Ancient conservatory..what to do?

We had our old, small, conservatory knocked down several years ago. It was always too hot or too cold. Replaced it with a slightly bigger garden room. One solid wall, one picture window and one set of patio doors into garden. Flat roof with dome on top. We've never looked back. Never too hot. We spend a lot of time in it. So much better than the conservatory. We'll worth splashing out for.

Same as you Scottiebear our conservatory was either to hot or to cold so only used it spring and autumn and then not very much. It was just another room to clean that wasn’t used. Had it knocked down in April we’ve had a new extension added to the back of the house which is loads better but I would have still had it knocked down regardless. So glad it’s gone!

We used to have a conservatory in our old house but it was as useless as you describe.
In the new house, we’ve had a 30ft x 12ft sunroom built onto the side of the house instead. It’s got properly built insulated walls and roof with large triple glazed windows, two sets of French doors and sealed glass windows in the roof above the French doors.
I use it 365 days a year as my main living space as it bright and cheery with lots of big plants in it. We also had our lovely old wood burner installed so we can have a cosy fire in the winter evenings, if required.

Never really understood this conservatory thing. Much rather just step into my garden. Never did want to bring the ‘outdoors in’. My kids and grandkids can be relied on to do that via their shoes …hands… penchant for collecting snails…. Wood lice or anything that crept or crawled. Pull it down …install a few patio slabs and make that nice. Save your money.

Hi, after clearing it and if you then decide it’s beyond help then would it be worth getting a quite for a run if the mill upvc conservatory built on the same foundation?

Even if it's only storage space, demolishing because it looks a bit untidy doesn't seem sensible!

Blinds for these can be ridiculously expensive. Like thousands of pounds! But shade can be improvised. Material can be hooked up. A spray can of paint on the inside of the glass. Or even just a supply of broad-rimmed hats!

I made my own roof blinds for a lean-to, west-facing conservatory many years ago. Ran net curtain wires down each "rib", made overlong panels of brightly coloured cotton fabric for each section and threaded the wires through hems on each side, so that the blinds were slightly ruched. Cost me less than £100 for the fabric and wires, looked amazing in an otherwise bright white room, and made an enormous difference to the solar gain.

My ancient conservatory was brought into the 21st c using local quarry tiles /new glazing / new rattan furniture and new blinds. Different cushions gave color previously lacking.
There were over hanging trees which were a convenience as it gave shade but at the same time needed work clearing off the roof in the autumn A small price to pay for my revamped conservatory.

I am a huge conservatory fan, I love the light brightness that it gives me, I spend all day in there, it is well heated too, so its useable all year around. My conservatory/ glazing company said that the majority of their work seems to be replacing, repairing and upgrading old and unused conservatories . I dont know if you have a reliable and trustworthy conservatory firm near you, but it may be worth asking them their thoughts on the refurb and upgrade option, but I would only go down that route if you have a reliable and recommended local firm and not one of the national companies who operate with a sales force.

Sorry, but to me, having it single glazed is a false economy - even if you put in heating or blinds, it will still be hot in the summer and cold in the winter and not used and still be a dumping ground.
Have you thought of replacing the glass panels with double glazed if the aluminium structure is ok? My sister had thermal panels put in her roof, so might be worth looking into that.
Or maybe have it taken down and use the base as a patio, then have a pergola over it or you can have a polycarbonate roof put over it.
Whatever you decide, turn it into a proper room, rather than just a space with suitable furniture and use it!

With it being so old anything you build would new foundations to comply with insulation regs. I know, even they have insulation nowadays so it would be a complete new build. My DS had an old conservatory and a company replaced all the glazing like yours down to the floor, new patio doors and a new insulated roof. What a difference. He also installed luxaflex blinds. Definitely worth it.

From your description it doesn't sound to me as if it is worth repairing, so my inclination would be to have it pulled down.

Obviously, you and your husband need to agree about this, but will he not come round to seeing that it will be expensive to have it repaired?

I suppose it depends on what you have in mind for your savings too.

Start by getting rid of the junk and getting an estimate for a new outer door or window in the room that the conservatory is built onto.

