Any reason NOT to get a conservatory?

DIY Queen

Hi

Have recently moved house & I'd like to extend the dining room slightly. I think a conservatory may be the most cost effective way to do this.

Anyone know of any reasons why this might be a bad idea, I've heard that they can get too hot & can therefore be rendered unusable. However I'm planning on something quite small (maybe even a lean to) and at a max of 3 metres x 3 metres (10 ft x 10 ft).

Also do you know if you can get proper roofs instead of glass/perspex.

Cheers for any advise you can offer.

DIY Queen

PH01

Reason number 1: Price.
Does the cost of building one enhance the value of your property by the same amount? If it doesn't, then don't bother.

robbe

Hi,

Had one done in previous house - some negatives

1 Could be too hot sometimes (glass roofed) even with the vent/windows open - the solution here could be conservatory blinds which can be v expensive or a home made approach (something like muslin draped across the roof)
2 In winter could get cold due to heat loss through the roof. In addition some conservatory companies/builders wont fit proper radiators (or where they do fir them they dont check if the boiler has the capacity to run it or dont insulate the pipes correctly- all in all they would rather fit an electric heater which can be expensive to run.

You can build a 'sunroom' which is essentially a conservatory with a tiled roof which would prob give better insulation etc. Like a lot of these projects if you're aiming to get your money back you probably won't, but you may make your house more saleable/enjoyable which has its advantages. Alternatively you could win the lotto/rob a bank and build an extension (see my other thread re building costs). Good luck whatever you decide

Lex Luthor

I think sun rooms make more financial sense and look like they are more part of the house....however if you have a small garden and it will take up a lot of its space, it could have a negative effect.
What is the reasoning for extending the dining room?

We had the same dilemna a few years back where we needed more space downstairs, so we actually put 2 bedrooms on up stairs over the existing converted garage and utility room. It had a knock on effect where I could move my games room/office up stairs to the box room and the converted room could now be used for the kids as a play room getting us more space downstairs.

DIY Queen

Cheers for the responses, I should have explained a bit better, the kitchen & dining room are all the one room going across the back of the house & I wanted to extend the dining room part of it to give a ittle more space say for an armchair or two -just wanna make the entire room that bit more liveable / homely.

We've just recently moved & we'll be there for the long haul so making back the money on our spend won't 'really' come into it. We need to change out all the windows too so I guess the deciding factor will be the price of the entire job.

Victor

robbe wrote:

2 In winter could get cold due to heat loss through the roof. In addition some conservatory companies/builders wont fit proper radiators

Many "all glass" conservatories won't comply with building regulations and can't be heated.

Doubling the size of a conservatory may only increase cost by 20-30%.

Having a conservatory / living room / dining room might be a bit big and suffer draughts / cold spots.

Blinds and proper ventilation should help control temperature variations. Apex ventilation can be a problem with conservatories.

If you put on a solid roof, what does this do to the lighting in the dining room?