Self-build conservatory

Hello everybody

I'm planning to replace a lean-to knackered conservatory with a new double glazed one. I'm going to try the self-build approach - it will either save me a load of money OR turn into a total clusterf**k!!!

The original one has been there for at least ten years and is a light weight aluminium/ greenhouse type thang. The curved sections on the roof are glazed with perspex and are completely perished (can you spot the gaffa tape?!) The door falls off EVERY time you open it and it looks rubbish!!


The whole thing is so fragile i haven't dared to get above to paint the house!

Last weekend i decided to remove the old one. It took a while to find somewhere to store all of the tat that had gathered in there over the years - (including 2 kayaks!) as i don't have a garage and it's only a single bedroom cottage i had to be ruthless!

Despite all the glasss panels being siliconed in place i was able to remove all the "upright" panels with out breaking a single one! However the roof panels were a bit harder. They had years of silicone and other sealants sticking them to the roof beams and i couldn't get through it with a stanley knife. In the end i went for taking all the walls away and letting the roof fall down approach!! this sounds dodgy but i soon discovered that the roof was made from toughened glass and none of it broke either!

All of the timber frame that it was fixed to was rotten so it came away quite easily, just leaving me with a few bits that need re-pointing and painting



I left some of the old render and flashing above the door to keep any rain away from the door. You can see from this photo how much painting is needed to match this part in with the rest of the terrace!
I plan to expose the red brick above the window too, the ones above the door had so many layers of paint on them that a few hours gentlly tapping the with a pointing hammer got it all off. The roof height of the new structure will be a few inches higher than the old on so you the red bricks should be fully in view

I will be extending the base slightly - it will come out to the top "step". The existing base is well built from six inch blocks on their side and a good concrete in-fill. (i saw the previous owner build this base so i'm confident of it's quality , i also saw him cover two granite steps going up to the door when he did it -what a waste!!)

I was a bit worried about planning permision for this as it's a very small plot (there is a rule about the % of your plot that you can build on)- when i bought this place i didnt buy it's garden so the only land it has is what you see - the back of the terrace is right on the edge of a road and the gardens are down over a wall to the right of the pictures. I decided to not risk doing this without permision, so went to see the local planning guy (caradon district council) and was eventually given a letter saying that "as it stands at this moment in time they see no problem with this proposal" or words to that effect!

I've done some hunting around and have found a company who have given me a good quote for the replacement :-

(i will probably turn these plans up the other way before i start using them!!)

They have been very helpful so far and i have seen good reviews of there products. Finger crossed now that they maintain this approach and that i have measured everything properly!! They have said that it will be ready in approx 4 weeks time. So i'm hoping for a few good weather weekends so i can get all the prep jobs done!


I've done a lot of searching through this site and couldn't find many posts about self build conservatories, so i thought i would do my own for anyone else who may be considering it!!


Hope you all "enjoy" reading this and i'll keep you updated

Cheers

D

 

good luck rizred! hope you get decent weather.

 

If you are going to be using twinwall for the roof I would pay the extra and get the 25mm 4/5 wall type.
I build a leanto on my house and am just in the process of changing the roof from 10 mm.
The u value of the 25mm is better than standard double glazing.

 

I look forward to seeing it too.

 

Thanks for all the good luck messages!

I've just had the delivery date confirmend for the 8th, so i need to crack on and get everything ready now!

It comes with a flashing kit but i want to put lead flashing up too, can anyone give me any suggestions on what size lead i would need and where i would need to cut into the wall (i.e how far away from the finished roof line?) Does the lead size requirement depend on the roof angle?

The roof is a 35 mill polycarbonate material, hopefully this will be sufficient! As long as it is as good if not better than what i had before i will be happy!

The manufacturer sent me a copy of the installation insrtuctions and a DVD guide!, both of which have helped me get my head around the installation prcedure and i'm less worried about it now!

My main worry is that the walls i a m fixing to are painted stonework (it's a cornsih granite cottage). The conservatory has fixing sections that get fixed to the walls first and i guess i need to be carefull that i get these in place without warping them with overtight fixings. I'm planing to use long bolts and spacers to get them perfectly placed and then fill behind where neccesary. Any recomendations for filling these spaces? Should i use mortar, expanding foam or silicone sealant?

 

Sounds awfully thin

 

when you use silicone make sure its low modular or else it will just peel off general purpose silicone is only for people that dont know about low modular the difference you can peel it off in a oner where as low mod is for upvc and will not come off

 

the word is modulus.. and it refers to it's compressability..
a usefull property for something where 2 different materials are used that expand and contract at different rates, such as the glass and upvc of a conservatory.

not sure what effect that it would have pertaining to the ability to peel it off..
maybe that's more to do with the de-greasing of the glass and upvc or the different make up of the silicone ( what solvents are used in it etc.. )

( as a side note, while curing, some silicones release acetic acid.. which is why they smell a bit like vinegar.. )

 

heh heh he lm on a lot of forums theres always anoraks on every one
excuse my 40 years in the trade and and write ups from historic scotland on my workmanship hide your better than me at spelling

there those that do it an those that talk it lol
congrats your more clever than me but lm a better tradesman than you
worked for the lady in waiting to the queen
castles all over in scotland
lm thick and have learned my trade by making lots of mistakes
thats why l know what lm talking about
and why award winning architechs come and ask me how to fit things in stairs bridle sizes

you can have all the knowledge in the world but leave a ****e job experience says it all
if you use general purpose silicone on a conservatory it will peel off degreased or not and you will get leaks in years to come fact

l actually make conservatories in wood and have put up loads of plastic ones
l manufacture patio doors ,bifold sliding doors are the new one for the
architechs round here just now

made and erected by me and my son













but hey what do l know lol

 

Hi Rizred;

I installed my own PVC-U conservatory - similarly i used 35mm roof panels. I also built a 600mm dumpy wall all round. Im a total novice to building and double glazing but its a stunning conservatory now and it was like building lego! The brick wall and concrete base was the most difficult and time consuming part of the build.

Most important lesson - dont build in january!!!

 

dont ya just love a big head

 

heh heh l dont usually but just couldnt stop masell
an ma doorways are 2'6''

 

Hi Rizred, spooky mate!, I am also at the beginning of a self build conservatory, and your existing lean too looks just like mine!!
I recently posted a message to ask if anyone has any ideas on how I am going to get my old one down!!
It looks identical to yours but looking at it the glass panels seem to fixed using hard rubber not silicone....
Who are you getting your new conservatory from? I spent a while checking various people and in the end chose a firm called Centurion near Letchworth.
They seem very helpful, fully double glazed with K glass and like you polycarbonate roof panels.
My mates going to help and I have a really good concrete base. The dwarf wall should be done soon.
Where in the world are you mate?
Cheers

 

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