The Future of Conservatory Base Construction

In the past conservatory base construction was limited to traditional methods of excavation, ready-mixed or on-site mixed concrete for the floor and the building of footings or dwarf walls. This was quite a time consuming, disruptive and messy process, but now there is a process of conservatory base construction that will prove to be the process of the future.

The ConservaBase steel conservatory base system is the modern way to quickly and easily construct conservatory base foundations. Standing on just a few easily constructed concrete pads or foundation blocks, it simply bolts to any existing wall. Conservatory base construction can now be completed in just a day, greatly reducing the time taken to build the whole conservatory, enabling the construction to be completed in days instead of weeks.

ConservaBase steel bases are constructed from strong, made-to-measure steel box sections to the exact size and shape of any conservatory, ensuring a perfect fit every time. The steel, coated with anti-corrosion green oxide is delivered in fully welded sections, providing the ultimate steel conservatory base construction, to the highest specification.

There are too many benefits of this future-proof method of conservatory base construction to list here, but the benefits include: reduction in build time, exceeds all relevant building regulations, no skips needed to remove spoil as no major earthworks are required, no builders required, manholes and drains can be left undisturbed and remain accessible, can even be taken with you if you move and, comes with an industry beating 25 year guarantee.

The effect of the new conservatory planning rules

Firstly, let us remind ourselves exactly what the new conservatory planning permission regulations are:

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From 1 October 2008 adding a conservatory to your home will be considered to be permitted development, not needing an application for planning permission, subject to the following limits and conditions:

1. More than half the area of land around the “original house”* would be covered by additions or other buildings.
2. No conservatory forward of the principal elevation or side elevation fronting a highway.
3. No conservatory to be higher than the highest part of the roof.
4. Maximum depth of a single-storey rear conservatory of three metres for an attached house and four metres for a detached house.
5. Maximum height of a single-storey rear conservatoryof four metres.
6. Maximum depth of a rear conservatory of more than one storey of three metres including ground floor.
7. Maximum eaves height of an conservatory within two metres of the boundary of three metres.
8. Maximum eaves and ridge height of conservatory no higher than existing house.
9. Side conservatories to be single storey with maximum height of four metres and width no more than half that of the original house.
10. Roof pitch of conservatories higher than one storey to match existing house.
11. No verandas, balconies or raised platforms.
12. On designated land* no permitted development for rear conservatories of more than one storey; no cladding of the exterior; no side conservatories.

Where work is proposed to a listed building, listed building consent may be required. * The term “original house” means the house as it was first built or as it stood on 1 July 1948 (if it was built before that date). Although you may not have built an conservatory to the house, a previous owner may have done so.

* Designated land includes national parks and the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, conservation areas and World Heritage Sites.

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OK – so what effect are these new regulations having on the conservatory industry?

Personally, I think they are having very little effect, I’ve not noticed any difference anyway.

My company still has a long list of pending orders where customers are awaiting planning permission approval and the list isn’t getting any shorter – it’s actually constantly getting added to.

This is probably due to the number of conservatories that still do not fall within the new planning permission exemption rules, and in particular, consumers are wanting their conservatories to exceed the permitted projection limits to be of any good use as additional living spaces.

I have heard reports from a reliable source (a major supplier) that they are suffering from a lower average order value due to consumers intentionally keeping their conservatories within the limits of the maximum permitted projection to avoid having to apply for planning permission, and therefore ordering smaller conservatories.

Personally, I have not experienced this and our average order value continues to increase with the growing demand for glass roofs and larger conservatories.

I would be interested to hear from anyone else with their comments and experiences regarding this issue.

Tile effect conservatory roof

Here’s an article from MODPLAN’s advert I found in VISION magazine a while back. It’s regarding a tiled effect roof for a conservatory.

• The new tile effect conservatory roof from Vertex gives the customer the benefit of a traditional extension but at a fraction of the cost!
• Unique one piece peripheral main beam incorporating integral gutter.
• The Vertex tile effect roof gives the consumer a conservatory for all seasons eliminating the necessity of retro fitting of roof blinds etc.
• Glass can easily be incorporated into the roof with the use of conservatory roof muntin bars.
• Tile colours are available in Red, Grey, Green or Black as standard.
• 32mm Glazing
• Stipple effect ridge and bars to give a traditional look
• Fully flexible in design—Victorian, Edwardian, or P shape conservatory
• Affordable living space; with no compromise
• Conservatory roof ring beam available with or without dentil mouldings
• Choice of tile colour:
  • Red
  • Green
  • Black
  • Grey

Decline in conservatory searches

According to Google the searches for the term conservatory have steadily decreased over the past six years.

This does not mean however, that there are fewer home owners looking to add extra space to their homes with a conservatory but the more likely, internet users are becoming better at searching for them.

With a view to obtaining more accurate results for the exact style and model they are looking for, users are using longer search terms such as Edwardian conservatory.

This information has been obtained from Google Trends and the screen shot below shows the decline in this particular search term.

As you can see from the above graph, Google searches for ”conservatory’ have continually decreased in volume from the year 2004 to 2009.

Maintenance of conservatories

Thankfully, unlike timber conservatories, with a modern modern PVCu conservatory there is very little regular maintenance required.

A good quality uPVC conservatory has an expected life span in excess of 25 years and apart from the occasional lubrication of window and door hinges, locking gear and handles, the main thing to keep it looking as good as new is cleaning.

You can get away without cleaning woodgrain effect PVCu quite as often as it doesn’t tend to show up dirt like white does but the glass and roof should be kept clean.