If you should want to sell the house later on, I would expect a run-down conservatory to lower the price - but a new, or refurbished one won't add greatly to the value of the property.

We had a UPVC conservatory in our bungalow which I loved in the beginning but we soon found it to warm in the summer and too cold in the winter. As we had had a radiator put in it when they built it we decided to have the roof fully insulated. It lasted great for about 4 years so much so we used it as our living room as it looked out into our garden but after 4 years we found it started to get chilly in the winter and would of needed new windows sooner rather than later. We’ve now unfortunately moved. Had I thought before we moved I would have probably had new windows and as the base was brick built I would of had a proper roof put on it for all year round use. We had conservatory doors leading into it from the kitchen and french doors to the garden so we used to leave all the doors open and it was lovely to sit in. We also had blinds right around that shut out 80% of the sun and heat so obviously helped keep it cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. In my opinion if it’s an old aluminium one you have that is falling apart you’ve either got to get a ‘proper’ one in which case I personally would choose a brickbase at the very least nowadays as I don’t want more upkeep as I’m getting older and I would go for a proper roof and make it a functional cosy garden room with a radiator so we could use it all year or knock it down completely as with something that old if it’s dilapidated to that extent you are just throwing good money after bad. Also give your DD the bikes etc back.

Wow that’s lovely Birdie1. Very patriotic!!

It's not the structure you hate-it's the mess!! Get a grip and spend a day/two clearing out and cleaning , then you'll se what you're dealing with, it may be it has to go and be replaced by a eco friendly useable one, but you're never going too ow until you clear the junk! It'll make you feel great too!

I agree with Gabrielle56 about clearing everything out first to see just what you’ve got to play with. It sounds as if the clutter is getting you down a bit.

You then might find that a spruce up, fresh blinds and new glazing might just be the job, though sometimes doing this can be almost as expensive as starting afresh. If it’s cold, then you would either not use it or need extra heating to be able to, whereas a new insulated structure (perhaps with a solid roof and possibly a skylight) might actually save money in the long run.

I suppose you both need to decide just what you want to use it for and move on from there.

We have a brick built extension with solid roof which has become part of the kitchen and part “snug”. It gets used all year round. I do wish it had a skylight in it though, as it has made the dining room quite dark (we didn’t have it built), but on the other hand, the dining room is rather cosy in the winter months and we tend to eat in the kitchen more in the summer, so it’s not a massive problem.

Good luck.

When my conservatory was 20 years old the polycarbonate roof was deteriorating and needed replacing. I got loads of quotes at very wide ranging prices for the same work. I knew what I wanted and my existing conservatory was very well built. We had insulated walls and floors and the windows and doors were all double glazed. It was really just the roof but I did decide to also have one side wall built up from half height to full height. I also had all the windows and doors replaced, the new ones are certainly more thermally efficient. The existing heating kept the room very warm in winter and it's very pleasant in there in the summer. I did also have a new white glass roof installed which is so much quieter when it's raining. I would never get rid of my conservatory as we use it all the time. It's an extension of the kitchen and lounge linked to both rooms by double doors. It's about 25'x12 approx. and was well worth spending the money to upgrade it and hopefully it will be good for another 20 years.

If staying long term I'd 'bite the bullet' and have a nice proper garden room - maybe with roof lantern? - You could always have a little mortgage or loan to spread the pain. If thinking shorter term - be firm about the 'stuff' and clean it up, do blinds/rugs etc.

We were in exactly the same position. Old conservatory, old plastic roof that leaked when the rain blew a certain way and then too hot in the summer. We had a quote to replace which was approx £28k - way too expensive so had another quote for replacing roof , having a ceiling put in, replacing some window sills, replacing all handles (13), replacing 1 door, and a few other bits and pieces - £11k. We went ahead, love it now have a room we use all year round.

Hi. I agree with Awesomegranny. Splash out a bit! I know it hurts but you will love the result and it will add value to your property. We are doing just that with my pension lump sum - investing it in our property by adding a garden room/dining room extension. Bricks and mortar give a better return than the banks and I can't wait to sit in the sunny bit with my DH, watching the birds feed with the squirrels watching on jealously!!

I have been trying to get a builder to replace my falling down porch for 3+ years so that is another consideration.