Building a conservatory and more....

[conservatory4me]

hi guys,

this is my 1st post, so pls accept my apologies if i make any mistakes.

Here are some important pointers to help you understand my situation:-

1. I currently live in a terraced house which is in a conservation area on a steep hill.

2. My neighbour house ground level is about 1-1.5feet higher than mine and he also has a 6ft fence on his ground level.

3. At the rear of my house I have an original double extension coming out approx 3 metres.


I have a lot of things I want to do, such as build a conservatory, knock out rear external walls and change the layout of certain rooms on the ground level. But for now I want to stick with the conservatory.

I have been to the local planning office with some photographs and quick sketches of the style of conservatory i would like to have. The officer said even though its in a conservation area, I can still have a conservatory but the following must apply:-

1. The conservatory must not be more the 4metres high for its room point, no more than 4m by 3m in its length and width. Also the external wall of the conservatory must not be any higher than 3metres. Lastly the materials will have to match the structure of the property and I can't have any white cladding.

2. I will need to obtain an £85 certificate from the planning dept that grants me to go ahead with the work.

3. I must submit a plan of how the conservatory will look, where it will go etc - a ratio of 1:100.


Phew, so far so good, but here are a few questions for you experts:-

1. I need a simple square box design conservatory adding onto the side of my double extension, so any rough ideas of how much this would cost?

2. I want to save money and I'm wondering if there is some sort of guide, examples of plans so that i can do the plans myself.


Here is a quick sketch:-

Thank u 4 ur time.

conservatory4me

 

[conservatory4me]

Is there anyone who can help me? pls?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

BE PATIENT!

 

[nickjb]

If you go onto the council website you should be able to find all the plans that have been submitted in your area. In fact you could look at plans for all of the UK. Are you planning on building the conservatory yourself?

Best to look at plans that have been approved, although worth looking at the rejected ones for reference.

 

[ColJack]

really? didn't know that.. thanks...


how about posting the pics of the house and site where the conservatory has to go..
a rough sketch with dimensions too if you can...

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

how about posting the pics of the house

So you applying for a Certificate of Lawful Development rather than applying for Full Planning Permission?

What style of conservatory do you wish to build, traditional, contemporary, timber etc These factors and the standard of finish will determine the cost. Are you intending to build it yourself or have it built for you?

You will also need to submit a location plan indicating the location of the property and its relationship to the immediate few houses/roads. this can be downloaded from various sources for around £15. On this you will need to mark on the boundary in red.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

how about posting the pics of the house

So you applying for a Certificate of Lawful Development rather than applying for Full Planning Permission?

What style of conservatory do you wish to build, traditional, contemporary, timber etc These factors and the standard of finish will determine the cost. Are you intending to build it yourself or have it built for you?

You will also need to submit a location plan indicating the location of the property and its relationship to the immediate few houses/roads. this can be downloaded from various sources for around £15. On this you will need to mark on the boundary in red.

 

[Richard C]

Is there an echo in here

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

I did it on purpose, I'm rewarding the OP's impatience!

 

[conservatory4me]

hi guys and thanks for your replies.

First of all i would like to apologise for being very impatient..i'm sorry

I will post proper diagrams ASAP as i don't have any at the moment. I'm going to be honest and tell you guys that i don't have a clue as i've never taken on a big project. The diagram i posted was just an idea that i came up with, but after speaking to another friend, i'm now beginning to wonder if i should totally change the look of the design.
I would now also like to knock out the bottom front facing wall of the extension and let my conservatory continue into there, but i'm not sure if this would be allowed?

I also want to know what software architects use to do designs?

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

AutoCAD is in common use by Architects however its £1100 + VAT! Try looking here and the links associated with it for freebie software //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1618323#1618323

Here are the rules for Permitted Development for Conservatories

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/public/buildingwork/projects/workcommonconservatory/

 

[Richard C]

I would now also like to knock out the bottom front facing wall of the extension and let my conservatory continue into there, but i'm not sure if this would be allowed?

There must be an external door between a conservatory & the rest of the property or it’s not a conservatory, it’s an extension so unless you want a full blown extension with all that entail’s, forget it; there would also be some serious beam work involved

I also want to know what software architects use to do designs?

