Glass room or conservatory?

last month

Good afternoon,
I would like to add some extra room at the back of our house and have been thinking about adding a conservatory or a glass room. An extension is out of the conversation as we can’t afford it. Also we have replaced our kitchen very recently and have added other extensions as well and we don’t want to go there again. As you can tell it’s a pretty grim space atm with very limited light. It’s also very cold and windy. Hence we are thinking of sth with a glazed roof to allow for maximum light o come into the house as well. One option we are considering is a modern glass room, which however will be a single glazed structure, not really an extra room but sth we could possibly use in warmer months. The other option would be a glazed conservatory with bifolds.
None of them comes really cheap though, even the glass room can easily cost us £20k and it would still be a covered patio at the end of the day. On the other hand conservatories are not very likeable anymore. We would like to ask for opinions over what would be the best value for money as an investment to our house, as we really haven’t got money to throw away. Thanks in advance for your time and help.

Featured Answer

Laura

26 days ago

The back of the house is still a work in progress, but hopefully gives you a bit of an idea.

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Comments (42)

Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
last month
This is an idea of what a glass room would look like.
Isla Cherry
last month
I like the glass room idea but if it is south facing then it will be far too hot. Which way does the garden face? I think a pergola covered in plants might look great there. You could take it all the way across.
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Been thinking about this one overnight:- ( i have a sad life! all say ahh ) You do not have to have a window to call it a habitable room, however, I believe there is a building control requirement for the room to be vented through another, check that out. So, in short, yes the bedroom could be moved and not have 'windows' . I don't know the arrangement of the wall top left that goes in to the garden area, but bear with me. ............ would it be better to have a separate Galley kitchen? I would prefer so. Is there a possibility of a window far top left? A stud wall only takes up 4" so not a great deal of space, plus it would make the lounge / diner look a lot nicer without seeing the kitchen on view permanently & of course you get a longer kitchen run. ( I think the proposed one is too small ). Plus you gain a wall to the lounge area, always handy for furniture placement, as this is what is lost in an open plan arrangement. I also changed the bathrooms round as previously suggested, and had the entrance in the hallway for the second one. Please bear in mind as a said before:- Not to scale - don't have dimensions as had to guess, but on the face of it, likely do'able. I like running plans through estate agents...........ones that I know well and trust as I know they'll give me their honest opinion on what would infinitely give a better price on re-sale. Contained living and dining with separate kitchens, good sized bedrooms etc. So do ask one. Estate agents are handy, they will want you to get more for the property because, if they smell a sale, they get more commission! Roughly where i was going with this after some sleep!Of course, if you still want to go open plan with the living / dining/ kitchen, then lose the top wall and maybe consider a door system to open and close for entertaining purposes - No doors, fully open plan .with doors!
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Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
last month
Thank you for your response. I forgot to say it is an east facing garden, so no chance of overwarming in any case!
eleanor_paints
last month
Do you want the space to be part of your house, or part of your garden? If it's the garden, I'd agree with Isla Cherry and go for a pergola - you can get slatted sides for them as well to block off some of the wind, depending on which way it comes in to your garden. You can also get them with louvred roofs to help when it rains.

Is it worth paying for an (albeit lovely) single glazed room if you won't be able to use it most of the time?

We have a south facing garden with a 20 year-old conservatory, double glazed with a polycarbonate roof. It blocks a surprising amount of light to our kitchen. It got up to 63 degrees last summer, and down to -0.5 in the winter. So we're getting rid of it, because we're more likely just to sit under a pergola with a patio heater and a blanket if needed. Of course I'd expect a modern conservatory to be better, but aspect and quality would be really important to make sure it's worth getting!

Maybe if you call a few estate agents, they might be able to advise what might be best and how your options could affect the house value?
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
last month
You are right, it all comes down to how we want to use it. In either case it will be kept separate from the house. I understand all the concerns re conservatories, I’m just hopeful new ones are better quality and glazed roofs will allow more light. Also, that specific space gets very little sun and only in the morning. It is so cold there we can literally only sit there if it’s +30 degrees out there. Said that, I’m also finding the money we need to spend on a glazed veranda extraordinary and this is why it comes down to what would be a better investment.
You are absolutely right about the estate agents as well, maybe this should be a question to make to one of them.
Thanks for your input in any case, much appreciated.
eleanor_paints
last month
Absolutely, from what I understand conservatories are much better now than they used to be. And of course it depends on your circumstances - ours wasn't adding any value but a brand new one could potentially be an asset.

Going back to the pergola idea though, there do seem to be some high-tech options depending on what your budget is - like electric roof, motorised side screens, LED lighting, etc.

