conservatory ...what to do

terminator74

We purchased a house last year with a 3.4 * 4.2 metre conservatory. Its about 7 years old and appears to be built to a good standard and is currently in good condition. But like any conservatory its a clothes drying space from April to October and occasionally used in the summer evenings. After spending our first winter it pains me how underused the space is. It is currently separated from our living room with two solid doors/two window panes.

I know there are options out there for different conversion solutions but would love to hear what people would recommend to make this space usable year round. I'd love to demolish it and build an extension but that will not be possible with the finances as they are now. How reliable are sunroom conversion systems such as Guardian? Would a builder/roofer provide a bespoke solution. Any practical advise, recommendations or experiences welcome

http://imgur.com/a/OXP2R

Dudda

Ours didn't look as good as yours and was probably older when we bought our house last year so we removed it, stuck it onto the side of the garage at the end of the garden and it's now used as a greenhouse. It makes the room it was accessed from a lot brighter and improved the quality of the existing house. Didn't build an extension. It's strange but reducing floor area has improved the house. A lot of conservatories were added to houses throughout Ireland in the 1990's and early 2000's which reduced the quality of houses and rooms rather than improve them.

I wouldn't spend money trying to improve it and instead save to remove it and replace it with a proper extension if you need the floor area. No point spending money on a poor job trying to fix something which isn't right.

Calahonda52

I would not convert it into a roofed area because it is too narrow, lots of wasted space.

Roofing it will make the room it is accessed from darker.

Is the LHS wall a new wall inside your boundary wall?

jonon9

Why not turn it into something you would use, reading room or maker spaces etc. Going by the picture it doesn't look very homey. Add some indoor plants, some window blinds. It's really a blank canvas that needs painting on.

James 007

You really need to look at your house as a whole in terms of which rooms are used the most, orientation of the sun etc to justify what 'really' to do with the conservatory. Do you need the extra space and if so, for what. Is it better to add an extension but orientation to the sun will determine where to put in windows etc. I lived in a house before with a conservatory like this and it had a north facing garden. Whats the point in building a conservatory if no sun is getting into it. Even at that they can be cold in the winter, Id much prefer a decent extension which retains the heat.

ccmp

That's a nice sunroom, albeit a bit narrow. It looks like it cost a few quid to put there.    I had a similar situation but with a solid roof.  Far too cold to use. Eventually put in a €500 stove with the single wall flue exposed and exiting the roof in twin wall. Room transformed. Really cosy now .