen a fair few summer rooms / conservatories doing exactly this.

Makhaira · 20 May 2014 at 14:21

I'm passing on underfloor due to the nightmare if I get issues, plus the cost. I wear thick socks anyways!

kefkef · 21 May 2014 at 16:16

Underfloor heating with tiles. My conservatory is just tiles on a concrete base, it gets that cold in there during winter that to be comfortable we need to have an electric storage heater on for a couple of days if we are going to use the place for entertaining.

boxman2000 · 22 May 2014 at 08:13

I would go tiles but don't write off polished concrete, done right it can look like marble!

mattyg · 22 May 2014 at 08:54

Makhaira said:
I'm passing on underfloor due to the nightmare if I get issues, plus the cost. I wear thick socks anyways!

Electric UFH isn't that expensive and works really well.

Back in the day radiators where placed under windows, Because some people thought that as its the coldest place its best to put the radiator there.

In fact they placed radiators there because its generally the only wall where nothing will be placed against. And having a radiator under a window is just daft. Most of the heat will be lost due to the glass directly above it.

UFH Electric or wet. spreads the heat evenly throughout. Turn your radiators off and see how long it is before it cools down.

If I turn my e-UFH off it takes several hours before the floor feels cold.

I have a bathroom with 3 outside walls but since having UFH you wouldn't know..Its nice and toasty and costs less than 10p per day but can be as low as 1p per sqm