conservatory in progress - disappointed with workmanship

[danlightbulb]

Hi all,

Well we are in the process of having our conservatory constructed. And I now know exactly why a proper extension costs three to four times as much as a conservatory which, having been watching the build, is best described as sh1te.

Anyway i thought id raise some of the more worrying points so that I can go back to the guy if necessary.

First, the amount of packing under the framing on one side is getting up to an inch of packing. On the other side the framing sits nicely on the brickwork. I can see quite alot of expanding foam has been used so far, but I can still get my entire hand under the cill and frame. Can I expect that this will be mortared in properly do you think?

Second, the installer has attached the lean to roof, (35mm poly non supported roof system) and has channelled out the mortar above for the flashing. However the flashing has not yet been installed, id have thought he wouldn't be able to climb on top of this roof so im wondering how on earth he is planning to get up to do the flashing?

Third, on the one side we have a full height wall with a thin row of windows along it. The installer for some reason has had to recess the frame and cill of this thin window row so that it sits accross the cavity of the wall. The external cill therefore does not now overlap the exterior of the wall so the installer has put some lead on and folded it down over the brick work. It looks terrible.

Fourth, we orginally asked for floor and wall insulation. The builder installed 25mm polystyrene sheeting in the floor and then went on to use no wall insulation and he has left only about a 50mm cavity. When questioned, he said he used thermalite blocks on the internal skin so that these fullfill the purpose of insulation. How do thermalite blocks measure up?

Fifth, by no means last. The lean to roof is supposed to be joining up to a flat roof on one side. I know you cant see it and I have no picture yet, but from what hes done so far I cant possibly see how he is going to make this weather proof.

Anyway this is more a rant than anything else. I was just expecting a bit more quality than has been delivered at present. I'll try to upload some pictures soon.

Cheers
Dan

 

[Static]

Conservatorys are basically half a greenhouse stuck onto the side of your building.. your far better off spending 25k for a small well glazed extension than 15k on a conservatory that will basically fall apart in 10 years..

 

[Richard C]

First, the amount of packing under the framing on one side is getting up to an inch of packing. On the other side the framing sits nicely on the brickwork. I can see quite alot of expanding foam has been used so far, but I can still get my entire hand under the cill and frame. Can I expect that this will be mortared in properly do you think?

That’s way too much & not acceptable IMO either the base or walls or both haven’t been properly levelled.

Second, the installer has attached the lean to roof, (35mm poly non supported roof system) and has channelled out the mortar above for the flashing. However the flashing has not yet been installed, id have thought he wouldn't be able to climb on top of this roof so im wondering how on earth he is planning to get up to do the flashing?

The glazing bars & even the 35mm polly roofing panels (mine are 40mm) & are surprisingly strong; I was amazed to see our fitter clambering all over our cons to finish off the finals & flashing some 6 years ago; providing the fitter isn’t a 20 stone hoofer it should be OK, it’s his problem if he falls through it anyway!

Third, on the one side we have a full height wall with a thin row of windows along it. The installer for some reason has had to recess the frame and cill of this thin window row so that it sits accross the cavity of the wall. The external cill therefore does not now overlap the exterior of the wall so the installer has put some lead on and folded it down over the brick work. It looks terrible.

Something’s wrong, you need to ask why he’s done it & that your not satisfied with it; sounds like a cock up to me.

Fourth, we orginally asked for floor and wall insulation. The builder installed 25mm polystyrene sheeting in the floor and then went on to use no wall insulation and he has left only about a 50mm cavity. When questioned, he said he used thermalite blocks on the internal skin so that these fullfill the purpose of insulation. How do thermalite blocks measure up?

25mm is naff all & if it’s just ordinary polystyrene sheeting, it won’t be doing much by way of insulation; I’ve got 75mm Celotex under mine with U/floor heating over that. Conservatories do not have to comply with Building Regs. unless you asked for a specific level of cavity insulation (or even cavities) or depth of cavity, he can virtually do as he likes. 50mm cavity is the bare minimum & was the common standard some 50 years (my 60’s built property has them) but if you’ve got 100mm Thermalite blocks with cavity bats, it won’t be that bad. In all honesty it isn’t going to make an awful lot of difference to your average cons. practically all your heat loss is going to be through those polly roof panels.

Fifth, by no means last. The lean to roof is supposed to be joining up to a flat roof on one side. I know you cant see it and I have no picture yet, but from what hes done so far I cant possibly see how he is going to make this weather proof.

Can’t answer that without more information.

Anyway this is more a rant than anything else. I was just expecting a bit more quality than has been delivered at present. I'll try to upload some pictures soon.

It’s difficult to judge how good/bad any workmanship is without actually seeing it but some of your comments give me cause for concern. A few customers are total, nit picking PITA’s but, on balance from what you’ve said, I think you may have a bit of a cowboy on board. Don’t be intimidated; you need to be very firm & say you’re not happy as soon as its apparent to you things may be going wrong, this also saves the builder additional expense in the long run. I hope you did not pay cash up front & kept enough of an incentive back?

£15k should get you a very good spec 20 -25 sq/m Cons with all the trimmings & no problems whatsoever; i'ts what mine cost. You should not expect too much by way of year round use though (hence y comments), for that you need a pucka built garden room which is basically an extension with costs as per Static

 

[2929twin]

Agree with all replies above. You`ve got to put all the points you posted, to your fitter, sooner than later, give him chance to correct, if possible, now. Where did he come from?