If you live in, or are planning to live in, a barn conversion or an agricultural conversion, check with your Local Authority to ascertain their policy with regards to extensions on barns and other agricultural buildings. Some council’s will not allow them under any circumstances.

Conservatories are often used as home offices. However, if you use a conservatory as an office it is highly recommended that you specify both air conditioning and heat reflective glass so that you can work uninterrupted throughout the day.

If you are buying a DIY Conservatory, check with the manufacture that it has been preassembled prior to delivery. It’s like flat-pack furniture, but on a grander scale, and you need the reassurance that everything is in the ‘box’ and fits together. Pre-assembly ensures this.

Timber conservatories are more environmentally friendly than uPCV conservatories. A uPCV conservatory takes considerably more energy to produce than a timber one, during its lifetime it will provide less insulation and at the end of its life it will be difficult to recycle.

Conservatories can be built with tilt and turn windows. These can open either at the top or at the side and in continental Europe these are the most popular windows and have the advantage of allowing trickle ventilation when opened a few centimetres at the top.

The opening windows of your conservatory can be either storm proof or a flush casement design. Storm proof windows have an outer lip completely around the window edge and are thus superior when it comes to weatherproofing.

If your house is built in stone it is essential to employ a specialist stone builder to build dwarf walls if they are required. In most areas where properties have been built in stone the expertise is available but it is a dying art and the ancient builders will need frequent resuscitation with cups of strong tea!

If your conservatory is built on a steep slope, your builder may opt to use what is known as a beam and block floor. The floor is constructed using steel reinforced concrete beams to the outer wall

Sliding folding doors are becoming increasingly popular in conservatory design. They allow you to open the conservatory up to the garden and if specified correctly will glide open with fingertip control.

An Orangery can have a variety of roof coverings. The most popular are synthetic waterproof materials although if the budget allows, a lead or copper roof can be installed and this will weather with an attractive patina over time.

Finials and cresting can be added to a conservatory to give it extra presence. However, the traditional method for a lead roofed conservatory is to add lead to the upper ridge section.

It is unlikely that a UPCV conservatory will be granted Planning Consent in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB) or in a Conservation Area.

UPCV is increasingly becoming less desirable as a construction material for many reasons, including its lack of green credentials. If your home is a Listed Property, you will not be allowed to install a UPCV conservatory

If your property is Listed be aware that gaining Listed Building Consent is not a forgone conclusion. Architects and builders cannot guarantee that a particular type of extension will be given approval, and moreover, every Local Authority has its own guidelines concerning Listed Properties.

If you are considering applying for Planning Consent for your conservatory, check with your Local Authority to ascertain what paperwork you need. In addition to the planning form you will required to supply a Certificate of Ownership and often a Design & Access statement.

Not all timbers are suitable for conservatory use. Common hardwoods such as beech can only be used for internal use. The most common external timber includes oak, Sapele, Meranti, Idigbo and Pine.

Nowadays most glass roofs are weather proofed at the apex using aluminium capping. The capping contains gaskets that press against the glass and seal it against water penetration.

Frosted or opaque glass is sometimes specified by the Local Planning authority, especially in a built up areas and where the building can be overlooked by neighbours or passers by.

Curved glass is extremely expensive and as such is rarely used in conservatories. Exact computer drawings are required for both the joinery and the glass. A special mould is required for every shape required to make the glass.

Laminated glass can be used instead of toughen safety glass. It is more expensive as each sheet is a minimum of 6.4mm thick. Its advantage is that when it shatters it breaks into hundreds of relatively harmless pieces.

Toughened safety glass is always recommended over float glass. It is more than five times as strong and therefore far less of a hazard if you have small children

Adjustable hinges are more popular on conservatory doors than parliament hinges. Adjustable hinges are especially important on oak conservatories as the weight of the doors can cause them to drop. Using an allen or hex key, hinges can be adjusted by up to 5mm upwards and sideways

If you notice any water penetration through roof vents, check that the roof vents are properly closed and sealed. Also check that none of the screws within the roof vent have become loose

Never reduce the amount of guttering or downpipes for aesthetic reasons. Quite often a conservatory roof has to take additional rainwater from the house. Increasingly, the UK is experiencing freak weather conditions and it is essential that you have sufficient drainage.

