Using conservatory extension for kitchen appliances

[thebogfrog]

Hi all

Got a bit of a dilemma. Our house is old 1930's build with a very small kitchen. The previous owner extended by way of a conservatory (triple wall polycarbonate roof). The existing cooker / hob is in the old brick built part of the house. Are there any restrictions or issues with us moving the hob / ovens into the conservatory area of the kitchen. We will of course be fitting extraction unit over the hob.......

Any help you can give will be as normal greatfully received

Regards

Trace n Rich

 

[joe-90]

It's no longer a conservatory if you do which means you need planning permission and building regs.

 

[thebogfrog]

The conservatory has housed the kitchen since we moved in - all we want to do is move the cooker and hob to within the extention area.......do we still need planning permission. The conservatory extension extends across the entire back of the house and has done since we moved in. We have had the house valued( and the council has been out to re-rate the property) since then and they have found nothing wrong with the kitchen as it is....our only concern is that the heat from the hob / cooker will affect the polycarbonate roofing....hope this clarifys

 

[joe-90]

A conservatory has to have an outside door separating it from the rest of the house. Are you sure it's a conservatory and not just part of the kitchen? If it is part of the kitchen did it get planning etc?

 

[Richard C]

The problem with permanently turning your conservatory into your kitchen is that it will no longer be a conservatory & will not comply with Building Regulations. If you chose to make a permanent switch be aware that it will almost certainly come back & bite you when you come to sell up as the property will no longer have a compliant kitchen, the lender probably won’t advance the cash to finance the purchase & any perspective buyer will want a hefty discount to pay for reinstating a compliant kitchen. We’ve had this problem on the forum before & it’s either resulted in a reduction in sale price & I believe one buyer actually walked away altogether.

You are also supposed to have an external grade insulated door between the conservatory & the main property or it isn’t a conservatory & must comply with Building Regulations.

 

[Richard C]

Sorry in compiling "off line", I seem to have lost some of the later detail here ; the fact that the council has re-valued the property won’t mean they have assessed it for compliance, they wont be interested in compliance with BR’s, only in valuation & extracting more council tax from you! If your conservatory already houses your kitchen, you already have a problem in today’s world!

 

[thebogfrog]

The conservatory extension to the kitchen has been signed off with full planning permission.......the question is....can i put a cooker and or a hob under the polycarbonate roofing....i plan to install an extractor hood over the hob....just dont want it to face melting when i cook chips...........

 

[noseall]

The conservatory extension to the kitchen has been signed off with full planning permission.......the question is....can i put a cooker and or a hob under the polycarbonate roofing....i plan to install an extractor hood over the hob....just dont want it to face melting when i cook chips...........

You are confusing planning with building control.

 

[Richard C]

The conservatory extension to the kitchen has been signed off with full planning permission

Nothing is ever “signed off” with full “Planning Permission”; you submit &, hopefully, get planning permission (if you need it) & then get compliance with “Building Regulations” if it’s applicable. It’s compliance with Building Regs that is “signed off” & the two are completely different; what you have already doesn’t comply with Building Regs. let alone what you propose.

the question is....can i put a cooker and or a hob under the polycarbonate roofing....i plan to install an extractor hood over the hob....just dont want it to face melting when i cook chips...........

NO

 

[thebogfrog]

planning permission was applied for to extend the kitchen via a conservatory extension which was approved by the local council...it was then built before we bought the property.....please god all i would like to know is can i put a hob under a polycarbonate roof........the extension already has planning consent....please can someone say whther i can put a hob in a conservatory with a polcarbonate roof if i include an extractor hood.....

 

[RonnyRaygun]

Richard C has already given you the answer...

Anyway...

I've just looked on Wikipedia, and it says that polycarbonate has Heat Distortion Temperature of 128 degrees C at a uniform pressure of 1.8Mpa. This means that the material will begin to warp at this temperature...

So...get a thermometer rated to at least 128 degrees C, turn on your cooker rings and position it at the same height above your cooker as the polycarb roof will be...and see if the temperature ever reaches 128 degrees C. Of course with an extractor hood you've got a bit more protection...

Best thing to do is to call your local building control department. I'm pretty sure they'll tell you it won't comply with building regs and is a fire risk. If it doesn't comply it'll also invalidate your house insurance and then when your house burns down you're really in trouble...

If you know all this, and still decide to put your cooker in your conservatory, don't say we didn't warn you...

 

[RonnyRaygun]

It's possible that there would be more chance of it complying with building regs if the roof was glass, but then you would need to know if the structure is capable of taking the extra load...

 

[^woody^]

The yellowing of the plastic sheets and the brown grease spots dripping off the cold sheets and rails might not look too good

 

[IJWS15]

Planning, building control and rating valuations are THREE SEPARATE groups in your local council.

Assume they don't talk to each other, it is the local council after all!

Just because you are paying council tax on it does not mean it has planning permission or complies with building regulations.

 

[thebogfrog]

the original single story kitchen extension (which has a polycarbonate roof) has planning permission and has a completion certificate from the council building control office confirming that it complies with building regs for use as a kitchen which is what the extension was built for. We have spoken to the council today and they don't believe that there should be any issue with siting a hob with adequate extraction facility within the polycarbonate roof area however they are double checking and are getting back to us......I'll keep you posted