Cold Conservatory

[zloog]

Afternoon. Our house has a conservatory on it. The two main areas that are making it cold are the floor which is some sort of slate tile and the conservatory is half brick. I want to paint the brickwork but not sure what the best paint to use would be? Any suggestions? And I am thinking of carpeting the floor as it feels like stepping outside when you walk in there!!!

Many thanks

Sam

 

[Richard C]

Putting carpet on the floor & painting the half brick walls may make it feel cosier but in reality it won’t make it any warmer. The only way you can do that is to put more heat energy into it the room & to try & prevent that heat from escaping; always the biggest challenge with any conservatory. By the nature of their design & construction, most cons. have heat retention characteristics not much better than a garden shed & whilst you can do a lot to combat this when building new (insulated floor, under floor heating, thicker poly roof with foil inlay, low emission glass etc.), with an existing cons. all you can really do is put lots of heat energy into it (rather expensive these days!) & fit curtains & blinds which sort of defeats the purpose of having a cons. If you want all year round living accommodation in the UK climate you really need a garden room or a proper extension. I have a large con’s built to the highest spec. but it still costs so much to keep it comfortable in the winter months we close it down between November & March & use the lounge instead!

As the brickwork is inside, you could use bog standard emulsion in any colour of your choice; bright red may have the desired effect!

 

[Growler]

That's a good answer Richard C.

I was considering having one built but I don't think I'll bother now. I suppose they're only expensive greenhouses really.

 

[Richard C]

That's a good answer Richard C.

I was considering having one built but I don't think I'll bother now. I suppose they're only expensive greenhouses really.

They are great as long as you understand the limitations in winter. You can do a lot to minimise heat loss but with all that glass & no sort of roof insulation to speak of, even with the most energy saving gizmos fitted, that's pretty much it! Many folks who’ve never had a cons. before expect too much & are ultimately disappointed!

 

[zloog]

Excellent, many thanks for the reply. I know what you mean about the lack of insulation on the roof! Plastic basically! We do have a large radiator in there but to be honest it is like trying to fill a swimming pool by spitting in it!

 

[confidentincompetent]

There was a radiator in our cons when we moved in. (extended from c/h) soon realised it was costing a fortune and had to leave c/h on just to stop rad from freezing . I stripped it out and we have a electric convector we just switch on if we go in there on a cold day..