The portal goes on to add further information which may or may not be pertinent to your project and your circumstances, and you would be recommended to read the further notes. The information can be found at:

 http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/genpub/en/1115315205815.html

 I have given this information “up front” because it clarifies one of the most confused areas of development for house owners. Thousands of conservatories are built each year and most people who are considering the idea don’t know what the Planning position is.

You will notice that the information given above describes the building not as a “Conservatory”, but an “Extension”. What that means is that anything from a basic glass structure to a brick / block / glass structure is covered by the regulations reproduced here. – So, as long as you stay within the limits stated, the style and appearance of your conservatory is down to your own choice.

You will most likely already be aware of the many different styles of what is broadly called a “Conservatory” that are available. – The nature of the building process and the range of prices are just as broad!

You can buy readymade, or made to measure.

You can buy to build yourself or get the supplier or another builder to construct it.

You can have the whole thing in white plastic / Light Oak plastic / Mahogany plastic / Solid wood, or even “powder coated metal, with glazed panels.

You can have a low level brick plinth and the remainder of height of the structure in glass with a plastic or wood frame.

You can build it to look similar to an extension but with more glazing.

You can have a sloping glass (framed) roof, polycarbonate (framed) roof or a solid tiled roof. - Or you can have a flat roof.

You can centrally heat it with radiators or underfloor heating

You can have power installed (light and sockets), or just use it as a day room for using when the sun is out.

1) How big will it need to be, or how big are we allowed to build it?

2) What “style” will be the most practical for what we need and want?

3) Can we build it ourselves or will we need a professional company to build it for us?

4) How much will it cost?

5) Will it add value to our property over and above what it costs?

 

What are you intending to use it for? Is its main use going to be as an additional living or family room?

If you are living in a property already, and you follow the rules listed above, you should be able to work out your maximum floor area yourselves. This will depend on whether or not this is the first extension to the property and the size and height of the original building. If you are not sure of what you are allowed and what you are not, then any reputable Conservatory Manufacturer / Supplier should be able to advise you (check out the Trade Directory on this site, and look for the companies who offer “free advice” in the “Quick reference tick boxes” which for part of each listing. By ticking the “Free advice” box, they are saying that they are happy to help you without necessarily “getting a sale” out of it)).

If you are renovating or converting the above rules will also apply and you may have to do some homework to find out which bits of the building are “original” and which have been “added since it was first built, in order to work out your remaining permitted development size for the conservatory.

If you are constructing a new building, you can simply add your conservatory onto the initial drawings for the main building, which you will then submit for Planning Approval. On these plans your Conservatory can be as large or as high as you wish it to be. – It is not at this stage classed as an “extension”, it is part of the original building, and so is not covered by the regulations listed above.

As for “How big will it need to be?” – Well consider its intended use: Maybe measure furniture which you would like to put in it, and work out how much walking room around that furniture you would like or need. Will it be used for parties? – If so for about how many people? Will you be landscaping the garden? – If so, what areas would you like to be able to enter the garden directly from the conservatory from (this will directly affect the size and possibly the shape needed). If you are building between two existing walls, it may be cheaper to try to use those walls if possible as part of your conservatory. This would save you the cost of foundations and of building new walls etc and would also maximise the available floor space.

The fact is that the cost of the project is not directly related to the size of the structure. So, especially if you are building new and are not as restricted by existing buildings (in terms of “permitted development”) as to what you can build, you may be better just designing it to be “as big as you would like it to be”, and then when you get to the stage of getting the estimated price, if it looks like it may be too expensive, try to find other ways of reducing the price, rather than reducing the size (and there are many ways to do that – see further down this page for ideas).

If you are simply looking for a “sun room” and / or you are on a tight budget, a simple mostly glass structure with a basic frame and a single sloped polycarbonate or glass roof will usually be your cheapest option. You may or may not need poser in the room, but if not, then this option offers the cheapest overall construction costs. Very minimal foundations, a simple frame which can be bought pre fabricated from many of the DIY superstores (this will normally be the cheapest option and will be best if the standard sizes suit your needs), or made to measure from “all sorts” of places (including via the Trade Directory on this site).

If you want to use the conservatory mainly as a room for using on “nice days” to get a bit of natural light, and maybe as a sitting room during the evenings, then a “glass roofed / mainly glass walled” structure could be ideal for you. This can be with a bit of brickwork at the bottom, or full height glass units. - It will allow the sun to light and heat the whole room on a nice day, and create a nice “airy” feel to the room. It will also minimise the “darkening” effect that a conservatory can have on the room it is attached to (the more light you allow into your conservatory, the more light is able reach the room adjacent to it in the existing or new building). The cost of this structure should be reasonable, especially if you use standard sized structures and the foundations are still fairly minimal. – The downside of a “mainly glass” structure, is that even if you have an insulated (double or triple glazed or polycarbonate) roof, you will find that this sort of structure will heat up quickly, - sometimes to uncomfortably hot temperatures, and it will also get cold quickly, so may only be useable for part of the day and part of the year without some form of cooling and / or heating being available inside it. – Also because of the lack of substantial insulation, it will lose the heat you put into it, a lot quicker than the main structure of your house does. This could lead to high energy costs if you use the room regularly.

