Many homeowners ask the question – “how much should I have to pay for a conservatory?”

This is a very difficult question to answer because there are so many variables that have to be considered. Conservatory costs are dependent on the quality of the materials you want to use in the structure, labour costs and initial ground work that you may have to take on.

In this article we will touch upon five points that hopefully will raise your awareness as to the possible costs involved in building a new conservatory.

1. Before you commence any work check out whether or not you require planning permission. You may believe that it is allowed to build one without permission, and in most cases this is true in the UK, but it needs to be within certain size & design constraints in order to bypass planning laws – if you get this wrong and infringe or outright break a planning law it can cost a lot to put right.
2. On top of the above ground structural costs, you need to investigate the potential ground work that will be needed. Preparation of the site for your new room is essential. If you are lucky, you will have no drainage pipes, sewer pipes, power cables, gas & water mains to deal with – don’t’ bury a pipe under the room that you can’t access in the event of a problem. Don’t get lazy & build over something just to save a few pounds.
3. Do not scrimp on the quality of the foundations for your conservatory, “slapping” it on top of a bunch of patio slabs is not going to be of any use. If you are thinking about doing anything other than putting an adequate foundation suited to your room size you are just storing up a heap of expensive problems that will manifest themselves later.
4. Spend wisely on the quality of the glazing – conservatories are known for large glass areas and this can be problematic if the glass just allows heat to pour into the room during the summer or conversely letting the heat escape during the winter – both situations make the room pretty much unusable for large parts of the year. Pay attention to safety. Where the glass reaches the ground be sure to fit toughened glazed sections.
5. Get it built by a qualified team – DGCOS registered installers (Double Glazing & Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme) are independently vetted and the scheme offers great consumer protection benefits. At the very least, use a GGF of CERTASS registered company to do the work.

Trade bodies website links:

• https://www.dgcos.org.uk/
• http://www.fensa.co.uk/
• http://www.ggf.org.uk/

You can see our price guide to conservatory costs here 

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There is a temptation to do as much of any particular home improvement yourself, but DIY for complex projects, even those such as “budget conservatories”, could be a path that is full of good intentions – and we know where that can lead.

Disaster could be lurking around the corner and here are a “10 reasons why” DIY conservatories can cost more in the long run.

1. Experience – if you don’t have extensive trade skills don’t even think about it.
2. Costs – fully fitted conservatory prices from a suitable company are controlled. Budgeting the DIY work may sound simple, but if you don’t have the ability or knowledge of how to buy your materials at trade prices it the costs could easily escalate.
3. Logistics – what do you buy first (or last) where do you store it or even where do you buy it from?
4. Tools & Machinery – if you don’t have the right tools, you are asking for trouble.
5. Saving Money “fever” – you could be tempted to cut corners the get cheaper & lower quality material leading to a poor (or even dangerous) final result.
6. Planning & Building Regulations – Even if you don’t need planning permission, you still have to abide by building regulations. For example, windows & doors need to be certified as compliant.
7. Overlooking things – For example: do you know if you are building over drains & utilities? There are regulations covering these circumstances. Are you thinking of using a simple steel base? What about the ground underneath? Is it going to be able to support the structure long term or sink into the earth after the first (typical British) long wet winter?
8. Value – if you plan to sell your home later, is the new room going to make your home more or less “sellable” when you tell the potential buyer about your DIY conservatory?
9. Time – this commodity cannot be valued, it’s truly priceless. Can you 100% commit enough time & effort to see the job through to the end?
10. Money – worth mentioning twice. If you have had any experience in building you will know that, in the end, jobs always cost more than you expect. You need a contingency fund, because of “Murphy’s Law” – http://murphyslaws.net/

As you can easily tell from the list, we are not a supporter of DIY for budget conservatories, it’s much too complex a construction to be undertaken by a person without the right skillset & experience.

