conservatories

My only regret with my conservatory is that I didn't make it wider. It is only 6' wide due to the fact there is a manhole outside and I didn't fancy a manhole in the conservatory. I do wish I had thought again !

I LOVE our conservatory - I spent the £10,000 my mother left me many years ago on it, and it was a mad extravagance, but never regretted.

We got lots of quotes, but in the end went with Weathershield - theirs was the lowest quote and we used them with some trepidation, but it has been fine and the follow-up has been excellent. They have franchises all round the country so there is no knowing whether other areas get as good a service.

Do think about getting some blinds as it can get pretty hot in there in the summer - ours is south facing and it can be a bit much.

And it is worth having a radiator out there so you can get maximum use from it. I do my sewing out there, and put the radiator on with its thermostat, so it switches off as soon as a bit of sun peeps through, so it is not costly.

The best thing is the light - it is glorious!

thanks to both of you for replying So, as large as we can afford then [and there isn't a lot of room but hey-ho.]Also would we need blinds if north facing? I have been thinking about underfloor heating, but maybe connecting via a radiator to our cental heating would be enough?It's all going to cost a lot of money, but I think we should get the use out of it, as long as we live for a few more years!

I love my conservatory and would agree as large as you can afford.

We got one last year and it is lovely. Again, big as you can. Wouldnt be without it now.

I'm pretty sure that there was a thread about this, not that long ago.

Something about conservatory/orangery? No doubt someone more compos mentis than I will be able to find it.

I did check the threads first but couldn't find anything Phoenix.

We had a conservatory built just after my husband was diagnosed with terminal cancer. My only regret is that we didn't do it earlier. We had talked about it for some time and when he realised he wasn't going to be here much longer he wanted to supervise the construction.

I spend a lot of time in mine, in the summer I have my meals out there. Mine faces west so I get the afternoon sun (which can make it a bit hot but I have double doors and opening windows for fresh air). I don't have blinds or curtains as I don't want to block out any of the view. I would agree with others, go for the biggest you can fit in. I also have a radiator as I keep a lot of plants there.

the only thread that I found was about the difference between conservatories/orangery etc and stately homes.I am wanting to know about any helpful experiences [or the opposite] to do with adding a conservatory to our bungalow , a rather different question.

thanks Sunseeker for your reply. I'm sad for you as your husband never got to enjoy it ,though how nice for him to still want to go ahead for you to have a nice place to sit.I do think that we should go ahead, because we have been here for 5 years now and have talked about doing it for a while and we are not getting any younger meanwhile.We face North but being a bungalow also get the afternoon sun as it begins to go down, so double doors sounds very sensible. I don't want blinds or curtains either, as I want to see out all the way round.

Another question that I have just thought of! What shape is your conservatory? Does a certain shape look better, or what is most practical? We would like a small sofa in there and two small-ish chairs.

We were limited for space so ours is oblong - but I have a couple of tables with plants and a table and 2 chairs. This leaves lots of room for plants in larger pots which sit on the floor. I also find it invaluable for drying clothes in wet weather!

Forgot to mention that the roof of the conservatory is slightly darker glass than the rest, this does give a bit of shade on hottest days but as yours would face north that may not be necessary.

We also used a local company rather than one of the bigger national ones, but my husband was a builder himself and knew all the local companies and what their work was like. The company we used didn't want any money up front but said to pay them when we were happy. The last day they were here I got the cheque book out but they said they needed to come back because one small piece of trim was missing (I hadn't even noticed it)!

Mine is rectangular and not very big, as we are on the side of a hill and even a little one cost £20K. It had to have a lot of building-up underneath it to reach floor level, which was expensive but did at least give us a usable store room/potting shed below it.

I know of a very nice P-shaped one, just along the road. The door from the house and the exit door are in the narrow part, and the round part has a three-piece suite, coffee tables and a dining table and four chairs in it. You could live out there.

We have had our conservatory now for 14 years and consider it the best money we have spent on the house and we love it. It is east facing and can get hot in the summer but we use a fan and it is very pleasant in the evening As others have said go for the biggest you can afford and also so you don't lose too much garden. We have a laminate floor but I have to report that it has faded where the sun shines on it most. I felt that ceramic tiles might be cold but havn't thought of any thing better. We do have a small dining table and do actually spend nearly all our time in there from April to October.

Yes, sunshine fades the laminate. It is now nicely woody under the furniture but yellowish where the sun catches it. If it were bigger I would shift the furniture around, but that is impossible. I don't know what I would do without it. It is off the kitchen so I can sit out there with a cup of coffee, or cook while talkng to guests with full glasses, the clothes-horse of washing dries in a day without using power in the tumble dryer, and when I need space indoors I can shunt stuff out there quickly. Plus I can take off wet raincoats or gardening shoes, store the recycling until I can face taking it outside to the the appropriate bin, do messy DIY or craftwork out there.

Definitely worth the money.

thank you all for your replies.I think the answer is a resounding yes from you in regards to 'is it worth it?' So pleased about that, as I thought there would be some negative thoughts I had overlooked, but you all seem very happy with your conservatories.Hadn't thought about the floor covering fading in the sun.... hmmmmmn;tiles are cold, so if laminate fades what about other things [carpet? or carpet tiles,cushion flooring?]Or the modern form of lino [don't know what it's called now!]Maybe it all fades.

I think the sun goes for almost anything, so you need to choose a design that will still look Ok when faded.

Friends have Amtico but it was beyond our budget. I had forgotten that when I posted before.

Never heard of Amtico [but sounds expensive]I will google it!Yes, perhaps a light coloured faded look is the thing.

I have tiles in mine - I wear slippers in doors so haven't notice that they are any colder than laminate (which I have in the sitting room).

We had a conservatory built on the back of our bungalow in July.We went for one that is the width of the building-so 22ft by 8ft.We chose a local conservatory specialist and it was all very painless!
Our floor tiles are a good quality composite that look like stone but not quite as hard and cold-we were worried about our 13 month old GD falling.They are also non-slip.
We were advised to live with it for the summer before we ordered blinds, and despite being south facing we really enjoy the view of trees and sky-we have doors either end and loads of window openings for ventilation.So will not bother.

Sunseeker, my husband was an architect. He drew the plans to turn our second bedroom into an ensuite for us and added a conservatory for a second bedroom for friends and family to stay. We had it priced, and had a builder lined up for the next year. Then my husband was diagnosed with brain cancer, and died less than four months later, so we never had it built.
The drawings, which I cannot bring myself to get rid of, are on his computer. He died in January 2012.
So I know where you are coming from. Unfortunately, I cannot advise anyone else on conservatories, as it was individual, designed just for us, and the builder understood as he was here when Ken was diagnosed with brain cancer. He was repairing a roof for us, so we used to give him the keys to lock up whenever an ambulance turned up for Ken.
That's the sort of builder you need, someone who cares.

Jendurham I know exactly where you are coming from. Could you not contact the builder and have the conservatory built anyway - you have the drawings and if you haven't yet got planning permission, I'm sure the builder could deal with that for you.

I have been on my own for just over 2 years now and I still find it difficult to dispose of even his work records.