If your conservatory joins an existing low hanging house roof, it will require a box gutter to take the rainwater away at the join of the conservatory roof and the existing house roof. This will require some of the existing roof to be cut away and then retiled.

If the back wall of your conservatory was the existing house wall it may require thorough cleaning. Specially formulated brick cleaner can be obtained from builders merchants such as Travis Perkins or Wickes

The back wall of your conservatory was probably an external house wall before the conservatory was erected. Whilst it might have been acceptable as a house wall, as an internal conservatory wall you’ll probably spend more time looking at it and it may require some attention to make it more attractive. Ask your builder to re-point the mortar and specify a matching mortar.

If you wish to match the brickwork on your conservatory to that of your home you must use a brick matching service. A company such as Travis Perkins will charge a small fee to match your brick from around 3000 types. Often a close match rather than an exact match can prove acceptable and the newness of the brick will weather over time.

If your home is built on land with a heavy clay content it is likely that you will need to have extra strong foundation to counteract the effect of expansion and contraction of the clay in winter and summer. Building the foundations on piles is the usual solution, boring 6 metre holes into the ground filled with concrete and reinforced steel.

The foundations of a conservatory should be built to a minimum of 1 metre in depth. For poor ground conditions a greater depth may be required to provide long-term structural stability.

Nearly all conservatories today are built on a dwarf wall are done so on a cavity wall 300mm thick. The wall should contain 90mm of insulation. Before accepting a builders quote, check that the wall will meet or exceed this specification.

Automatic electronic roof vents are a practical option if you don’t want the bother of opening vents when it is hot and closing them when the temperature cools or if there is a sudden shower of rain Automatic roof vents have in-built sensors that will activate at pre-set temperatures and close quickly if it rains. Critically important if you’ve just popped out to the shops or the pub!

If you wish to enjoy a natural oak interior to your conservatory while the exterior matches your external painted windows and doors, specify a two-tone conservatory.

Micro-porous paint is now commonly used on a timber conservatory. Because the paint is porous the wood is able to breathe through the micro holes. However, if numerous coats of micro-porous paint are used the objective of using it is negated and thus give it a limited advantage over other paints,

If a conservatory roof is more than three metres wide it is normal to use a number of panes of glass to span the space. With an oak conservatory we will hide the join internally with a horizontal oak beam.

A garden room differs from a conservatory in that a garden room will usually have a solid roof. This roof is normally tiled but in some instances can be lead or copper covered, perhaps with one or more roof lanterns piercing the structure.

PDR is short for Permitted Development Rights. These are rights to extend your home without Planning Permission. Different levels of development are allocated depending on your property type.

If your home has been built in the last 10 years it is normal that your permitted development rights have been taken away. This needs checking with the builder or the local planning authority.

If you are positioning your conservatory on the sunny side of your home you must consider installing heat reflective glass. This combined with low U Values means that the conservatory can be more pleasant on a hot summer’s day whilst retaining the heat in the evening.

If you want to enjoy peace and quiet in your conservatory, avoid choosing one with a polycarbonate roof. A glass roof will provide much better sound insulation, especially when it is raining.

If you are converting an agricultural building into a home and wish to add a conservatory, you may well be able to do so with the VAT reduced to the 5 per cent rate.

If the property you are adding a conservatory too has been uninhabitable for three years or more, you may be eligible for a reduction in VAT from the standard 17.5 per cent rate to the 5 per cent VAT rate.

If you are the owner of a Listed Building you may be able to have your conservatory built at the zero rate of VAT.

In Germany conservatories are known by a different name. There a conservatory is known as a Winter Garden.

Throughout the Western world, the word ‘conservatory’ is often used to describe a musical place of learning.

Conservatories are popular in the United States as well as the UK, however in the United states they are often more commonly referred to as sunrooms.

An Edwardian conservatory provides a more economical use of space than a Victorian conservatory whilst still retaining an interesting roof structure. The Edwardian conservatory has been described as the thinking man’s conservatory.

