I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof conservatory/greenhouse

--
http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/

"Gill Smith" wrote in message
o.uk...
I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof conservatory/greenhouse

--
http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/



Expensive! You will not find an off-the-peg solution to this. You will need
an architect and heating engineer, and the work will require planning
permission and building regulations approval.

Good luck
R.

On Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:30 +0100, "Gill Smith"
wrote:

I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof conservatory/greenhouse


Did you ever see the grand design with the church conversion with the
strange tower that he put plastic dome on? I always thought that'd be
nice for plants...
--
http://www.bra-and-pants.com
http://www.holidayunder100.co.uk

"mogga" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 21 Jul 2010 00:00:30 +0100, "Gill Smith"
wrote:

I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof conservatory/greenhouse


Did you ever see the grand design with the church conversion with the
strange tower that he put plastic dome on? I always thought that'd be
nice for plants...

gnomes would look nice in the pews

--
http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/

"Gill Smith" wrote
I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof conservatory/greenhouse

Remember seeing an old Victorian Mansion in Egham that had, what can best be
described as, a greenhouse on the roof 3 storeys up. Always thought that a
wonderful idea.
Mind you, they obviously had servants to carry all the plants and compost
etc up and down.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

On 21 July, 00:00, "Gill Smith" wrote:
I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof conservatory/greenhouse

--http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/

You would have a major problem with the building regulations.
This would be an incredibly expensive job to carry out too.

In article ,
harry wrote:
On 21 July, 00:00, "Gill Smith" wrote:
I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof conservatory/greenhouse

You would have a major problem with the building regulations.

Good God, WHY? It's nothing terribly out of the ordinary.

This would be an incredibly expensive job to carry out too.

No more than putting any other kind of extra story on.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On Wed, 21 Jul 2010 17:53:52 +0100 (BST), wrote:

I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof
conservatory/greenhouse

You would have a major problem with the building regulations.

Good God, WHY? It's nothing terribly out of the ordinary.

The biggest snag would probably be the thermal insulation properties
and having to make the building meet current regulations on heat
loss. But I agree it shouldn't be that hard. What might be a problem
is getting rid of the heat in the middle of summer rather than
keeping heat loss down.

This would be an incredibly expensive job to carry out too.

No more than putting any other kind of extra story on.

Large bits of glass are expensive, large double or triple glazed
units are very expensive.

--
Cheers
Dave.

In article o.uk,
Dave Liquorice wrote:

I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof
conservatory/greenhouse

You would have a major problem with the building regulations.

Good God, WHY? It's nothing terribly out of the ordinary.

The biggest snag would probably be the thermal insulation properties
and having to make the building meet current regulations on heat
loss. But I agree it shouldn't be that hard. What might be a problem
is getting rid of the heat in the middle of summer rather than
keeping heat loss down.

It's soluble. We did it in our south-facing conservatory.

This would be an incredibly expensive job to carry out too.

No more than putting any other kind of extra story on.

Large bits of glass are expensive, large double or triple glazed
units are very expensive.

True, but irrelevant. Build it out of medium-sized, double-glazed
K glass.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"harry" wrote
"Gill Smith" wrote:
I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof conservatory/greenhouse

--http://www.gillsmith999.plus.com/

You would have a major problem with the building regulations.
This would be an incredibly expensive job to carry out too.

I would have thought no more complicated than getting permission for a
conservatory because that is what it is, but on the roof rather than the
garden. One problem might be neighbours objecting to loss of privacy. Cost
would be down to building it on the existing building but that would be all
in the design. Sounds great to me.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
W.of London. UK

On 21 July, 17:53, wrote:
In article ,

harry wrote:
On 21 July, 00:00, "Gill Smith" wrote:
I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof conservatory/greenhouse

You would have a major problem with the building regulations.

Good God, WHY? *It's nothing terribly out of the ordinary.

It's very much out of the ordinary.

This would be an incredibly expensive job to carry out too.

No more than putting any other kind of extra story on.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Minimum thermal insulation levels.
The roof would need to be removed and a completely different specially
manufactured structure put on. (Not just the tiles/slates but all the
timber work.)
Depending on the area, there might well be planning difficulties.
Possibly objections from neighbours too (if any)

"Gill Smith" wrote in message
o.uk...
I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof conservatory/greenhouse


This is an idea that I have long fantasised about, as well :-)

There are a few practical issues, of course.

