Has anyone recently bought a conservatory

[princess jackson]

We have been looking around and getting quotes for a 3x3 edwardian conservatory and the prices vary from £6160 to £10400.

This lead us to check some things out and now were are unsure what jargon to believe. they have all came with the speal we have updated the windows and are the best on the market.

We have been recommended a company which i think we will go with.

My questions are
has anyone had a similar experience with shooping for something as big as this

And to anyone who has already got one what type of furniture is best for a conservatory. Everything seems to be cane.

 

[jen_uk]

I have not bought one but I used to sell them! Most people put cane furniture in them.

 

[Minniespal]

We've had ours about 5 years now. We did shop around and ended up using the company that fitted our double glazing.

Our conservatory has our old suite in it, cream leather plus a plasma television and a pc. Don't like cane especially in furniture

 

[higgy66]

Have you thought about getting it designed yourself and not buying one off the shelf. You just need an architect to draw your detailed plans and then take to a glazier for the windows and roof panels. I saw this on a programme years ago and never forgot the advise.

We did this about 5 years ago and we had one drawn up for the front of our bungalow and it's 30 ft x 10ft and only cost about £7500 for the glass/roof. A brick layer did the dwarf wall for a cost of £250 and then DH and friend the conservatory up. It only took 2 days so even if you paid a local builder they usually charge £300/day.

When people see our conservatory they always think we've paid a fortune - and obviously we never correct them!

It might be something you could look into at the planning stage as you never know?

One thing I would add is that if you want to use in winter you must put enough radiators in. We have 2 large double radiators and we use it as our main lounge all year round. I know many people who can't use there's in winter as it's too cold. I would also look at A/C for the summer as they get very very hot!

Good luck

 

[Goofyish]

I agree with Janet - make sure you put heating in. Ours is unheated and its freezing in winter, although we have an electric fire that warms it up (bit expensive to run though).

Make sure you budget for blinds too - they can cost a fortune depending on make etc.

Also, check if you need planning permission - most conservatory companies told us we didn't need permission, but when we checked with the council we did because we back onto a service road and the conservatory was going to be within a certain distance of his 'public highway'!
There wer also restrictions on how far we could go out next to our neighbours property - 2.5m I think

 

[Lisash]

Prices can vary a great deal. Some of the larger companies spent hours at our house giving us the all singing presentation with prices to match. In the end we chose a local small company as the guy was very honest and down to earth and did a great job. In the end you just have to go with who you feel most comfortable with.

As for furniture we have a normal sofa etc. As it's used by our kids and assorted friends most we thought normal was more durable than the cane stuff. I'm with the others on saying be sure to get some sort of heating they are freezing in winter without

 

[princess jackson]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

 

[Ware Bears]

We've had ours for two years now and it's got to be one of the best things we've ever bought! We've got cane and pine furniture in ours.

We had several quotes, they were pretty close to each other, but in the end we went with the local firm that was recommended by a neighbour and they couldn't be faulted.

Are you going for a poly or glass roof? We chose glass and are very glad we did. It's cool in the summer, even though it faces south, so no need for blinds, and lovely and warm in winter. There is nothing I like better than sitting out there at night with a glass of wine looking up at the stars!

We didn't put any central heating in ours but find it warm enough except on the very coldest of nights when we use a small electric fan-heater stove.

Good luck with your planning!