Conservatory roof conversion

[Stevoraith]

Anyone got experience of replacing their plastic conservatory roof with the new lightweight tile systems available these days?

We've just moved into a new house which has a good sized conservatory which would make a lovely bright dining room if it wasn't bloody freezing.

Have had a quote for just over £3k to insulate the roof, install a vaulted plastered ceiling and tile the exterior.
Seems like good value if it makes it a room we can use all year but a lot of money to waste if it doesn't have the desired effect!

Can anyone tell me if its worth it?

[mwmackenzie]

Anyone got experience of replacing their plastic conservatory roof with the new lightweight tile systems available these days?

We've just moved into a new house which has a good sized conservatory which would make a lovely bright dining room if it wasn't bloody freezing.

Have had a quote for just over £3k to insulate the roof, install a vaulted plastered ceiling and tile the exterior.
Seems like good value if it makes it a room we can use all year but a lot of money to waste if it doesn't have the desired effect!

Can anyone tell me if its worth it?

Mate sure they get you a building warrant! to class as a conservatory you need a min of 75% glazing in the roof. The regulations with a solid roor are much stricted and you need natural daylight and ventilation to the room the conservatory is built off unless it's a kitchen. You need a 15th if the floor are of the room you've built over in glazing and a 30th for opening natural ventilation. We do it at work but not the shan way the conservatory converters do it they use your existing roof and insulate over and below it, I'd be looking for due point calcs for the way they do it to see if there is a condensation risk. We replace the whole roof structure with a 'Supalight' structure which has full engineering calculations. But if you're on a budget £3k will make it warmer and more usable but insist on a building warrant as it no longer classifies as a conservatory, has too much glazing to be an extension so you'll need to retain the external grade door between the hose and the conservatory/sunroom thingy lol. Our roof would be closer to £10K depending on size.

Cheers
Mark

If you want to chat about if further feel free to call me as I deal with these things all the time. 07766762001

[Stevoraith]

Thanks for the insight Mark.

Why is leaving the roof in tact and insulating above and below a 'shan' way of doing it compared to replacing the roof?

I asked about a building warrant- they can supply one for £1450.
Do I need one if I don't want to sell the house?

Ideally I'd knock the whole thing down and build a 'proper' extension but £3-4K is really the maximum budget for the time being so doing that, or even replacing the roof using a company like yours, is not really an option.

[point n squirt]

£1450 for a building warrant i dont think so ,submit your plans to building control should cost you £200. Give your local building control a call there nice people ..mostly , my window supplier does loads of these i will ask him and get back to you.

[Stevoraith]

Excellent mate, thanks.

[mwmackenzie]

Thanks for the insight Mark.

Why is leaving the roof in tact and insulating above and below a 'shan' way of doing it compared to replacing the roof?

I asked about a building warrant- they can supply one for £1450.
Do I need one if I don't want to sell the house?

Ideally I'd knock the whole thing down and build a 'proper' extension but £3-4K is really the maximum budget for the time being so doing that, or even replacing the roof using a company like yours, is not really an option.

Yes you deffo need a warrant, £1450, I'd ask for a breakdown lol drawings say £300 Council fees for work up to £5000 is £100 so you're being screwed out of £1050 unless they provide an SER which will be circa £600, either way it seems expensive The room no longer classes as a conservatory so the conservatory guidelines do no apply, you need to comply with the building standards regulations for daylight and ventilation to the built over room along with U-Values etc and if your build is not insulated to modern standards that may need addressing too. This is what I do for a living mate so am quite well versed in the ins and outs of it. Building control sent out an e-mail about conservatories converting to solid roofs a while back, I can't find it though essentially saying what I've stated above..

Shan, I say this as your current roof is not designed to take the extra load, They're essentially adding a load of weight and it still has to deal with snow loading etc along wind lift, I'd like to see their engineering and due point calcs. But budget to add the £1450 either way as it will get pulled up if you try and sell your house.

Good luck!

[Stevoraith]

Cheers Mark. Is it CR Smith you work for?

So assuming the patio door which opens into the conservatory counts as natural light we have approx 28% of the floor area as natural light (plus another ~14% from a glass door at the other end of the room which opens into an internal hall if that counts?).
And as the patio door and the other door opens we have ~28% ventilation so well above the 30th and 15th you state above for light and ventilation.
Is that how it works?
So does that mean it'd comply with building regs?

For the building warrant they said it'd include engineers drawings etc but I didn't ask for details.

When you say I need a warrant, is that just to have proof that it meets the regs? Do I need this for any other reason than if I want to sell (e.g. If I get a new mortgage)?

I appreciate the feedback guys, thanks.

[mwmackenzie]

Cheers Mark. Is it CR Smith you work for?

So assuming the patio door which opens into the conservatory counts as natural light we have approx 28% of the floor area as natural light (plus another ~14% from a glass door at the other end of the room which opens into an internal hall if that counts?).
And as the patio door and the other door opens we have ~28% ventilation so well above the 30th and 15th you state above for light and ventilation.
Is that how it works?
So does that mean it'd comply with building regs?

For the building warrant they said it'd include engineers drawings etc but I didn't ask for details.

When you say I need a warrant, is that just to have proof that it meets the regs? Do I need this for any other reason than if I want to sell (e.g. If I get a new mortgage)?

I appreciate the feedback guys, thanks.

Lochinvar mate

No you can not borrow light or ventilate through the once was conservatory. if it's a habitable room it may need the introduction of a window to comply, without seeing it it's hard to say.. If you take a pic of the conservatory (Rear of Property) and the room it's built over and e-mail to mwmackenzieATyahoo.co.uk and I can advise

Cheers

[Stevoraith]

That's great Mark.

I'll take a pic over the weekend when it's light.
No chance of putting a window in as the kitchen is on one side and the bathroom on the other...

[mwmackenzie]

Kitchen and bathroom are OK to build over as not classed as habitable rooms mate... you may need mechanical extract though if you've built over it, that's about all you'll need to worry about mate

[Stevoraith]

It's not built over the kitchen or bathroom, just the kiddies play room which is in between the kitchen and bathroom!

[mwmackenzie]

if it's open plan to the kitchen then just call it Kitchen if not then it could get tricky to get a warrant, bungalow or 2 story?

[Stevoraith]

Sorry Mark, things got in the way this week, finally managed to get some pics though.

It's a bungalow, playroom not open to the kitchen unfortunately.
Pics should help;






Also borrowed an IR camera from the wife's work and was surprised to see that the roof didn't appear to be the biggest source of heat loss....


To be honest, I'm swaying towards forgetting the idea for now and saving for a 'proper' extension.

[mwmackenzie]

I'd be interested to see them get you a warrant on that, as that is creating a room in a room situation. I'd be seeing if I could get a velux in there or doing a full on cosy open plan extension...

See, in the conservatory guidelines you can steal daylight and ventilation through the conservatory but once you give a solid roof it is no longer can be defined as a conservatory so the full building regulations must be adhered to and that room would have no natural daylight or ventilation if a room were built over it is where they will have the issues in my experience

I'd be very interested to hear some of the other architects on here's views on it though! I guess you could take the door off and call it the hall, not sure they'll buy it though?