Whilst you may personally find the initial costs of using a professional are high, a new home extension is a long term investment.

Saving money by doing it yourself may seem attractive, but if you spend the next few months (or years) rectifying faults that’s potentially going to cost more.

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After paying out hard earned money for the cost of your new conservatory, the last thing you would expect is to encounter any problems. But occasionally, that’s what is going to happen to somebody at some point, especially if you are thinking of building it yourself.

Whilst problems can be, in most cases, easily rectified there are some instances where the buyer & the contractor just can’t come to an agreement, It maybe about  who does what & who carries the cost of the remedial work. In cases like this it would have been prudent at outset and used a DGCOS certified company.

DGCOS is the Double Glazing & Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme, broadly a quality assurance consumer protection trade body. Their purpose is to provide consumers with a high level of support by creating a membership of competent, professional, reputable & ethical companies.

KEY PROTECTION FEATURES

Homeowners using a DGCOS registered installer will receive:

• Deposit protection
• Stage payment protection
• Guarantees that are underwritten

Basically, if you have a real problem DGCOS is on hand to make sure that the problem is looked into and sorted out.

You also have access to:

• Independent inspections
• Mediation
• The Ombudsman
• A fund for compensation
• Free advice via a consumer “hotline”

What to do when you encounter a real issue with Conservatory Installers

Clearly the first step is to call DGCOS advice line (0800 195 9433) to commence the process.

If your problem is difficult enough, you could then enter the mediation process which DGCOS claims has resolved 87% of all complaints. 12% went through to the Ombudsman to resolve the problems, but the good news about that is it does not incur fees or costs and is infinity better that going to court (DGCOS don’t specify what happened with the missing 1%!)

Whilst trouble free installations are “the norm”, having an ally such as this trade association behind you could, as they say, be priceless.

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The problem with the British weather is that it seems that for 9 months of the year we get grey skies & rain, and if you want to live comfortably in your conservatory from October to April, for example, you may need some form of underfloor heating to make the room ‘liveable’ – but is this an unnecessary additional bill to add to the overall conservatory cost?

If you think about it, during the winter, even the most energy efficient glass conservatories will get quite cold if there is no heating, you may even start to get problems with damp & condensation of you are keeping the room closed up & empty during the winter.

Free standing electric heaters may be a solution but the consume huge amounts of electricity if you run them for any length of time, adding a radiator run from your existing home heating system can be expensive and require some ‘holes’ to be made, so why not take a look at underfloor heating.

Underfloor heating is not a modern concept as it was actually used as far back as 5000 BC and also the Romans built floors with spaces underneath to circulate hot air from fires built in a separate area. (see Wikipedia)

Available in 2 versions, both of which can be installed during construction or fitted afterwards.

1. “Wet” using hot water pumped around a set of piping
2. “Dry” basically and electrical heating system.

Wet systems use more space than electrical ones (the pipes are thicker than wiring) so if you retro-fit a wet system be aware that you could lose a small amount of headroom.

With the very latest systems you will be getting one of the most energy efficient methods of heating your new conservatory and also the single best way to keep the temperature of the room even, without hot or ‘cold spots’ because the heat rises evenly across the entire floor area not just around a radiator.

Benefits of underfloor heating

• Potential to save between 10% – 30% on current heating cost
• Can be retro-fitted to exiting conservatory
• The room is heated evenly – no hot or cold spots
• Compatible with tiled, carpeted, wooden or vinyl flooring*
• No need for radiators so it allows more of the room to be used
• No “dust traps” – no cleaning (or painting) behind radiators

(*Some vinyl or synthetic wood floor coverings will have a limit on the maximum temperature that they can be exposed too – check with the manufacturer for suitability.)

Research suggests that people find the most comfortable range of temperature for an indoor floor is around 19-29°C with an air heat of 20-24°C – using radiators means that you get a big difference in air & floor temperature or in other words “hot head & cold feet”.