I use Visio & I believe you can use Excel but I’ve never tried it; someone posted a link to a freebie package (Google SketchUp) on the forum just yesterday I believe. There are loads to chose from & most architects probably use a full blown CAD package but unless your thinking of doing some serious work, you don’t need anything as complicated as that; keep away from anything too fancy or it’ll take you an age to learn to use it.

 

[lpasengland]

Hiya,

It sounds like the planning officer is advising you that the proposed conservatory would be "permitted development", which is where a structure is automatically granted planning permission by government legislation. It also sounds like the planning officer is advising you that before starting works you should apply to the Council for a "certificate of lawfulness" (although fee is £75, rather than £85), which is where the Council formally confirms (on the basis of scaled plans, etc) that the works would definitely be permitted development.

If the above is the case, then I would personally VERY STRONGLY advise that you definitely do make the application for a certificate of lawfulness (even though it is an optional application), and that you wait until the certificate has been issued before you spend any money on the conservatory. This is because the government permitted development legislation is very ambiguous in many ways, which means it's very easy for planning officers to make mistakes and give the wrong advice.

For example, in the situation that you have described (i.e. extension to the side of an original rear projection in a conservation area), many Councils would argue that this would not actually comply with the government legislation - and this view has been supported by a number of appeal decisions. If your Council takes an alternative interpretation and is willing to issue you a certificate for such an extension then fair enough you can erect the conservatory, and if the Council turns out to have interpreted the legislation incorrectly and issued the certificate wrongly, then that's their problem and not your problem. However if you don't get a certificate and it turns out that the correct interpretation is that this type of extension is not permitted development, then it would be your problem, rather than the Council's problem (remember that any pre-application advice that they give you is informal and is not legally binding), and in the worst case you could end up being asked to take the conservatory down.

In short, if the Council says it's permitted development, then that's their call, but I would definitely recommend getting a certificate before you start any works (it's effectively a case of getting something "in writing" in a cast-iron way, as a certificate is a formal legal confirmation, rather than only being able to say "but someone at the Council informally said it would be ok").

Steve

 

[conservatory4me]

thank you very much for your advice guys. What if the reason for an extension/conservatory was due to health and also environment?

The reason i'm asking is because we have a few major issues with sunlight being blocked due to trees being in the way (and before anyone says, no you can't cut/prune or remove them and they are protected and even to prune them, i have to spend a lot of money).

Because of the trees and our double-extension:-

1. We have very little or no sunlight
2. We have to constantly blast our heating, even in summer - waste of energy.
3. We have to have our lights on most of the time - again waste of energy.
4. I suffer from SAD and tend to become ill and depressed when i don't have much sunlight.

The whole point of building a conservatory is to allow our living room to run parallel along the extension and thus capture light and warmth via the conservatory roof and windows, thus helping us financially, environmently and making me feel more healthy.

 

[Richard C]

The whole point of building a conservatory is to allow our living room to run parallel along the extension and thus capture light and warmth via the conservatory roof and windows, thus helping us financially, environmently and making me feel more healthy.

Before you go any further, you need to understand the difference between Planning & Building Regulation approval & between what constitutes a conservatory or an extension.

You may or may not require Planning for either a conservatory or extension depending on your permitted development rights, constructional detail & where you live. A conservatory does not need Building Regulations but must meet these requirements;
• Not less than ¾ of the roof area made from translucent material, and
• Not less than ½ of the wall area made from translucent material
• Either unheated, or heated by a system with own and separate heating controls (ref. Approved Document L1 CL 1.59(b)), and
• Be separated from the main residence by "external" doors

If it doesn’t meet the above requirements, it’s not a conservatory & will be classed as an extension which must meet all current Building Regulations; you can’t mix & match so there is no in between. Conservatories are nice & warm in summer but have thermal insulation characteristics not much better than the average greenhouse & become very expensive to heat satisfactorily in winter. With no sub-dividing external door, the heat loss from the rest of the house through the cons is dramatic in winter so it won’t help you financially or the environment; this is the reason for the regulation of what constitutes a conservatory. You can achieve what you wan't with with a garden room (effectively an extension) but it will be expensive compared to a cons.

I think your onto a looser with the health angle.