Sunroom in County Armagh

It always an exciting decision to extend your home, be it adding to an existing room or building a new one all together. However, the problem starts when you realize there are so many options giving you a tricky challenge of knowing which to choose or where to start. There are great differences in renovations between homes, but a common question that remains is whether to go for a conservatory or an orangery.

There are large array of differences between the styles and knowing a thing or two about the special attributes is definitely a great way to get started. Let’s have a look!

• Orangeries are generally best suited to traditional-styled homes or with older property making use of matching stone or brick in construction. Meanwhile for a more recent or modern property, a conservatory will be the better option to add the flair to your property.

• Conservatories tend to be larger than orangeries, therefore if you want a smaller extension, an orangery would be your best bet.

• Orangeries are typically rectangular in shape and is traditionally a more regular building meanwhile a conservatory can be shaped to suit your needs. With an conservatory, you can get a T-shaped, L-shaped, curved, double ended and lean-to extensions to suit your preference.

• An orangery usually possess a flat roof at the edges with a glazed lantern section right at the centre. You can also find more luxurious orangeries having two or more lantern sections. However, when it comes to the roofing, conservatories generally have more options. Some are gabled or pitched, others are lean-to with a plethora of choice to finish off the roof.

• Due to the fact that orangeries are made of more brick than glass when compared to conservatories, they usually provide more insulation than their counterpart. If your goal is to use the extension during the winter months, then constructing an orangery is the best bet.

With the ability of orangeries to create additional space in your home as well as altering the appearance of your property completely, it’s very likely you’ll require a planning permission to construct an orangery. However, with the lengthy and complicated application process, you might want to consider the few exemptions before getting started.

If you’re considering to build an home extension such as an orangery, the obvious first step would be to consider whether or not you’ll need planning permission. And while you tend to get carried away in the thought of adding new beautiful living space, you should never forget to take into account your area’s planning regulation as well as the planning process realities. However, the application process is not one of the most exciting activities any homeowner would like to pass through and even more so when they live in a conservation area or possess a listed property that can even make the process a lot more challenging.

It’s recommended that you consult your plans and ideas with a professional such as an architect, building design company or a chartered surveyor, but there are some options you can put into consideration if you want to avoid the applying for a planning permission.

If you’re sure about not wanting to apply for a planning permission, you’d have to check your area to identify the possible local planning implications and determine whether or not your home has permitted development right which allows for some building works that can be made without the need to apply for a planning permission. To do this, simply check the government’s planning portal to determine whether your project is covered by the permitted development rights or applying for a planning permission would be required. What’s more? You need to determine if your building is listed especially if you live in a period property. For listed building, it can be much more difficult to get a planning permission as you must comply with some very specific regulations.

After being in the shadows of conservatories for so long, Orangeries are now pulling a great comeback into the scenes. They were quite popular back in the 17th and 18th century, but went into the drawers with the advent of conservatories. In recent times, Orangeries are now becoming more and more popular with several homeowners now looking to have one constructed in their homes.

Like many other home improvements or extensions, orangery prices can vary based on a number of factors. However, you can expect to incur within the range of £15,000 to £20,000 for a basic orangery design and build. If you wish to build orangeries with more distinctive features, this price can jump up to £50,000 or more depending on your preferences. Generally, orangeries are more likely to be a bit cheaper when compared to their conventional extension counterparts and add more value to your home than a conservatory in terms of a resale.

For the best results, it’s advisable to investing good money to ensure a solid build and save money in the fittings. Do not look to cut costs by going for cheaper building materials like poor quality vines. Generally, interior design will always depreciate in value, but its the solid structure that command great value for resale purposes. Also, when the structure is solid and of a great quality, you’ll get to save a lot of repair money down the line as the cheaper frames will always give way with time. However, if you have the money, you can also consider spending huge bucks on both the structure as well as the fittings because its only through this you truly maximize the benefits from your orangery. When the fittings are of great quality, repairs won’t come often which ultimately saves you some money as well.

If you’re planning to build an orangery extension on your property, then it only makes sense to estimate the possible cost before getting started. However, like several other home improvement projects, the cost of building an orangery extension is based on a wide array of factors such as your location ( within the UK), the size of the building, the orangery style in question, the materials to be incorporated as well as the finish you’re expecting to get.

Generally, to build an orangery, you’d have to spend within a range of £10,000 to £70,000. This variations in price depends on the factors earlier mentioned such as the type and size of the selected orangery. For a small orangery featuring a uPVC frame, you can get that done for nothing less than £10,000, but the price can jump to £60,000 or more if you want a large, timber-framed orangery built. For a superior quality, large and timber-framed orangery featuring a new fitted kitchen, you’d have to incur up to £70,000 in expenses (when you add the price of the new kitchen units as well as appliances).

The finish you want to achieve is one of the most influential factors determining the price of your orangery. If you want just the bare essentials (low end), the price ranges from £10,000 to £20,000, meanwhile the price for a blend of both basic and customized items ranges between £20,000 to £40,000. However, if you have a high taste and looking to get the best possible orangery with all fixtures and fittings of great quality, you’d have to spend between £35,000 to £60,000.

Furthermore, orangery’s cost will also be affected by how you wish to make use of the space, meaning an extra work may be required. This must also be taken into consideration to get a more accurate estimation of the cost.