On Thu, 16 Jan 2003 14:49:43 -0000, "Alison"
o.uk wrote:

Apologies for not being *quite* garden orientated but there are just so many
lovely conservatory plants about that we're considering having one built.

I value all the opinions given here so I'd like to ask your experiences of
conservatories. Like polycarb roof or glass, timber construction or uPVC,
roof vents or roof blinds? Are there any things you wish you had known when
you bought yours or things you would change now given half a chance? Any
manufacturers that you've been impressed with? Pitfalls to watch out for?
It's such a huge cost that any scraps of experience/wisdom would be greatly
appreciated.

TIA
--Alison

We have a polycarb roof on ours and I belive you can get tinted ones
to give some shade. From an environmental point of view, our builder
recommended uPVC as he said it was impossible to guarantee timber was
from renewed forests, but on the other hand uPVC surely damages the
environment in its making. Your choice. Our conservatory is south
facing and in the summer the sun can be scorching. We solved this
problem by making two troughs with trellis on the back and putting
them against the sunniest corner of the conservatory and put a
honeysuckle in each. It grew away fast and right from the first
summer we had lots of leaves to shade that part of the conservatory
and in the winter it loses all its leaves and plenty of light comes
through the stems.

Joan in Bramhall (Cheshire)

(Nick Maclaren) wrote in
:

In article ,
Martin Sykes wrote:

"Plum" wrote in message
...
snip because of the many deep-framed little sections. £6,000 (yes, SIX
THOUSAND
POUNDS!) was the figure quoted for the roof blinds. So our conservatory
roof
will remain unshaded, I'm afraid!

Just an idea, but could you suspend a grid of wires from the ceiling and
grow climbers over them to provide a natural curtain?

You certainly can. To some extent, you can ensure that the cover
is there only in the summer, too. But you must either have a fairly
solid wooden conservatory or insist that the fixtures are built in!

I grew annual ipomoeas across ours, just attached to string and a few cup-
hooks, which they covered very quickly.

They don't get heavy or woody, and at the end of the season you just unhook
the lot. Gives them just that bit of extra shelter they need to do really
well and look stunning.

I personally don't like perennial climbers inside the conservatory (unless
its a really tropical hothouse) because they always seem to get so dusty
and attract cobwebs after a few years, and it's so hard to get them clean.

Victoria

"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
Allow for more ventilation than you think you will need, preferably
set up so you can arrange a natural through draft of air, and have a
waterproof floor if you're going to be watering plants. If possible
don't site it facing due south..it will be much too hot for people and
plants in summer.
Janet.

I was wondering about how you keep the insurance company happy with
ventilation in conservatories. Can you get, say, self opening windows which
don't open far enough to be a security risk?
Rachael

I was wondering about how you keep the insurance company happy with
ventilation in conservatories. Can you get, say, self opening windows which
don't open far

Are you talking of a conservatory or a room extension leading directly into
the house.
If it is just a lean-to conservatory on the side of the house then insurance
will be no problem.

Re ventilation....was always taught that you should have 1/8th the surface
area of the roof.
Otherwise you could fit extractor fans in the ridge section of the gable
ends and low level louvers or covered openings to let cool air in

--
David Hill
Abacus Nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

The message
from "Rachael Reynolds" contains these
words:


"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
Allow for more ventilation than you think you will need, preferably
set up so you can arrange a natural through draft of air, and have a
waterproof floor if you're going to be watering plants. If possible
don't site it facing due south..it will be much too hot for people and
plants in summer.
Janet.

I was wondering about how you keep the insurance company happy with
ventilation in conservatories. Can you get, say, self opening windows which
don't open far enough to be a security risk?

We had a secure solid door between the conservatory and the house
(same construction and insurance-worthy lock spec as our front doors).A
friend of mine who has a really picky insurer, has a double door; a
glasspanel one on the "house" side plus a lockable strong wrought
ironwork door on the conservatory side. It might be worth asking your
insurers beforehand, what will be acceptable to them.

Janet.

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

The glass is 1/2" cavity K glass. Definitely worth it. Condensation
is minimal and little heating is needed. It won't save money, but you
shouldn't lose money over its lifetime.

I'm curious about this one. When double glazing first came out, I was
told that the thinner the gap the better the thermal insulation, as
convection would not be so rapid in a narrower gap. A wider gap was
required for noise insulation, ideally with a tapering section so there
were no resonances. Now DG firms seem to be plugging wide gaps. Is this
because profit margins are higher on chunkier frames, or have the laws
of physics changed in the last twenty years?

Jon
--
Jon Rouse

In article ,
Jon Rouse wrote:
In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

The glass is 1/2" cavity K glass. Definitely worth it. Condensation
is minimal and little heating is needed. It won't save money, but you
shouldn't lose money over its lifetime.

I'm curious about this one. When double glazing first came out, I was
told that the thinner the gap the better the thermal insulation, as
convection would not be so rapid in a narrower gap. A wider gap was
required for noise insulation, ideally with a tapering section so there
were no resonances. Now DG firms seem to be plugging wide gaps. Is this
because profit margins are higher on chunkier frames, or have the laws
of physics changed in the last twenty years?