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What you see above ground may be very pretty and your family may be enjoying the extra space, but if what lies below your new conservatory is not up to the task, then you will be encountering some problems sooner or later.

Putting a proper base for your conservatory is essential, just clearing a flat area, pitting down some paving slabs or a thin layer of gravel and then building on top of it is a sure way of costing yourself money in the future just to put things right.

If the foundations are not correct, then you room can sink, distort or in extreme cases simply fall apart.

Types of foundations.

Typical problems can be seen where foundations cannot cope with their workload, movement is one of the biggest issues and this will lead initially to distortion of the conservatory frame.

You can usually find 2 types of permanent foundations, first is a “raft”, second is “trench or strip footings”.

Raft footings are really no more than a concrete slab upon which the conservatory is then constructed, but it should be thick enough to support the weight of the construction and also reinforced with steel mesh as a minimum. The steel mesh ensures that even is the slab cracks the broken part does not separate from the main body of the slab as the steel mesh keeps them both in place.

Underneath the raft, the ground should be prepared properly. Top soil should be removed until you reach decent ground, the ground then needs to be levelled, compacted and covered with a layer of hard-core gravel which should also be compacted. The slab can then be cast on top of the finished area.

Drainage is important here, because if you get a flow of water running under the slab this can result in the lower ground eroding and the slab becoming undermined which can lead to movement and eventual failure of the raft concrete.

Trench Footings, as you can tell by the name, are a series of trenches dug directly below where the walls of the conservatory will be. Usually they will be dug down around 3 feet and then concrete is poured into the trench to a thickness of around 9 inches to 1 foot. Steel reinforcement is also recommended.

Of the two types, strip footings are the same as would be used for the main house foundations.

Blockwork is then built onto the concrete (once it is set) up to what is called damp proof course level (above ground level) and the area enclosed by the blockwork is filled with a layer of gravel hard-core, compacted, given a waterproof membrane on top of which is laid the final concrete floor.

Don’t underestimate the importance of having a strong base for your new conservatory

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A typical conservatory is usually found with fully glazed roofing using either glass or sometimes poly-carbonate, both of which have their pro’s & con’s. A single glazed conservatory roof is one that is going to let in an awful lot of heat & cold, not to mention the issues with condensation and therefore, in our opinion, is something that you should avoid (or rectify ASAP)

Double Glazed roofing panels can offer temperature regulation, reduce or eliminate condensation and be used in almost any situation a good all-round solution.

For more thermal insulation you can choose to fit Low- emissivity glass (Low-e), tinted glass, increase the separation between the panes (5mm to 21mm) and have the space between the panes filled with an inert gas such as Argon.

Poly-carbonate panels may not have the same insulating properties as top quality double glazed panels, but they are shatter-proof, less expensive and extremely light. They can be found in different colours and something like Bronze should help reduce overhead glare from the sun – it has been mentioned by some buyers that in heavy rain they get quite a lot of noise from the panels.

Using Poly-carbonate as an alternative to glass can also significantly reduce the overall cost of your conservatory.

Tiled Conservatory Roofing.

There are now many options to have your conservatory roof fully or partially tiled, using regular or specialist materials, including composite UPVC panels, and replacement conservatory roofs is becoming quite a busy market in the UK.

Changing your existing conservatory roof should be thought of a s a long term solution and so taking time to consider your options is well advised.

You may need to consider building regulations & planning permissions, but as of 2010, there was an alteration to regulations for Permitted Developments in that it was no longer a requisite that the roof of a conservatory had to be 75% “clear” (translucent) in order to qualify – this has opened up many options to conservatory owners.

One important consideration in terms of looking into a “solid” conservatory roof is loading – the weight difference between an existing poly-carbonate roof and a fully tiled one can be considerable.

Therefore, you must ensure that the frame structure has the strength to support whatever you are proposing to put upon it otherwise your conservatory could collapse.