For example, this is slightly more than a loft conversion.
Not only does the floor have to bear the weight of the
greenhouse/conservatory contents but it has to be waterproofed to protect
the house from the water, moisture,etc.
The floor also has to be insulated to modern standards and the electrical
work will have to take account of the added moisture.
So very much like taking off a pitched roof and installing a flat roof, then
building a conservatory on the flat roof.
[Although I don't think BCOs are very keen on new flat roof construction.]

In fact, this sounds like a very practical approach because you can then
have an outside area as well to put out plants in the summer if you so wish.
[Also to sit and enjoy the view.]

Not a cheap option, but it does sound achievable.
I have often wondered why this construction is not adopted - you gain the
use of the roof as a conservatory albeit at a significantly grater
construction cost.
Neigbour privacy may be an issue, but no more so than balconies or flat roof
(or 'town houses' with a third storey).

I presume that there may be issues over the status of the whole thing.
Is it 'habitable'?
In which case the insulation requirements are much higher.

When I win the lottery (which I don't enter) I may have a go.

Cheers

Dave R

--
No plan survives contact with the enemy.

Helmuth von Moltke the Elder

In article ,
harry wrote:

I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof conservatory/greenhouse

You would have a major problem with the building regulations.

Good God, WHY? =A0It's nothing terribly out of the ordinary.

It's very much out of the ordinary.

No, it's not. It's unusual for a domestic dwelling, but is a fairly
common commercial and industrial construction - not typically used
as a conservatory, of course.

This would be an incredibly expensive job to carry out too.

No more than putting any other kind of extra story on.

Minimum thermal insulation levels.

No problem. 3/4" gap K glass. Absolutely bog-standard nowadays.
We have it on our conservatory, and I can witness it works.

The roof would need to be removed and a completely different specially
manufactured structure put on. (Not just the tiles/slates but all the
timber work.)
Depending on the area, there might well be planning difficulties.
Possibly objections from neighbours too (if any)

As I said, no more than putting any other kind of extra story on.
It's no cheaper or easier, either.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 21 July, 22:47, wrote:
In article o.uk,





Dave Liquorice wrote:

I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof
conservatory/greenhouse

You would have a major problem with the building regulations.

Good God, WHY? *It's nothing terribly out of the ordinary.

The biggest snag would probably be the thermal insulation properties
and having to make the building meet current regulations on heat
loss. But I agree it shouldn't be that hard. What might be a problem
is getting rid of the heat in the middle of summer rather than
keeping heat loss down.

It's soluble. *We did it in our south-facing conservatory.

This would be an incredibly expensive job to carry out too.

No more than putting any other kind of extra story on.

Large bits of glass are expensive, large double or triple glazed
units are very expensive.

True, but irrelevant. *Build it out of medium-sized, double-glazed
K glass.

Regards,
Nick Maclaren.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Double glazed K glass is not even the equivalent of a single brick
wall.

In article ,
harry wrote:

I want a solar roof

so the top storey of my house becomes a roof
conservatory/greenhouse

You would have a major problem with the building regulations.

Good God, WHY? =A0It's nothing terribly out of the ordinary.

The biggest snag would probably be the thermal insulation properties
and having to make the building meet current regulations on heat
loss. But I agree it shouldn't be that hard. What might be a problem
is getting rid of the heat in the middle of summer rather than
keeping heat loss down.

It's soluble. =A0We did it in our south-facing conservatory.

This would be an incredibly expensive job to carry out too.

No more than putting any other kind of extra story on.

Large bits of glass are expensive, large double or triple glazed
units are very expensive.

True, but irrelevant. =A0Build it out of medium-sized, double-glazed
K glass.

Double glazed K glass is not even the equivalent of a single brick
wall.

Wrong. It's the equivalent of a cavity wall. Look it up. Also,
the inside glass of our conservatory stays at roughly the same
temperature as the inside of our cavity brick house walls.

This is getting ridiculous, and I shall stop posting corrections
on the grounds of reducing the boredom factor. The regular readers
will know who to believe.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.