Conservatory insulation options?

Suffering the usual conservatory problems (just moved into a new home that has one), too hot in summer, too cold in winter.

4x3.5m roof (4 x 1m x 3.5m panels)

Tiled option - too expensive! £5k
Thermotec - too expensive £3k
Ecoroofpanels - Max 3m long, so no good
25mm Poly with inserts £1200

Also looked at DIY approach using foil or kingspan type boards but not sure I want to give myself that headache as I know moisture can be an issue...

Would 25mm poly with inserts actually do the job, perhaps not as good as some of the others, but cant really stretch to £3k...

Cooling can be difficult, have roof and window blinds, tinted roof, a/c, roof fan and still candles would melt in the summer in there [without lighting them].
Have two rads which keep it warm enough all year round.

Lol.. cant believe how long ago I posted this.. and now back on it again!

I think I am going to go down the route of using the foil, but just wanted to get some confirmation of how its installed as most of the youtube vids Ive seen miss certain bits out! Probably because they are filmed by the installers, who dont want to show you how to actually do it!

I have a lean to conservatory, so probably much easier than a traditional cons roof design. I believe these are the steps I need to follow:

CONSERVATORY ROOF

Fix timber down the length of the aluminium glazing bars.
Staple the foil to the the timber. Not sure if I need to go across the width, or down the length, or does it really matter! I would however assume if I was going across, to start at the top so the overlap would allow any moisture to run down.
Ive also been advised that I may need to provide air vents to allow circulation in the space between the foil and the poly, this could be done by drilling holes in the upvc cladding where the poly overhangs into the guttering (or thereabouts) and obviously avoiding the main timber supporting the glazing bars!
Fix more timbers on top of the above timbers, on which I could then attach cladding or insulated board.


CONSERVATORY FLOOR
This is a concrete slab that has got 12" ceramic tiles on top, so is freezing! I can see evidence of the dpm around the edges near the skirting. I dont know how best to insulate this. I was thinking of putting joists on top, insulating between with kingspan, than a timber floor, underlay, then carpet. But, I dont think I have the height near the internal and external doors to raise the floor a good few inches. I dont really want to be digging up the tiles and/or the slab either!

I know its never going to be warm, I just dont want it to be as cold!

Any advice on either would be welcome!

Floor - I laid 25mm kingspan and then covered it with laminate flooring . couldn't get any mor height because of the door frame but it seems to work OK. Still wondering what to do to the polycarbonate roof.

Nige F said:

Floor - I laid 25mm kingspan and then covered it with laminate flooring . couldn't get any mor height because of the door frame but it seems to work OK. Still wondering what to do to the polycarbonate roof.

Click to expand...

Can I ask a few q's about your kigspan installation....?

Did you simply lay the kinspan on top of a concrete/tiled floor?
Did you install any wooden joists to support the laminate - I wouldn't have thought that kinspan offered any structural support?

I looked at several options for the poly roof, discounted replacing the sheets with multiwall and inserts as I really didnt think that any (if any!) improvement justified the expense. Ecotec insulated panels, glazing and other solid roof options were at least 3k.. so the foil seems the only other affordable solution. The only downside is the obvious loss of light, but I have windows around 3 sides, so not too concerned.... Id much rather have a space I can use throughout the year.

I just laid the laminate on the kingspan on the concrete floor, no joists. It seems to support it well, I wouldn't expect cheaper expanded polystyrene to do so well because it would compress in places, but the kingspan is fine