Old conservatory

7 years ago

Hi, I recently posted about updating our 1960's home. Can anyone suggest what would look good instead of the dilapidated conservatory we have now? I'm thinking grey windows with bifold to the left hand as you look at it as we want to build a raised patio. It measures 11 by 8ft and we want to stick to that to keep costs down. We also want to get rid of the sliding doors between the house and conservatory so if feels more like an extension. Any ideas welcome.

Comments (4)

Zoe Ledger
Original Author
7 years ago
Wouldn't let me add photos!
PRO
Croydon Window Company Ltd
7 years ago
Hi Zoe, Sounds great to re-modernise and take away the sliding doors to your conservatory. This will open up your living space and with new bi-folds will be great with a fantastic view into your garden and create an indoor outdoor living in the Summer... here are some of our completed projects...
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Good morning, We'd recommend obtaining a survey of this property and taking onboard an architectural designer, so that your needs and requirements can be fully explored and translated into a functional and contemporary dwelling that suits your family. Furthermore, you may find the following guide useful for extending on your property. https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200130/common_projects/17/extensions/10 Do also consult your local planning authority for clarification on limitations you may have in terms of extensions and exterior features.
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That is very nice I must say, nice to see some different from the norm grey rectangular and wooden clad rectangle.
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I agree with above - you're going to have a lovely bright utility! The usual way people extend is to put the utility and WC into the darkest bit (turning the utility 90 degrees like suggested above) which then pushes the kitchen/dining/living towards the garden end. But that would have involved more walls coming down - I feel like this is a case of you got what you asked for, but now you're asking for something else. I think the architect has come up with the best layout though for minimal work involved - putting the dining table in the dark space will just make it a corridor and you'll mostly eat at the island in the light room with garden views (other than dark evenings like you say when being in dark dining room will be quite cosy). I know people who have done that and regretted it and wished they'd put the kitchen in the dark bit as you tend to be doing something in there anyway and you'll be looking through the lovely bright space rather than being in it. Getting a decent second living space seems important to you so the current layout achieves that. You could perhaps add some high level transom windows between kitchen and utility to bring more light into kitchen (depending on where tall/wall kitchen cabinets are going to be and how ceiling is). Another option that you haven't mentioned is to put the new lounge into the dark space (then you'd have to call it a snug!). Leaving the new space as kitchen and dining. But perhaps you want the sofas to be looking onto garden, or you don't want it right next to the other sitting room - which is understandable. So it depends on what you'd use that living space for - or would also having a couple of upholstered chairs or a window seat in the extension allow you the flexibility you are looking for? Regarding the loo situation - I don't like having to walk through the utility to get to it (mainly as you're going to have to clean/tidy your utility every time guests come round, no thanks) - alternative is to walk through the WC to get to utility - would result in a bigger WC (you don't want to squeeze between toilet and basin so put them on the same wall) and a more useful utility space - and you'll have one window into WC and one into utility and nobody will be walking through the cat litter tray - could keep the pocket door idea so that it's more like one room normally, but easy to close off the messy utility when guests arrive (if that is ever allowed to happen again!)
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You could maybe lower the cost by opening to the garden at the end ( where Sofa was in left plan ) and putting windows and a galley kitchen with the sink on left side -so plumbing easy to tap into via bathroom. With tall units and cooking on the right side. This means at a later stage you could put a small outside kitchen in the courtyard behind maybe ? But yes, it looks to me like a combination of “over inflated prices as it’s an instance job” and “it’s London so we can ask what we want” prices - which is such a shame.
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Zoe Ledger
Original Author
6 years ago
Hi, we're wanting to update our existing conservatory but not sure how. Would replacing the glass with the new more energy efficient glass be any better than it is now? (It's south facing) or will it still be like an oven in the summer and freezing in winter? Or should we look at a light weight tiled roof or something I've seen recently called a live' in roof? (Aluminium panels) and any idea of the cost of theses? We've been quoted £6700 for a replacement from a local firm. Thank you for any advice.
embzop
6 years ago
A few comments from an owner of a South facing conservatory...it does get very hot and I'm not sure replacement glass will make sufficient difference. If you still need to have blinds to keep the hot sun out, it may not be worth spending extra on the glass.

I had my roof replaced and it cost £2,700. That was 7 years ago and is a fairly basic polycarbonate with a reflective coating on the top. It does make a difference but on the hottest days I still need blinds.

Having a dwarf wall on a raised conservatory makes it more visually appealing otherwise from the garden all you will see are the furniture legs etc (unless you are going to have a raised patio all the way round). Pictures of full length glass windows rarely have any furniture placed near them so, in my view, are best in very large houses where there is a plenty of space to put chairs and tables further back.

When I moved into my house I was going to remove the sliding patio doors between the conservatory and the house. Having lived here a while, I decided to keep them. 2 reasons for this, 1 is the noise of the rain on the roof - I would have to turn the tv up when it was raining hard if the doors were open. The second is temperature control, whether it is hot or cold, a conservatory will always leak therms one way or another and it is nice to be able to shut it off.

I bought 'perfect fit' blinds last year. These fit into the window frames and I have been very pleased with them. They are not a cheap option and it may be worth factoring them into the costs at the beginning. If you go to the website of online blind retailers you can put in the window sizes and get an immediate quote. Mine cost £55 for a window about a metre square. This may not sound alot but by the time you've bought them for all the windows it soon adds up.

Whatever you choose, I hope you are really pleased with the result.

Old conservatory

Comments (4)

Zoe Ledger
Original Author

Croydon Window Company Ltd

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embzop

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Old conservatory

Comments (4)

Zoe LedgerOriginal Author

Croydon Window Company Ltd

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Zoe LedgerOriginal Author

embzop

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GET HELP

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Zoe Ledger
Original Author

Zoe Ledger
Original Author