A Conservatory for the New Year and All Seasons

A new year is upon us, and what will the new year have in store for conservatory consumers and installers in 2008. We have already seen changes in the conservatory market place and the trends should continue in 2008. So what exactly has changed for the conservatory market, well there are several issues regarding all aspects of the conservatory package in that have changed in recent times but in the main conservatory issues seem to be focussed far to much about price, rather then what is best with regards to size, design, and specification to make the conservatory a usable space all year round. The conservatory specification in is paramount to make the conservatory usable all year round.

When looking for a conservatory what are the main areas that you should look for in the conservatory and what areas of design should you be looking for the representative from your local conservatory company to advise you on? Well size is the first area of conservatory design I always look for, when setting out the proposed are for the proposed conservatory on your property in my advise is always think big, I spend a lot of time talking people into extending the proposed size for their conservatory by 500mm or even 1000mm, when the conservatory is finished you will appreciate the difference in floor space. The feedback we get from people we have installed conservatories for is quite funny, they almost always say the same thing about their conservatory in the same order, I can’t believe how much time I spend in the conservatory, I use the conservatory more than the lounge, and the second and most relevant is I wish I’d had a larger conservatory. We have actually extended several conservatories in Nottingham and Derby that we built in previous years, our customers in had enjoyed their conservatory so much they had spend a substantial amount again on extending the conservatory. It is so much more cost effective when considering what conservatory size you are looking for in consider that you always move into the space you have and generally the conservatory will be much more cost effective the larger the size you order, this is because of the amount of fixed costs involved in building a conservatory regardless of the size, a 3m x 3m conservatory takes the same time to build and install as a 4m x 4m conservatory.

The design of the conservatory in my opinion should take areas of the house into consideration, i.e. the design features of the house should be duplicated in the conservatory to ensure the conservatory looks like it belongs on that particular property. This could be taking aspects of the properties roof such as a flat apex and duplicating that with a flat apex design conservatory, or if you have windows with Georgian bar designs in them out a Georgian cross in each top light of the conservatory to blend the designs together. If the windows on your property have no transoms in then duplicate this on your conservatory design. A very popular option is to plaster the internal walls of the conservatory to create the feeling of a room rather than that of a conservatory; I think you get a nice blend between a conservatory and a modern, contemporary room.

The specification of the proposed conservatory is critical to achieving a usable room all year round. The main areas of design to consider are ventilation, insulation, glazing and roof glazing. It is important to achieve a design that has both enough ventilation and the right glazing to create a conservatory that’s usable all year round. We find that most conservatory companies only quote for small top opening vents, but I like to include a combination of small top opening vents and large push out vents that open below the transom to provide additional ventilation in summer, when there is little or no breeze these vents are very effective at providing ventilation for the conservatory. The roof glazing is probably the other biggest area of design that requires looking at; the most popular options are polycarbonate glazing in a range of colours for the conservatory providing different benefits for the conservatory. Polycarbonate in its 35mm depth provides a very cost effective and attractive conservatory roof glazing solution for consumers in Nottingham and derby, the 35mm polycarbonate glazing actually has a more effective U value rating than Pilkington K glass. For conservatory consumers in wanting something a little different for their new conservatory glass roofs are becoming more and more popular with the development of cost effective solar control conservatory roof glazing. Solar control conservatory roof glazing means you can have a glass roof without the problems that are created in summer with glass roof and the heat gain. A glass roof conservatory in is quieter, the life expectancy of glass is far longer than polycarbonate and the there is also the cosmetic benefits of the design.

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Lifestyle Windows, Doors and Conservatories offer an extensive range of styles and designs on conservatories for installation as well as DIY conservatory construction, bespoke design, UPVC/PVCU windows, doors and fascias.