Putting a tiled roof on a conservatory

Hussman

Hussman

Hussman

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I have a fairly large conservatory, which is about 20 years old.

As with many conservatories, it is too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter.

It currently has a glass roof (not perspex), some of the panes have blown and it leaks a little too.

I have been considering a new roof, and think a tiled roof, or similar, might be the way to go.

Apparently these are better insulated, thus making the space more usable also, as well, it gives more privacy as neighbours can't look in as easily.

I can see some positives, but my big concern is the amount of light I will lose. I love natural light and am concerned an opaque roof will reduce the amount of light entering my property (not just the conservatory) very significantly.

Anyone had this done, if so, what's your experience?

Thanks in advance.
 
I've not done this, but yes, it will reduce the light by a lot. Also consider the additional weight that tiles may bring vs the original glass and check it's built to take that.
What about some sort of frosted glass instead, allows diffused light but maintains most of the privacy.
 
I'm not so worried about the privacy, more about making the room more usable in the summer and winter.

The lack of light is a factor though...

I assume there are no build regs about this, don't need planning etc?
 
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I'm not sure slate/shingle is any better insulating than proper double glazing tbh!
 
Fair comment, although as I said, some of the glass panes have blown, so I suspect they offer little in the way of insulation.
 
You'd have to check your local council regs.

A non glass roof would allow the installation of some insulation but whether it'd make a huge difference I'm not so sure.
 
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I don't think they tend to put 'proper' tiled roofs on conservatories. Instead they do an insulated lighter solid roof - that's what we've got on our conservatory anyway, and the temperature is significantly better than any I've been in with a plastic or glass roof. Basically a couple of degrees different to the lounge it's attached to at most.

The room itself is still extremely bright in the day. But the lounge is dim, I have to admit. But then - I'm not sure it was so much better when the conservatory had a perspex roof on it (although we got it replaced very shortly after we moved in, so I might not be 100% correct).
 
Hussman said:
Fair comment, although as I said, some of the glass panes have blown, so I suspect they offer little in the way of insulation.
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For sure - I have replaced a bunch of blown units (my house, my mums) and it has made a huge difference.

I am always slightly "anti" fixed roofs on conservatories as they totally block light into the adjoining room :(
 
They sell specific light weight insulated roof's for conservatories. They are not 'tiled', they normally use asphalt shingles which look like tiles which are very light.

It will make the room considerably warmer in the spring and autumn and cooler in the summer. The insulation levels in the roof will not be far off good house levels but how well it trains heat will depend on how insulated the walls and floor are.

If you heat it, it will retain the heat far better than a glass/plastic roof but your milage will vary.

We have one on our house but its built far more like an extension with a light weight roof than a conservatory with a insulated roof. Only about 35% of the walls are glass, all the solid walls are double skin and insulated, as is the floor. It's actually very good at sustaining a sensible temperature 24/7 late March to mid October without any additional heating/cooling. We don't heat it in winter unless we need the extra space.
 
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b0rn2sk8 said:
They sell specific light weight insulated roof's for conservatories. They are not 'tiled', they normally use asphalt shingles which look like tiles which are very light.

It will make the room considerably warmer in the spring and autumn and cooler in the summer. The insulation levels in the roof will not be far off good house levels but how well it trains heat will depend on how insulated the walls and floor are.

If you heat it, it will retain the heat far better than a glass/plastic roof but your milage will vary.

We have one on our house but its built far more like an extension with a light weight roof than a conservatory with a insulated roof. Only about 35% of the walls are glass, all the solid walls are double skin and insulated, as is the floor. It's actually very good at sustaining a sensible temperature 24/7 late March to mid October without any additional heating/cooling. We don't heat it in winter unless we need the extra space.
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That's been my experience since having our conservatory roof tiled last summer. It was cooler in the summer, and it retains heat much better in the winter. Without the radiator on, it's obviously still cold, but it's extended the usable range without heating by a few months. It also helps to keep the back lounge warmer and we use it as a heat source when the sun is shining. As for light levels, we haven't noticed much difference, as the ceiling is white, and we also have a velux window in the lounge. You can have a velux put into a tiled conservatory roof, but we didn't feel we needed it.
 
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Hussman said:
I'm not so worried about the privacy, more about making the room more usable in the summer and winter.

The lack of light is a factor though...

I assume there are no build regs about this, don't need planning etc?
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Does the room have heating? Lots of glass panels naturally means it'll lose more heat than through a normal brick wall. I would put in a decent sized radiator and just accept that it will be colder than the rest of the house.

As for cooling it in the summer, only options really are to either have the glass roof tinted, or to put up blinds.
 
We have a brick built sun room with a tiled roof. It's all open plan to the kitchen diner and is only slightly cooler than the rest of the house in winter. Still plenty of light as there are plenty of windows. Find it a much more useful room than a conservatory with a glass roof.
 
Semple said:
Does the room have heating? Lots of glass panels naturally means it'll lose more heat than through a normal brick wall. I would put in a decent sized radiator and just accept that it will be colder than the rest of the house.

As for cooling it in the summer, only options really are to either have the glass roof tinted, or to put up blinds.
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When it was built (20+ years ago) it had underfloor heating installed, but that's too costly to run now.

Anyone had the "tiled roof" option done? If so, what's your views? Would you recommend etc?
 
One of the best things I did to my house. Conservatory was always used as the Dining Room as when built we took out the back patio door and window so it was kind of a full room with the kitchen. Decided a couple of years ago that I hated it, always too hot or cold, so took the plunge. Opted for a company that specialised in them. That way there is warranty and they sort all the paperwork out. We also took the back wall of the house down at the same time to make a larger open plan kitchen/diner. It is now a useable room all year round. We put a proper radiator in it when we built it so now its the same temp as the kitchen. Only advice I can give you is to go with a timber construction rather than aluminium. They breath better and I've heard story's about the aluminium ones 'sweating' and causing damp issues
 
I recommended a solid but light insulated roofed conservatory with wall heaters to my parents a few years ago and it's been amazing. We use it for family meals once or twice a month.

It was done by a conservatory company.

It's not tiled though and when retrofitting an existing conservatory, a tiled roof will be too heavy.
 
pommy02 said:
One of the best things I did to my house. Conservatory was always used as the Dining Room as when built we took out the back patio door and window so it was kind of a full room with the kitchen. Decided a couple of years ago that I hated it, always too hot or cold, so took the plunge. Opted for a company that specialised in them. That way there is warranty and they sort all the paperwork out. We also took the back wall of the house down at the same time to make a larger open plan kitchen/diner. It is now a useable room all year round. We put a proper radiator in it when we built it so now its the same temp as the kitchen. Only advice I can give you is to go with a timber construction rather than aluminium. They breath better and I've heard story's about the aluminium ones 'sweating' and causing damp issues
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Could you share their name with me perhaps?
 
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