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Conservatory change of roofs to solid roofs
December 13, 2019
To Equinox or not to Equinox this is the question!
We have lots of quires about changing conservatory roofs into solid roofs with 'Equinox' being one of the main suppliers (there are many more manufactures who do similar systems).
This was the conversation I had with the Safe local trades owner to clarify the situation the best I could.
Hi Eileen, yes very interesting subject at the minute.
In a short answer, yes my window fitter does commence these replacement roofs (pictures above). However i personally wouldn’t have anything to do with the works.
These roofs are a grey area because conservatories are classed as temporary buildings and therefore do not need building regulations. However when you put a solid roof onto a conservatory the amount of glass, to class it as a conservatory reduces and therefore makes it into an extension which then requires building regulations! This then causes problems because the original conservatory base (9.9 times out of 10) has not been done to the building regulation specification (footings, amount of insulation in the walls and floor etc.). But you do need building regulations for the change of roof so you then have to make the roof comply, showing structural calculations and the council just confirms these works only. This then causes complications because if the footings have not been dug deeper enough and the new roof fails, where do we stand?!
Sorry for the above but i am trying to make a point on why, I personally wouldn’t get involved as it is my opinion the conservatory should be knocked down and started again with an extension which has been designed and inspected from start to finish. These roofs are not cheap either, starting from 5k and can be as much as 15k!
It annoys me that the window companies have sold and made a lot of money over the past 30 years selling poorly constructed conservatories only to find another way of making money on the existing conservatories they have sold.
Hope that hasn’t confused you and has given you an understanding of this subject if it arises again, which I’m sure it will.
Kind regards,
Craig Latronico.
CDL Builders.
This topic was highlighted in my last project and I feel it is important to highlight the issues. More and more projects are using underfloor heating as the main source of heating for their dwelling. This is great and it really is a lovely property which has underfloor heating. However there is some really important grey areas (at the moment) regarding expansion!
Brian was a very close friend as well as a great old fashioned style Architect which helped us design most of the projects seen on this website. He will be dearly missed by me and my team. Unfortunately moving forward, there is a lack of local old fashioned Architects and they are being replaced with Designer's which most do not have anywhere near the level of qualifications or knowledge! This is also the reason for the number of projects I am receiving without any information on the plans (building regulations/structural engineer drawings) which makes it impossible to price accurately. Please see ' Extension ' page on my website to read more about this subject. We are pleased to inform you that we do have a new style team which we recommend for our projects and the designer is award winning! Janice Kendrick (JKD) is a fabulous designer with the added bonus of her partner (Alistair Reed) being able to complete the full building regulation specification and structural calculations for her projects. Alistair was one of the top building control officers for Peterborough city council for many years which is invaluable to any building project. We also like John Hartley (J Hartley Architecture) who is very much like how Brian Bovis worked on his drawings and specifications. You can find both Architects/designers on my ' Clients & Colleague ' webpage or contact me direct for there details.