Tricky decision to make - good luck!
Sonia
last month
I think there’s a lot of snobbiness about conservatories. The more modern ones are double or triple glazed and come in different colours and styles, so certainly worth a look. Adequate heating will also help. The glass box looks nice but single glazing would not be cosy and a bit of a glorified greenhouse I feel. Here’s some more modern conservatories. The pale green one is so pretty but probably quite pricey with the solid roof.
Rosy W
last month
I have a conservatory which is open from the kitchen and despite a new 5 ply roof it still leaks heat. I have to keep the kitchen door shut or the warmth from the house disappears out there. I am desperate to replace it with a garden room, ie, a properly insulated, walled and ceiled room with front and roof glazing but that won't happen til I win the lottery.

If that is a cold corner, I would think very carefully before replacing solid wall with glazing of any thickness because the cold will come in, or rather, the heat will go out. It sounds as if it wouldn't be where you'd choose to sit in the garden in any case so if it was me, I'd grow climbers up the walls to soften it and then spend the money you have on the part of the garden you sit in.
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
last month
Thanks all for your inputs. The wall shown on the left of the photo looks s our neighbours house. So no wall will be going down. Instead, we would build a new one if we were to go for a conservatory, along with bricked pillars to support the roof. Also, we do not plan to open anything up to the rest of the house. We already have an open door pan space downstairs, so that would be a room to enjoys the garden when it’s not warm enough to just be outside. And coming from a warm country like I do, it’s not a lot of time I can comfortably sit outside!!!
And do I agree the glass room is probably an overrated green house that I will pay too much on and still not feel comfortable in, so atm I’m more inclined to the idea of the conservatory, which at the end of the day will also add to the square feet of our house.
It’s very interesting though to see how different people has so varying views on the same things!!
Lizabeth
last month
We have a conservatory which we inherited when we bought the house. It's cold in winter and can get warm in summer. But we put a solid roof on it so its a lot cooler and keep the heat in a bit better. it's my favourite room in the house., it gets used from spring right through till winter .. its basically a summer room.
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
last month
Thank you Lizabeth, that’s what I’m after really, a sort of summer room. We have a sitting area at the end of our garden as it’s where we get most of the sun but a lot of the time I feel the house it’s disconnected from the garden and that area is too far from the back of the house. So I’m looking for sth to realise that connection.
It’d be great if anyone could share pictures of how they are furnishing and using similar spaces!
Gail Valentine
last month
We have a conservatory which we inherited with the house we bought. I actually really like it and we don’t notice any huge fluctuations in temp (yes it’s a little colder/warmer) but in no way unbearable. I work from home and use it as my office so I’m in there all year round. Our conservatory is west facing, has blinds and roof insulation and does feel like part of our house. I got a quote to add a solid roof to it last year and it would be about £6.5k. We’re planning to do that when we start renovating. I would definitely consider it 😊
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
last month
Thank you for sharing Gail, your conservatory looks very cosy and it surely looks like it’s part of your house. Do you separate it with internal doors? The doors in the picture don’t look like French patio doors to me. Also, what do you do for heating?
Gail Valentine
last month
Yes we have French doors between the kitchen and conservatory but they’re standard internal doors not external. There are also two radiators in the room (including one under my desk). We haven’t changed anything major since moving in…the previous owners used it as a dining room.
HU-29309451
last month
You need to be aware that for a conservatory to be treated as a conservatory, as opposed to an extension, you must have lockable exterior doors between the house and the glazed area. Using interior doors, as one of the contributors has suggested, is in contravention of both planning and building regs, and could result in a demolition order.

For what it's worth, considering your own personal circumstances, I believe that a modern conservatory will suit your purposes perfectly.
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
last month
Thank you for your comment, our plan would actually be to keep our current external French doors and also have an independent heating system as in an electric radiator etc.

Quick question though now you mentioned it, if we were to do it this way, would we still need to apply for building regs or a permitted development certificate and for the latter would we need to do it pre or post construction?
Thank you again!
Gail Valentine
last month
I didn't actually suggest it, I said that was what was here when I moved in to my property. I'm not sure when this was changed but our surveyor had no issues when we bought the house. We were given the square footage of the house plus conservatory.
HU-29309451
last month
A conservatory does not need planning permission if it satisfies the relevant criteria regarding lockable exterior doors and minimum glazing percentage. Visit the government website planningportal.co.uk for the up to date regs.