The next option, if you want to be able to use the room more as a “General room / Conservatory would be to start to add “proper” walls, but keep a good amount of glazed area, and have a normal tiled roof. The downside of moving to this sort of structure is that you start to bring in the requirement for Building Regulations approval because the roof is less than 75% glazed (see top of page). – However the extra “usability” of the room may make obtaining this approval a worthwhile exercise.

The wall area allows a radiator to be fixed inside if required. The tiled roof will be insulated, the windows double or triple glazed, and because you are now having to comply with Building Regs, you will also have to insulate the floor.

What you end up with here is a room that lets a lot more light and sun in than an average room, so is usable as a sun room, but is also usable for the whole year as a Sitting room / Family room.

The downside of this type of conservatory is that the room behind the one shown in the image will have lost a lot of its light and could end up being quite dark. – In this example, this would be reduced if there was another window on the other external wall. – Think about lighting to the adjacent rooms before you decide on the best choice for you.

If you are a DIY expert and have access to some “helpers” who are also pretty handy, there are some types of Conservatory that you could consider building yourselves. – These would tend to be the simple, standard plastic or wooden frame with manly glass panels and a glass (or preferably a polycarbonate) roof.

The foundations for these structures would be minimal and you would usually be able to hand dig them and then mix the required amount of concrete with a small mixer. As long as the foundations are level and at the right height, then the frame and glazing are usually not too difficult to erect as long as you have the time and the right tools.

The roof could be a little more difficult, especially if it is glazed, rather than polycarbonate. – You may find it difficult to fit these units from underneath. You also need to make sure that you seal all the glazing units properly or you will end up with leaks.

You will then need to seal the new structure to the existing property. Again, if you are an experienced DIY’er, you will probably have some experience in applying sealants, if not, it may be an idea to practice a bit on some wood or anything else knocking around. If you make a mess of the sealant, it could spoil the overall appearance of your project.

For anything other than a basic small conservatory, I would not recommend trying to build it yourself unless you have some level of expert knowledge. – The build costs for conservatories are not usually very high, and if you leave it to the professionals, you should get a decent job in a short time. – Try a complicated project yourself and you could be working on it for months and not get a good quality product at the end for all your trouble. – You don’t want a leaking roof just after you have brought in your new 3 piece suit!!

 

You can buy a standard conservatory kit from less than £2000, complete with guttering, downpipes, double glazed units etc.

However you need to remember that if you buy one of these kits, you have a number of extra costs to add:

 

You need to be aware of all those other costs, even for the basic conservatory, and be aware that in fact that £2000 basic structure may only be half of the total cost of the project. – Do some homework and work out ALL the costs before you decide what is best for you.

 

As you move up the scale to the higher prices structures, you will usually need to bring in professionals for the installation work. In a way this makes it easier for you to work out the cost, because now all you need to do is to ask between 3 – 6 companies to come to give you a price for the completed project.

As I mentioned earlier, if you want to maximize the floor area for the minimum cost, look at the differing costs for the differing styles of conservatory. You can find quite a range of priced products which all give you the same floor area. You might like one particular style of, but if you compare the cost like for like, you may find that you could get a larger floor area in a slightly different style for less money.

Opening windows will cost more than fixed glass panes, so if you keep the number of “openers” to a minimum you will help to keep the price down. – The same goes for the “roof lights”. Fancy “wind up” units in the roof structure will normally be expensive. If you have a opening window at the top of your side panels it will do a similar job but will generally be cheaper.

Watch the quality of the frame. You may be able to buy a cheap frame but will it be what you want? – Will it add value to your property or will it just end up looking like a cheap greenhouse stuck on the back of your property? - Go and look at a few examples of the products you are interested in before you buy anything.

There is really no upper limit on the cost of buying and installing a conservatory. Some really “grand” ones can cost over £100,000. The trick to getting the best price possible is always to get competitive quotes for whatever style you choose. – You will be surprised at the variation in quoted costs for what is pretty much exactly the same thing.

NOTE: Don’t be TOO taken in by the comment “Well our product might be expensive, but the quality is far higher than the others which look similar to ours” – These days “plastic extrusions” which many conservatories are made from, are all pretty “much of a muchness”. There are no products which are significantly better than their immediate competitors. – Cheap is generally lower quality, dearer is generally better quality, so don’t get fobbed off by someone telling you that the “other company’s products may look exactly the same but they are not nearly as good”. – If you are told something like that, ask to see the proof for what they are saying before you agree to pay then the extra money!

Conservatories are popular and they do help to sell a house.

If you are looking for your conservatory project to “make you money”, try to build something which looks of good quality, is well finished, with a good sized floor area so its use is as flexible as possible. BUT don’t go over the top with your specification:

Just have a couple of opening windows / choose a nice style, but not the most expensive design / get competitive quotes / use existing walls as part of the structure if you can.

Try not to “lose” the use of a room adjacent to it by building something which stops all the light getting into that existing room. – When you come to sell the house, if you walk into a dark room it can be off putting, - no matter how much you spent on that lovely conservatory at the other end! If your potential buyer thinks that a room is going to be unusable they will not be as keen to buy the house and you might find that you have to reduce the asking price. – If you do, any reduction in selling price due to you adding your conservatory should be looked upon as a COST of that conservatory.

 You can opt for the full glass structures to minimise the darkening effect on adjacent rooms.

You will get more “bang for your buck” if your conservatory is in a sunny position. People are more likely to want to buy your house if they think they are going to get a good deal of benefit from your bright and airy conservatory that gets sun “from morning till evening”.