No, but they never did lead to the conclusion that you were told
originally! There is a conduction effect as well, and therefore
there will be a point below which the insulation is proportional
to the gap thickness.

Looking at the figures, there is little gain above 1/2", and the
way to get better insulation is to go for triple glazing. Rarely
worth it in the UK. My guess is that the convection effect is what
stops wider gaps from being better, and my summary is that the near
optimum is 1/2".


Regards,
Nick Maclaren,
University of Cambridge Computing Service,
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge CB2 3QH, England.
Email:
Tel.: +44 1223 334761 Fax: +44 1223 334679

Alison,

Like you, we're at the "thinking about it" stage. If you fancy a
laugh, get Portland Conservatories in to give you a quote. They came
to us last week, stayed the best part of three hours waffling on about
K glass, argon gas and how if there was a better conservatory company,
they'd be working for them instead. Having done that, they priced up a
6m x 3m conservatory @ 36.5K!!!

A lovely product, no doubt, but the bottom line is that no-one is
going to pay me 36.5k more for my house just because it has a
conservatory. I'll be looking elsewhere. Can anyone recommend a good,
cheaper-than-Portland company in Greater Manchester / Cheshire?

TIA
Nick

"david" wrote in message ...
I was wondering about how you keep the insurance company happy with
ventilation in conservatories. Can you get, say, self opening windows which
don't open far

Are you talking of a conservatory or a room extension leading directly into
the house.
If it is just a lean-to conservatory on the side of the house then insurance
will be no problem.

Re ventilation....was always taught that you should have 1/8th the surface
area of the roof.
Otherwise you could fit extractor fans in the ridge section of the gable
ends and low level louvers or covered openings to let cool air in

Having just read this thread I'll point out that.
1 there is no such thing as a "lean to" conservatory as compared to
any other sort of conservatory. (legaly things like the Norfolk
greenhouses "garden room" are classed as sheds"!
2 "legaly" you are supposed to have an door between the house and
conservatory of sufficient quality that it can be used as a normal
door to the outside world.
Therefore It may be that some insurance company finds the thief has
come through the conservatory into the house through an unlocked or
insufficient door you may be uninsured.
and 3 I believe under current regulations conservatories are not
supposed to be heated because if it is, you should have got planning
permission for an extension!!
The Q

"Nick Williamson" wrote in message
om...
Alison,

Like you, we're at the "thinking about it" stage. If you fancy a
laugh, get Portland Conservatories in to give you a quote. They came
to us last week, stayed the best part of three hours waffling on about
K glass, argon gas and how if there was a better conservatory company,
they'd be working for them instead. Having done that, they priced up a
6m x 3m conservatory @ 36.5K!!!

A lovely product, no doubt, but the bottom line is that no-one is
going to pay me 36.5k more for my house just because it has a
conservatory. I'll be looking elsewhere. Can anyone recommend a good,
cheaper-than-Portland company in Greater Manchester / Cheshire?

TIA
Nick
Oh spooky - I've got Portland on my list to cal tmw (tried today but it was
engaged - obviously folk racing to spend 36.5K!)

Ours would hopefully be a similar size 5.8m x 3.5m. We have had in a local
firm who quoted a uPVC one (a rectangular gable end style) at 21.5K and
today Amdega visited. They were much more professional and there was no
hard sell but I'm holding onto my hat for when the quote comes in -
beautiful conservatories but I expect the price reflects that. Gleneagles
Hotel has an Amdega so that maybe saya it all. Still, gained some useful
info and will continue talking and listening.

Most valuable and unbiased advice is here though :-)

Let me know how you get on.

"Alison" o.uk wrote in
message ...

"Nick Williamson" wrote in message
om...
Alison,

Like you, we're at the "thinking about it" stage. If you fancy a
laugh, get Portland Conservatories in to give you a quote. They came
to us last week, stayed the best part of three hours waffling on about
K glass, argon gas and how if there was a better conservatory company,
they'd be working for them instead. Having done that, they priced up a
6m x 3m conservatory @ 36.5K!!!

A lovely product, no doubt, but the bottom line is that no-one is
going to pay me 36.5k more for my house just because it has a
conservatory. I'll be looking elsewhere. Can anyone recommend a good,
cheaper-than-Portland company in Greater Manchester / Cheshire?

TIA
Nick
Oh spooky - I've got Portland on my list to cal tmw (tried today but it
was
engaged - obviously folk racing to spend 36.5K!)

Ours would hopefully be a similar size 5.8m x 3.5m. We have had in a
local
firm who quoted a uPVC one (a rectangular gable end style) at 21.5K and
today Amdega visited. They were much more professional and there was no
hard sell but I'm holding onto my hat for when the quote comes in -
beautiful conservatories but I expect the price reflects that. Gleneagles
Hotel has an Amdega so that maybe saya it all. Still, gained some useful
info and will continue talking and listening.


I paid about 10k for a 5m x 3m one 2 years ago. Bricks about 1/3 up wall
height. Local company. Roof is just plain poly though, the elaborate roofs
add a lot of cost.

--
Tumbleweed

Remove my socks before replying (but no email reply necessary to newsgroups)