On your second point, I would strongly recommend a separate heating system, just as you suggest. Attempting to extend the existing heating system can lead to problems going forward, even when it initially seems to work.
Eileen Nixon
last month
Hello, it looks to me from the picture as if you have a drain at the side of your house and next doors down spout is connected to it, if this is the case you would be advised to avoid building over it, also is that an extractor/outlet for a boiler on the window wall, you would need to check that also. All these issues can be addressed but they are the hidden extras that sometimes are not budgeted for so as the old adage says ‘buyer beware’ good luck.
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
last month
Hi Eileen, thanks for your comment, the builders we’ve talked to have said the new conservatory would have its own drainage and both these drains would be moved and connected to it? I hope they’re not taking nonsense tbh 😊
Also the outlet you see is an old extractor fan that is not used and in any case we would not build on it but would allow some space anyway.
Ann Sherwood
last month
I’m sorry to say that having had a triple glazed conservatory (all glazing) with central heating in our last property my husband & I made it a definite NO NO when searching for a new home! Our conservatory was always far too hot when the sun came out & far too chilly in winter, even with the radiators blasting out heat. This was even with blinds!! When we had heavy monsoon rains there was always a leak somewhere 😡. We had the company (a large well known one) back more times than I care to remember to fix issues…..never again would we contemplate one we said!
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
last month
Thanks for sharing your story Ann, how old was your conservatory if I may ask? The orientation of our garden and the fact that we have our neighbours house and extension blocking most of the sun I believe will guarantee that it would never get too hot, but saying you couldn’t heat it even with the radiators working in full is definitely making me think.
Another debate I’m having with myself atm is whether I would prefer aluminium bifold doors over the usual upvc French doors.
Looking at the different arrangements for a 4-leaf bifold I find all of them not practical at all and I also worry about the longevity of them and how many problems we could have in the future with the mechanism and also all the weight that would fall on the frame with 3 or 4 panels being stacked on one side.
I know people are crazy about them right now but for me practicality in every day life is way more important than looks and impressions.
Ann Sherwood
last month
Hi Stella, we had our conservatory built from new, it was south westerly facing & we had no close neighbours so when the sun was out it was fully onto the structure as was any bad weather!

I tend to agree with you on the subject of bifold doors perhaps not being that practical; how many days of the year would you have all the doors open?? Like you I’d be concerned about the longevity & any problems with them!
Good luck with your project I’m sure it will be great when finished as you are really exploring all the options & thinking about what’s best for you. 😁
Michael Edwards
last month
If you go for a conservatory, I'd recommend an ultraframe living roof, which is fully insulated and plastered on the inside. Had ours installed last year and it's brilliant.
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
last month
Ann thank you for your lovely comment, when we’ve decided what to do and we’re all done with it, I will make sure to post a picture of it!!
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
last month
Michael thanks for posting the pictures, your conservatory looks very smart!! Is the second picture the after or before? Is the insulation sth you retrofitted on an existing glass roof? Because looking at the second picture it still looks like it’s a glazed roof and not tiled one. Thanks
Rosy W
last month
Thanks for asking those questions, Stella, because I want to know more about Michael's conservatory too! It does sound great!
PRO
Bespoke Glazing Design
28 days ago
DM us your details, and I can schedule a call with our design team. They can answer any questions and provide a precise quote.
Laura
26 days ago
We replaced an unappealing patio area that only had the sun for a few hours in the morning with a winter garden/glass extension . I love it
Rosy W
26 days ago
That sounds lovely, Laura! Do you have any photos?
Ann Sherwood
26 days ago
Looks really great 😊
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
25 days ago
That looks lovely Laura thank you for sharing. You even managed to squeeze in some bifolds I see! Can I ask if the wall you have added on the side is a double skim wall? And did you have to get a party wall agreement with your neighbours?
Laura
24 days ago
It was 2 layers of block work and we didn’t have a party wall agreement, although that may not be the norm.
Laura
24 days ago
Block work was on our side
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
24 days ago
Thanks again Laura, it really complements your house beautifully.
Shimaa M
23 days ago
Hi Stella, I’m in your same situation. Need extra space; can’t afford extension. Would love to know what you decided and cost if possible ? Thank you ☺️
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
23 days ago
Laura would you mind sharing the paint colour you have used in your extension please?
Stella Chatzianagnostou
Original Author
23 days ago
Hi Shimaa, we have decided to go for a conservatory and not the glass room. We were quoted around 20k for a 5x3 single glazed room.
We have decided to go for a conservatory with glazed roof and bifold doors at the front roughly as below. The quotes for this were between 30k-32k which for us is still a lot but we hope we’ll make more use of it and it will add a bit more value to the house hopefully.
Shimaa M
23 days ago
That’s lovely. Wish you all the best
Laura
22 days ago
Thanks for your kind words Stella and your plans look great. I’m sure it will be a great addition to your house :) In regard to the colour we used shaded white.
PRO
Bespoke Glazing Design
11 days ago
A lean-to-conservatory area would look fantastic. Dm us for a quote