Overcoming Problems

Location, Location.... Location?

The direction your conservatory will face is probably out of your hands

However it is important to consider how it's aspect will affect the conservatory's climate and lighting:

North Facing - Coldest - least sun. Less likely to need blinds in roof - especially if you use tinted opal polycarbonate. Strongly recommend use of Pilkington K Glass (or other form of Low E glass) in frames for extra insulation. Will need heating - especially in the winter and evenings. Please note that with bronze tinted polycarbonate the tint reduces the amount of light that can enter the room your conservatory is attached to. This results in a darker room - often requiring lights on during the day!

South Facing - Hot - Very hot - so essential to have adequate ventilation. Go for plenty of opening windows and roof vents. Will almost certainly require blinds in the roof. You may also consider anti-sun glass (tinted) in the roof. Other options include air conditioning.

East Facing - similar to north facing. You have the morning sun and conservatories in this location make great breakfast rooms.

West Facing - similar to south facing. However you do have the benefit of evening sun. Wonderful to relax in at the end of the day.

As a generalisation we do recommend Pilkington "K" glass/Planitherm or other Low E glass in all conservatories - no matter the location. It's just more important in north facing Locations. Additionally if you use Polycarbonate - go with 25mm instead of 16 mm.

What about that Manhole/Inspection Cover that's in the way

Lots of people do place conservatories over inspection chambers (manholes) and therefore avoid moving them.

To do so you will need to use double-sealed manhole covers. (To stop that smell!) You also need to realize that there may be occasions when either you or your neighbours will want to access the manhole.Whilst this may be rare you should be aware of this potential inconvenience of lifting floorboards, carpets etc.

You will not need planning permission in England/Wales for this specific issue. However you will need Building Regulation approval if you decide to move the position of the inspection chamber.

You may also need to check local Bylaws and restrictive covenants in your property deeds.

Things to consider

You should not construct a conservatory where it will restrict ladder access to windows serving a room in the roof or a loft conversion, particularly if any of the windows are intended as a way of facilitating escape or rescue if there is a fire.

What if a roof tile is loose and drops onto the conservatory?

This problem is more acute with older house roofs, modern roof tiles interlink much more tightly together than old peg tiles, for instance.

If you have a polycarbonate conservatory roof it may get damaged, the tile may even bounce off and damage something else nearby. Polycarbonate is very strong (it has been used in crash helmets) and will not actually break, so damage to the inside of the conservatory or injury is highly unlikely.

However, if your conservatory has a glass roof the chances of it breaking are greatly increased. Normally toughened glass is used in conservatory roofs, when this breaks it shatters like a car windscreen. It is possible that the lower sheet of a toughened glass unit will not break, but do not rely on this. If both sheets break, anything or anyone underneath will be showered with broken glass.

There are a couple of preventative solutions for this problem.

Laminated glass (two or more sheets of glass bonded together) is much stronger than toughened glass and will resist all but the most severe impact. Laminated glass, though, is much heavier and considerably more expensive than toughened glass. Hence it is seldom used in conservatory roofs.

A more economical solution is to attach snow guards to the eaves above the conservatory. These are readily available from most builders merchants and, if carefully attached to sound fascia boards, will protect your conservatory roof from damage by anything becoming detached and falling off your roof.

It is generally worth spending some time discussing the location of your conservatory before you start the design process, as factors such as those above may mean you need to modify your ideal design in order to get a fully useable and safe conservatory. Any responsible builder/installer will be only too happy to discuss these aspects of your job fully and advise you on any problems that arise.