I never understood why people don't build their conservatory for year round use. It's all about light and heat control. Automatic sun reflective shades along the roof windows will keep the room from overheating in the summer and even help keep it warm in the winter. Proper wall and ceiling insulation, double or gas permeated triple glazing will keep it comfortable year around with the right heating. Add a wee wood stove in a corner with a simply pipe chimney and you have yourself a lovely winter sun room to brighten your cold winter days. If you live where there is snow, even better. It'll feel like a wee slice of paradise.

If you were our client, we would first assess which way the house faces in order to understand the direction of the sun and the likely impact on the space in terms of light and heat, plus we would ask what use you intend to place on the new space. It is also the case that with whatever heating - a fully glazed conservatory can seem an inhospitable space in the winter months. Even in the UK heat gain during our short summer is a major consideration and whilst roof blinds can be added - these can spoil the original design intent. A part solid / part glazed roof with fully glazed walls may be the most successful. Attached image of a garden room with a large strategically placed roof light and two fully glazed walls.

Thanks Jonathan So for me it will be Essential 1) Strip the whole house down 2) Then rewiring 3) Heating, radiators and combi boiler 4) Replace conservatory roof, with a better, all year round roof 5) Take down the wall between the kitchen and diner, to create an open diner. Insert a RSJ in place of the original wall 6) New kitchen, designed and provided by Wren ( yes I know, loads of negative comments) with 0% finance and a promise of 20 years guarantee from Wren, to repair/replace any damages. From all my google searches, it seems that a kitchen depends more on the fitter than the material used. A great fitter would even make Wren look good! 7) Skirting and internal doors. 8) New flooring all through the property, carpets in lounge and bedrooms 8) Decoration and painting ------------------------------------ Non essential or second round, if I am still standing!! a) Utility room b) Bathroom c) Upgrade conservatory, windows etc Seems like a plan?

Thank you everyone for your comments. Most helpful. I contacted Amptico and they replied very quickly. They said to rely on the lifetime guarantees. I then checked out the spec for the ranges they recommended and came across the light fade scale…which was 6. One thing lead to another and I ended up reading the eu rules on light fastness tests, done using the blue wool scale. This goes up to 8 but crucially, the test conditions of the scale stated that the tests were not done in direct lighting and any windows had uv filter protection. That answered my question. I would have liked amptico or Karndean but I would always be looking for the fading!