How can you know whether having a solid roof conservatory installed in your home is the right move, even after seeing ads promoting solid conservatory roofs plastered all over town on vans used by installation companies, local newspaper and billboards? Even more importantly, who do you hire for the job? To help you make the right hire when it comes to choosing the right service provider for the installation of a solid conservatory roof in your home, keep the six factors discussed below in mind.
1. Are You Simply Renovating or is the Solid Conservatory Roof Meant for a New Build?
Solid conservatory roof systems are engineered and designed to be lightweight in nature. As such, they can be used to renovate older conservatories, or to build entirely new tiled conservatories.
In the roofing industry, replacing an older conservatory with this newer, more functional alternative is referred to as retrofitting. To create a functional space out of an area of the house that is usually uncomfortably hot in the summer and unbearably cold in winter is quickly becoming a popular choice among homeowners.
You need to find a specialist who can handle all aspects of the project, not just installing the solid roof, but also setting up the supporting frames, base underneath and any walls.
2. Build Guidelines and Planning Permission
Since your permitted development rights allow the installation of glazed, tiled or solid roof conservatories in most new builds, you won’t be required to seek planning permission. However, you need to visit the Government’s Planning Portal to find out more about the size and positioning requirements involved.
Where the necessary conditions are satisfied, Building Regulations, which must be followed when building an extension to your house, may not apply when having a conservatory installed. The conservatory must be built with external quality windows and/or walls that satisfy the requirements as laid out by Building Regulations to ensure that it is not classified as an extension. Separated from the main house, the conservatory must also have its own independent heating system and controls.
Different Building Regulations apply if the conservatory does not meet the above conditions as it is considered an extension. A variety of separate Building Regulations relating to the electrical works, glazing, windows and doors will however need to be applied even if your conservatory satisfies all of the above conditions.
3. Find a Certified Installer
Surprisingly, certified workmanship is not offered by all contractors, installers and builders out there. Only those that are registered under a UKAS accredited certification scheme approved by the government offer certified workmanship.
The most reliable and trusted service providers opt to be part of a certification program so as to meet the best workmanship standards, thus avoiding unnecessary problems.
4. Don’t Forget About Energy Efficiency and Insulation
You should not forget to ask your chosen installer about energy efficiency and insulation as these are very important in this day and age. Especially considering the fact that the level of inefficiency associated with the older conservatories is the main reason why most home owners are interested in a retrofit.
The product manual that comes with the new conservatory roof and your builder are likely to mention U-values even though there is no thermal rating for these roofs as is the case with doors and windows.
U-Values Explained
The measure of the insulating capabilities of a given material is represented in U-Values. Simply put, the U-Value is the level of heat loss representing the applicable measure of thermal performance. Low U-values translate into great thermal performance measures as it means that the level of heat loss is also low.
5. Is it Possible to Have an Old Frame Supporting the New Conservatory Roof?
You can actually install on old frames a new solid conservatory roof. However, before you decide to do this, you need to seek ask your contractor first as they can evaluate the old frames to determine their condition.
6. Will You Need to Buy New Doors and Widows?
You might not be able to achieve the energy efficiency levels you intend to with a new conservatory roof without having to install new supporting frames, doors and windows to eliminate any inefficiencies associated with them. If you want to begin sound proofing windows, you should also consider which would be best for such a thing.