Cleaning a conservatory doesn’t have to be a difficult task and should only take a hour or so if done correctly.

You should start with the conservatory roof and for safety reasons and ease of access it is well worth investing in the right tools for the job.

One of the best pieces of equipment that I have come across for this task is water fed pole brushes.

A water fed pole brush makes life so much simpler and is a lot safer way of getting to hard to reach places such as conservatory roofs and can extend far enough even to reach first floor windows.

Once the roof has been cleaned, you can use the same pole brush to clean the conservatory frames and glass all in one go. These pole brushes are designed to be used with chemicals which purify the water which means the glass can be left completely clean and streak-free.

The video below demonstrates the use of this tool.

Selling conservatories

In many ways, selling conservatories generally involves the same basic rules of selling as any other products and the main points are described below.

Sell yourself – forget conservatories, forget prices, start by talking to your customer, getting to know them, gaining their confidence and making them like you. No matter what you are selling, it doesn’t matter how good your product is or how cheap it is, if the customer doesn’t like you or doesn’t have confidence in you, they will not buy from you.

Sell your company – consumers need peace of mind when making major purchases such as conservatories that cost thousands of pounds. They need to be sure that the company is a professional one which has a high customer satisfaction record and is financially stable so that they won’t lose their money. Take the time to show your potential customers around other installations the company have completed, this goes a long long way.

Discuss your customer’s requirements – Listen to your customer and give them sensible advice, they will respect you for it. Suggest different conservatory sizes, styles and designs that may best suit their property. Cover all available specifications in detail including energy efficient glass and solar control glazing options.

Now it’s time to sell your product – demonstrate your product in detail, explain how your conservatories are manufactured and the materials you use. Talk about your quality control systems and the guarantees you provide. Always take your laptop computer and get your customer involved with the final design as it is drawn on the screen, this creates interest. Make your customer want your product and want to buy from you.

Pricing - Depending on the situation, it may be most appropriate to leave your customer’s home whilst you price their conservatory and make arrangements to return with your quotation. You will lose the sale if you try to rush when selling conservatories.

Asking for the order – Only ask your customer for their order once all the above steps have been thoroughly completed. Only ask your customer for their order when you are sure that they are in a position to place it.

This article outlines the most basic rules of selling conservatories.

DIY conservatories are getting easier

It’s a fact that DIY conservatories are indeed getting easier.

The continuous development of additional purpose designed parts and ancillaries are making conservatory installations easier and quicker which is particularly beneficial to DIY conservatories.

Examples include specially designed conservatory frame connectors and corner post assemblies, internal clip-in glazing beads, clip-in gutter brackets and many other modern design features that reduce the amount of skill and labour required to complete the installation.

One major breakthrough is the development of the steel conservatory base. These bases are ideal for DIY conservatories and meet and exceed all relevant and currently proposed building regulations in terms of thermal efficiency and structural integrity.

With these bases, DIY conservatories become a truly DIY project as no builders or brick layers are needed which means the whole project from the ground up can easily be carried out by any average DIY’er.

Steel bases stand on concrete foundation blocks and simply bolt together and can reduce a three week project to just three days.

Other great benefits in relation to conventional builds are that they cause minimum disruption to the surrounding garden and completely eliminate the need for skips as there is no major excavation work required.

A steel base and wall system is completely indistinguishable from a conventional build and adds no more cost to the overall complete conservatory project.

What is the best way of heating conservatories?

In order to comply with current building regulations, conservatories should have their own separate heating source, i.e. not a radiator connected to the property’s main central heating system.

In my opinion, and without doubt, the best and most effective way of heating conservatories is electric underfloor heating.

The reason I say this is because I have installed it in my own conservatory and have been using it every day throughout the colder months for the past 3 years.  It is an incredibly efficient and controllable way of heating conservatories.

I must say however, that in really cold weather, an additional heating source is required in conjunction with the floor heating to achieve a comfortable temperature in the conservatory. I use a small portable electric heater for this which I find works very well.

Renegade Conservatory Guy acquires guest bloggers

Matthew Glover, the man behind the industry-famous RCG (Renegade Conservatory Guy) website was seriously considering closing down the site due to the time-consuming nature of constantly having to find new material and writing articles about the double glazing and conservatory industry.

Eventually, Matthew decided not to close down the site, but instead acquire several guest bloggers from within the window and conservatory industry the help contribute to providing new material for his site.

At the time of writing this post, guest bloggers that have contributed so far are Ian Longbottom of Sliders UK and David Bingham of ConservatoryLand. I also understand that Jon Twigge of RoofWright is to contribute.

I think this is a real turning point for the RCG site and would expect that once the momentum increases with more articles written by Matthew and his guest bloggers, the site will become an important and interesting focal point for the entire double glazing and conservatory industry.

Conservatories set to rise in cost

Conservatories look set to rise in cost over the coming months due to various factors.

These include the rising cost of materials involved in their manufacture such as PVC polymers and soaring glass costs, particularly Pilkington Glass who have implemented huge price rises in recent months.

Other cost increases include steel and aluminium which affects conservatory roof manufacturing costs, reinforcing and window hardware for conservatories.

There is also another potential factor which will increase the cost for consumers looking to add conservatories to their homes in 2010.

There are proposed new building regulations for next year, which if introduced, will bring every conservatory, no matter what size or style in to the realms of building regulations.

This means that all conservatories will have to comply with certain criteria such as meeting minimum energy efficiency standards, i.e. thermally efficient glazing and insulation, and deeper foundations requiring more work for the installer.