Should I use an architect or a specialist conservatory company? The answer depends on what work you are planning. If you are building a kitchen and having other building work undertaken, then it is probably best to employ an architect to get the initial designs approved by your Local Authority. If you are only looking for a conservatory or Orangery then a specialist conservatory company will be far better suited to your needs.

A buildings ability to retain heat is measured by U Values. The higher the U value the worse a building performs. Traditionally single glazed windows had a U value of 5.0. Today with modern technology we are able to get double glazed units for normal conservatory use to a U value of 1.1.

A seasoned oak conservatory can be painted, although most customers prefer to experience the natural colour. However, a green oak conservatory, still full of resins and ‘wet’ cannot be painted, as it needs to go through its own natural curing process.

If your house is on greenbelt land it may be very difficult to obtain Planning Permission for a conservatory. Generally, Planning Authorities will only allow developments up to 15% of the size of the existing building. If the property has been extended since 1954 then these are taken into consideration when calculation the overall 15% allowance.

If your conservatory fails to get Planning Approval you can appeal to the Communities and Local Government department. An appeal can take 18-20 weeks to process and the decision is final. Both the owner of the property and the Local Planning Office put forward their case for the appeal. An Appeals Officer will visit the property and both the customer, with their agent, together with the local planning officer should be present.

Listed Building Consent can take some time to be given and you may not always get the consent your require. Your Local Authority may reject your initial proposal and you will have to consider submitting a new design that takes their objections into account.

If you live in a Listed Building and wish to install a conservatory, be prepared for a lengthy approval process. You will need to obtain Planning Consent in the normal way, together with Listed Building Consent.

The traditional Victorian style conservatory, as we now know it, was only one of the many designs used in the Victorian era. Georgian, Gothic and Queen Anne conservatories were also popular.

For certain conservatories you will be required to provide heat loss calculations. The building inspector may require you to improve the thermal efficiency for your home. If your existing windows are single glazed, one option will be to upgrade these to double-glazing.

If you want the natural light of a conservatory with the practical build of an extension, consider an Orangery. An orangery can be used as a kitchen; breakfast room or children’s play area. It helps to create different areas within a large area by using multiple roof lanterns.

Building Regulations are not the same for the whole of the United Kingdom. If your property is in Scotland you will be required to build your conservatory to meet Scottish Building Regulations.

If you conservatory has been designed at 4 metres or greater in height you will be required to build the conservatory under UK Building Regulations.

If your conservatory borders onto a neighbour’s property you will need to issue a Party Wall Notice six weeks before any development can take place. If there is a dispute between you and your surveyor it may be necessary to employ a specialist party wall surveyor.

oak is full of natural tannins that protect it and this is why it can last for hundreds of years. However, from time to time these tannins will belled from the oak. These can be simply removed using oxalic acid and repainting or re-staining the affected area of your oak conservatory.

There are number of different ways to heat a conservatory. Under floor heating is a popular option especially if you plan to have a tiled floor. There are two main kinds of under floor heating; electric under floor heating that is made in a mat format and rolled out, and wet under floor heating which is plumbed into your central heating system.

If you are adding a conservatory to a home that has been built in recent times, it is essential that you check the ground conditions. If it has been built on reclaimed land then specialist foundations such as piling may be required for your conservatory base.

If your house is in a Conservation Area you will need to apply for Planning Permission for a conservatory of any size and prepare a design and access statement. Your appointed conservatory company or architect will normally undertake this on your behalf

If your planned conservatory will have over 30 square metres of internal floor space, it will need to meet Building Regulation standards. Your local council will have a dedicated Building Regulations department you can contact.

If you are planning a conservatory over 50 cubic metres for a terraced house, or over 75 cubic metres for a detached home, you will need to apply for Planning Permission from your local council. Every council has a specialist planning department you can contact.

All oak wood is not equal. When planning an oak conservatory you must ensure that the supplier can provide cured oak that has been naturally dried. Green oak is not suitable for conservatory construction as it can easily warp and change shape.

A south-facing conservatory will receive the sun during the hottest part of the day and overheat very quickly. So adequate ventilation is important and automatic roof vents should be installed to allow hot air to rise and escape easily.