Your roof does not have to be “one or the other” as you can decide to mix / match clear and opaque areas, taking advantage of solid composite panels in one place and glazed panels in another – an advantage of this is that you can still get a lot of natural light, but also create shaded areas within the room.

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Do I need planning permission for a new conservatory?

In England, conservatories can fall into a bracket known as permitted developments. In practice this means, provided the construction does not exceed the parameters of some set guidelines, homeowners can install a conservatory without the need for prior planning consent form their local authority.

However, it is important that you are aware of the local planning laws before doing any type of work. If you do construct a conservatory and subsequently it turns out that you did need planning permission to do so, the local council can issue you with an order to take it down which would be a disaster both in terms of wasted time and money.

Building regulations may also apply to your construction, but again there is some leeway if you keep within a set of official guidelines.

Basic Guidelines for conservatories

You may not need planning permission to build a conservatory if:

• Less than 50% of the land area surrounding the original house is used – this would include any other buildings already constructed.
• The new room does not face a road or highway
• A single decker room should extend from a semi-detached house by 3metres or less and by 4 metres or less for a detached house.
• A single decker conservatory should be a maximum height of 4 metres
• Without a veranda, balcony or elevated platform
• Not on a listed building, in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB)
• Rules only apply to houses, flats or maisonettes have their own rules

This is the planning portal PDF on this link:

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/miniguides/conservatories/Conservatory.pdf

And there is an interactive guide here:

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/commonprojects/conservatories/miniguide

If you are exceeding these basic guidelines, especially if you are thinking of a larger extension you may also need to go through the Neighbor Consultation Process.

Info here:  http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/uploads/neighbour_consultation_scheme_guidance_may13.pdf

Building Regulations

Building regulations will usually need to be applied to a new home extension, but in some cases your new conservatory can be exempt.

1. If it is ground level and has under 30 square metres of floor area.
2. If the new room has separation from the main house via windows, doors or walls of “external quality”.
3. Any Glazing or Electrics comply with their own building regulations – in the case of windows & glazing it can be certified by GGF / FENSA / CERTASS registered installers.

It is not advisable to build where the room will cause a problem for upper windows ladder access in the event of an emergency.

Bear in mind that the exemptions would be applicable only to the conservatory itself, and not for any structural remodelling on the original house (such as creating a new opening in an external wall).

This guide is not intended as a definitive legal source of information it is for your convenience only. Persons should always consult with their local planning authority before commencing any work.

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Home improvements such as adding a conservatory can cost thousands of pounds, so it makes sense to know a bit more about the installer before you award them the job.

To know that the installer has been pre-vetted by an independent 3rd party for financial stability, skills & track record is one way of lowering your exposure to dealing with a poorly rated company.

The main stream double glazing trade associations provide a good guide and measure of an individual company competence, whilst also offering good levels of industry specific consumer protection benefits.

Mainstream Conservatory Installer Trade Associations;

whilst not a complete list, the ones shown below are considered to be amongst the most recognised in the double glazing industry, thier website links are given below & you can visit them to find out the specifics of  their membership criteria.

• FENSA http://www.fensa.org.uk/
• CERTASS http://www.certass.co.uk/
• GGF http://www.ggf.org.uk/
• DGCOS http://www.dgcos.org.uk/

There are also several other trade associations linked to the home improvement trade, each one with its own merits. Always ask your installer which trade association they belong to and how long they have been members.

Previous customers:

A sure sign of a good company is if their previous customers are happy to recommend them. Any reputable company will be more than happy to provide references and in most cases they will be happy to put you in contact with them.

Unhappy customers can also be a good guide, especially where the installer has hit a snag (most will at some time or another), and the customer was dealt with promptly and to their satisfaction.

This can sometimes say more about the installer, in that they are prepared to look after their clients after the inital building work has finished.

• Get quotes from all over the UK – click here
• Thinking of DIY? Read more about it here

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