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How To Build A Conservatory

Conservatories are a perfect means of creating an extra living space within your home. They can serve various purposes which includes serving as an avenue to entertain guests, a playroom for the kids and can even be used as a home office, they’re able to open up your property without having to break the bank for the highly expensive renovations. So if you wish have a conservatory constructed in your home, it’s either you do it yourself or hire a professional. Doing it yourself will help you save some money but can also end up disastrous. So if you lack the confidence to undertake this project by yourself, then it’s strongly recommended that you hire a professional who can guarantee the best results. In this guide, you’ll discover all steps required to build your own conservatory.

✓ The Base. Due to its durability and cost, concrete happens to be the most used material for conservatory’s base. Firstly, measure the enough area to accommodate the conservatory. Dig at least 1 metre deep and ensure it’s level. Fill with damp membrane and pour your concrete mixture in evenly till it reaches level ground. Once done, make sure that the base is totally dry before erecting the conservatory

✓ Building. Basically you can start by constructing the walls and ensure that they’re sturdy and secure, putting into consideration their measurement.

✓ Roofing. Good news here is, DIY conservatories will already come with the roofing in place, so you won’t have to bother about this stage when building. They usually come with an acrylic roof which is easy to install and maintain.

✓ Flooring & Finishings. Starting from the roof, ensure that there’s sealant on all areas where air can pass through. For the flooring, you’ll have to choose your patio slabs or tiles to go outside of the structure. You can apply these with a thin layer of concrete or onto screed flooring.

Conservatories and orangeries look very similar, so it can be hard to tell what their differences are. The main thing that distinguishes the two is the amount of glazing they have.

Conservatories usually have a roof that is made up of at least 75% glass. Orangeries, on the other hand, have roofs that are generally less than 75% glass.

Conservatories also tend to have walls that are made up of at least 50% glass. However, orangeries have glass on less than 50% of the wall area.

Orangeries were originally developed to grow oranges in large stately homes. Their mixture of brick and glazing gave the oranges a combination of plenty of sunlight and shelter.

Does It Take Long To Put A Solid Roof On A Conservatory?

If you’re interested in installing a solid roof on your conservatory, it may also interest you to know just how long the project is going to take. Well, the fitting of a solid conservatory roof is quite easy and quick with minimal disruption and mess around when done by a reliable professional. The process, however, involves removing the old existing roof of the conservatory rather than fitting the new roof over the old one which can lead to many complications. Generally, the entire process should take about 6 working days to complete. In this article, we’re going to provide a breakdown of each task as well as the duration to complete the individual tasks to give you an idea of the entire solid roof replacement process. Let’s take a look!

✓ Day 1 - Setting up of the site. This includes sealing off your conservatory from the rest of the house as well as laying of the floor protection. Furthermore, your existing conservatory roof will be removed and positioned in such a way to enable easy transportation and disposal. By the end of the first day, the installation of the new roof will completed and made to be water tight

✓ Day 2 - Insulation will be installed on the inside of your new solid roof.

✓ Day 3 - The replacement conservatory roof will be tiled and the insulated plasterboard will be installed inside.

✓ Day 4 - This involves finishing of the conservatory roof’s inside and outside. And all rubbish would be adequately disposed off.

✓ Day 5 - Your tiled conservatory roof’s new ceiling will be plastered.

✓ Day 6 - This day is free as the plaster is left to dry off properly.

Many conservatories fall under permitted development which means they don’t require planning permission. There are exceptions to this though, especially if you’re looking to have a large conservatory installed. Read our guide on conservatory planning permission for more information.

Generally, if you want to do a job, you can as well ensure that’s done properly. You may be considering building a small base for an orangery, but no matter how small it is, it just shouldn’t be done to any other than a compliant standard, and that’s whether or not an approval is needed. When it comes to building work which is covered by Building Regulations, you are required to comply (by the law) with the regulations and to make use of one of the two types of Building Control Service available. These includes the Building Control Service given by your local authority or the Building Control Service given by approved inspectors.

Regardless of the service you opt for, you’re going to pay but the preferred service may offer an advice before commencement of the project. The individual carrying out the building work is charged with the responsibility of ensuring total compliance with the regulations. Therefore, if you select to undertake the project by yourself, the responsibility is primarily on you. In the same vein, if you opt for a building company the responsibility would be the company’s, but you should always ensure to confirm this position before commencement of the project. You must also take note that you may be served with an enforcement notice if you fail to comply with the regulations as the owner of the building. So it’s advisable that you choose your builder very carefully.

There are a bunch of elements you may require approval for like the structural integrity, appropriate insulation levels, or the construction of a building over drainage or sewage. In cases where it’s obvious that you’d need building regulations, you can simply submit the building and planning application together at once.

The short and simple answer to this question is yes, just like other new extensions, you must have a foundation done for your lean to conservatory. In order to transfer the building’s weight to the floor safely, there’s a need to construct a foundation. Without it, the structural integrity of the extension would be heavily compromised. What’s more? While there’s no minimum depth requirement for a lean to conservatory, there are multiple factors that can affect the depth as well as type of the foundation. Let’s take a look!

• The nearby trees. What trees do is to absorb water from the soil which can affect the foundation significantly. When water is absorbed from the soil, the soil shrinks which affects the foundation’s strength. The size as well as type of the tree will determine the extent of the water absorption from the ground.
• The soil’s suitability. The weight that each soil can withstand varies and even more so, when environmental factors have more effect on certain types of soils than others. For instance, chalk is able to drain water away relatively easily which means that nearby trees will only have a little effect on its quality. Clay, on the other hand, shrinks when drying and also retains a lot of water. This means that nearby trees will have huge impact on clay soil which will compromise the structural integrity of the lean to conservatory. Therefore, since changes to clay mostly occur to about 0.75m depth, foundations on the soil should be constructed deeper to compensate.
• Undisturbed ground. Before the foundations are laid, there’s a need to identify grounds that hasn’t been built on and this usually takes a depth of about 1m (this figure may vary especially in regions where drains have been laid).