The conservatory is enjoying a resurgence in popularity at the moment, as homeowners seek to embrace indoor-outdoor living. But gone are the days of only being able to have a plastic roof – modern conservatories simply aren’t complete without a smart, energy efficient tiled roof.
If you want to increase indoor living space and see more of the great outdoors, a conservatory is a fantastic solution. It is a cheaper and easier way to maximise the square footage of your home compared to adding an expensive extension, while also bringing lots of extra light into your property.
Conservatories are hugely versatile. They can be used as family and play rooms, with a brilliant link right into the back garden for the kids. You can turn yours into a study, a music room or an extra living room. It’s up to you! Conservatories are also wonderfully social spaces, perfect for barbecues, drinks parties or simply relaxing with a glass of wine and a book on a lazy Sunday afternoon – all while under cover and at a comfortable temperature whatever the weather.
Martin Holland, the winner of BBC 2’s The Great Interior Design Challenge told Good Housekeeping:
“Garden rooms are an affordable way of adding a new study, play room or living space without all the usual mess of building works. They’re prefabricated, meaning they can be built quickly to your own specification with heating and electrics as standard, so they can be used all year round.”
Could a conservatory add as much as £15,000 to your home’s value?
A well-designed conservatory not only increases the practicality, beauty and your enjoyment of your home. It can also add value to your property should the time come to sell up.
According to research published by the Telegraph, a conservatory costing between £4,000 and £10,000 could add as much as 5% to the value of your home. Throughout the UK, this averages out at around £15,000 on top of the existing value.
Striking a balance between indoor and outdoor space
Considering a conservatory but worried about eating up all of your garden space? It’s important to remember that gardens and grounds also add significant value to a property. It’s crucial to find the right balance between adding extra indoor space and not reducing the garden too much.
The ideal situation is a conservatory that acts as a segue between indoor and outdoor spaces. This is right at the heart of the indoor-outdoor living trend, and it can add a great deal of freedom and pleasure to both family life and entertaining.
Get it right, and your new conservatory can be a very special place for you and your family. Being in the space feels like you’re actually sitting in the garden, without having to put up with the weather!
Do I need planning permission for a tiled roof conservatory?
This is the real beauty of a conservatory. Unlike some extensions, they are classed as permitted development which means that you don’t usually need to apply for planning permission. This can save you hundreds in planning application fees, and lots of time filling out paperwork and waiting for approval. You can expand your living space and add value to your home, all without any red tape. Simply choose your new conservatory and arrange for it to be installed – easy!
To make sure that your home improvement plans fit in with what is classed as permitted development, check these guidelines on the Planning Portal website. The main stipulations are that your structure must not:
- Extend higher than the highest part of the roof
- Extend further than four metres (for a detached house) or three metres (for an attached house) from the back wall of the existing house
- Cover more than half of the area of land around the original house
The many benefits of tiled roofs, compared to glass or polycarbonate
A tiled conservatory roof is far superior to other roof types in lots of different ways. First and most crucially, this roof type makes your conservatory usable all year round. It does this through improved thermo-efficiency, regulating the temperature inside so that it’s never too cold in winter or unbearably hot in summer. A solid roof enables insulation to be installed, and this is what stops heat from escaping.
Other key benefits include:
- Blending in with the existing property. A tiled roof can really help the structure to blend in with the house and its original roof.
- A solid construction. Compared to other roof types, a tiled conservatory roof helps to give your conservatory the feel of a more permanent construction, like an extension.
- More privacy. If you have neighbours overlooking your property, a solid tiled roof can offer you more privacy inside the conservatory compared to glass or polycarbonate.
But what about light? If you’re concerned that a solid roof will make the space darker than a glass or polycarbonate one, you don’t need to worry. Conservatories consist almost entirely of glass panels, so they are designed to let in significantly more light than a normal room. If you need even more light, there is also the option of adding skylights into the roof just like in a normal extension.
Tips for choosing the right conservatory
Keen to start shopping for a new conservatory right away? Make sure you bear these essential tips in mind to ensure you make the right choices:
- Choose a tiled roof for extra insulation
- Check that your preferred conservatory type is strong enough to support a solid roof
- Look for double or triple glazed glass panels for maximum energy efficiency
- Check that your plans meet the requirements for permitted development, so you won’t need planning permission
- Ask the conservatory company about the kind of foundations you will need
- Consider the maintenance needs of the conservatory – you may want to consider self-cleaning glass.
Now all you need to do is look forward to using your new indoor-outdoor living space, planning parties, happy days with the kids and the chance to really appreciate the garden again.
