Answering the question "Is a conservatory a good investment?" is best answered with "maybe" or "it depends".
It depends on the type of conservatory and what you want to use the room for.
In this post we will look at the factors that help influence the answer and help you decide whether a conservatory would be a good investment for you.
Before deciding whether a conservatory is worth having, you need to assess what you will use it for, what is your vision for the room?
Is it a space you will use only very occasionally, is it an overload room and a bit more space or do you have loftier ambitions? Do you want your conservatory to be a great space, perhaps the perfect room from which to enjoy the summer.
If you are happy for a conservatory to be little more than expensive extra storage and a room that is used only very occasionally, a cheap, very basic conservatory might be an option.
If you want it to be a proper part of the house further thought is required.
If you search for conservatory problems or similar, the key problem is clear. Conservatories tend to be very poor at regulating the temperature, they can be too hot to use in summer while in winter they are only usable with the heating on near 24/7.
This flaw is so fundamental it is often enough to have people rule out getting a conservatory - why spend thousands of pounds to get a room you can’t use. It’s a very good question.
If you get a conservatory with a glass or polycarbonate roof it will have this huge defect. You can try to reduce the impact, you could spend another four-figure sum to have blinds fitted (though the consensus is that they do little to alter the temperature) or install air conditioning or even try those stickers which claim to help but actually do nothing.
That is why we asked the initial question. If you want a conservatory you will hardly ever use (begging the question why anyone would ever want this) then a glass or polycarb roof works, if you want a conservatory that is a usable space then you need a conservatory that isn’t what you might think of as a conservatory.
Well, possibly, but extensions cost a lot of money don’t they. People tend to get conservatories because you can have the extra square footage, but at nowhere near the cost of a full-blown extension. Extensions are also a much bigger undertaking, they take longer to plan and build, there is more paperwork.
If you have the money then of course an extension is a great option, and one that is likely to pay for itself in terms of increased house value.
However, there is a middle way.
If you are to get a conservatory, you presumably want the benefits of a conservatory - i.e. the price and ease of installation but also the benefits of an extension - the usable extra space, the great look, how it blends in with the rest of the property. Oh, the added house price value would be nice too.
What if we were to say that this is one of those rare occasions when you can have your cake and eat it. You can get a conservatory that is usable, affordable and looks superb.
Here comes the plug for our product and why we think the answer to whether you should get a conservatory can be a ‘yes, absolutely’.
What you should consider, if we can be so bold, is a conservatory that has a lightweight, solid tiled roof. These roofs remove the key problem, the conservatory will be as usable as any other room, staying within pleasant temperatures.
As they also come in a range of styles and colours, they are also roofs that help the conservatory blend in with the rest of the property rather than looking a bit like a bolt-on. You get that great space, a room that is essentially an extension, but at conservatory-style prices.
The roofs also help the home owner save money on their energy bill - independent research by AECOM finding that £200 would be saved per year against a house with a glass or poly-carb roof on their conservatory. Longer term, they are also rooms that add value to the house, any would-be buyer getting a great space instead of a flawed conservatory.
But wait, this all sounds
Maybe, but we would argue that all our roofs do is turn conservatories into the room they always should have been. A conservatory with a glass or polycarb roof would have been installed with the homeowners hoping, assuming even it would be great usable space.
All the solid, lightweight tiled roof does is right a wrong.
The flaws with conservatories were what prompted us to develop the Guardian Warm Roof, a roof that can either be fitted to a new conservatory or easily retro-fitted to any existing one.
Until 2010, conservatories had to have either a glass or polycarb roof, it was our work to develop and alternative and show that it delivered on its promise that left to regulation change. Our roofs also have full Local Area Building Control (LABC) approval; we don’t make idle promises, we have the backing of regulation.
What next?
Choosing whether to have a conservatory built is a big decision, we would nor expect anyone to rush into buying one off the back of one blog post.
However, if you are tempted to get a conservatory please rule out glass or polycarb roofs - it is better to not get a conservatory than getting one that will only be a disappointment.
To get a feel for what a conservatory might look like with a lightweight, tiled roof please have a look round this site, including the gallery which shows a range of styles.
Please do also get in touch with any queries by calling 0800 0665832 or using our Contact Page.
