[Donnacha]

Hi All,

I've tried a search on Orangery but nobody seems to have one or built one !

For those not aware and orangery (orangerie) is a little bit more than a conservatory - its brick based, but with a glass roof, and then its as much glass as you'd like around the sides. So basically its a cross between a conervatory and a full extension, but unlike a conservatory is useable all year 'round.

Anyway we are thinking of extending our house via an orangerie, and use this orangerie as a home cinema, lounge, play room hybrid.

Does anyone on here have one, or familiar with what they would cost? I've had one quote from a supplier to provide the orangerie and I wanted to get a feel for whether its good or bad. We have some other suppliers lined up but they haven't been to visit yet.

Bear with me as I'm no DIY expert so if my terminology is wrong I apologise

Specs of the build are:
Size - 5m x 4m
Glass roof
Glass sliding doors at the end out to the garden
Underfloor heating
Laminate flooring
Only two walls need to be built as its an extension
A certain amount of electrics (no home cinema wiring yet)
Underlighting
Plastering

The company are saying that they can do it without needing planning control if they place and exterior door bewteen the kitchen and orangerie, or it will cost £2500 more if they do it under planning control. Anyone any advice on that, should we insist it be done under planning control, any risk if we don't?

If I told you that the quote ranged from £24k to £28k would you think that was a fair budget or overpriced? Anyone know what sort of margins these specialist conservatory companies try to make? As I said I have no experience of this sort of thing to know whether the quote is in the ball park or not. We'll probably get a view once we get some other quotes in as well.

Any advice on do's / don'ts is also welcome !!

Thanks for taking the time to read this
Donnacha

[phil5366]

Donnacha,

What they are saying is pretty much correct, with planning this will involve submitting a planning application via an Architect or technician. There will always be someone that says they could do it cheaper, but at what cost!

It is difficult to compare without anything to compare to, but, orangery's can be built for anything between 18K onwards for that sort of size and spec. Pm me some digital photo,s of the planned location, etc, and I will work out some costings for you to compare future estimates, if you want.

Regards

[Donnacha]

Thanks Phil,

very kind of you. Thanks for the advice. I don't necessarily want to go with the cheapest option so would be happy to go with who we feel will do the best job for the appropriate money. As we have no experience on orangeries we weren't sure what the ball park should be for one, so I think there was a little "Sticker Shock" on the price at first, but have since calmed down a bit when you take in all that is being provided and it includes VAT.

Maybe we set our budget expectations a bit low, i.e. £25 - £30k for everything (furntiture equipment etc. included).

Is it adviseable to go the full planning route (out of piece of mind) or if it can be avoided legally then there's nothing to worry about?

In your experience is it possible to negotiate on price with these companies?
Thanks again

[andicapped]

Hi

I have an associate who specialises in Orangeries and lives 30 miles from you, he`s a member of the federation of master builders and is an excellent tradesman.

send me a pm if you want a chat or his contact details

Andy

[Donnacha]

Originally Posted by andicapped

Hi

I have an associate who specialises in Orangeries and lives 30 miles from you, he`s a member of the federation of master builders and is an excellent tradesman.

send me a pm if you want a chat or his contact details

Andy

thanksAndy,

had another company around today for a quote which will take a few weeks - still not sure we'll go ahead with it yet.

Will PM you if we would like your colleague to come round - thanks

[DLPMaybe]

I have had something very similar built recently. Basically a lean to conservatory with brick walls either side. Glass roof top and glass to a dwarf wall.

You will need planning permission based on a couple factors.

The % glass of the overall build has to be above a certain amount for it to be considered a conservatory ( I think 70% ).

As you said there needs to be an external locking door between your house and the "conservatory".

The conservatory can be as wide as your house but if it extends a certain amount away then planning is required. This distance depends on whether your house is a semi or detached. I think it is about 3m for a semi.

Saying all that if you do need planning permission it is not a big deal. I think 2500 is too much extra. The council charges about 100 quid. Then you need drawings done (floor, roof, side, elevations). I looked around and got quotes around the 1000 quid mark.

[Black-Adder]

Conservatories | Double Glazing | uPVC Windows & Doors | Orangeries | West Yorkshire Windows
Orangery Designs & Conservatories from Conservatory Outlet | Orangeries
Yorkshire Conservatories & Orangeries In Oak & Other Hardwood
Orangery, Orangeries Leeds, Wakefield, Huddersfield, York, Harrogate, Double Glazing Quotes - Yorkshire, Orangery Quotes in Leeds
Sash Windows - Orangery

The missus and I have been thinking of doing the same. (And found links to a few local suppliers for us)
However at the moment our plan is to convert the Garage first and add an Orangery sometime later as we have a lot to save up for!

[phil5366]

Originally Posted by Donnacha

Thanks Phil,

very kind of you. Thanks for the advice. I don't necessarily want to go with the cheapest option so would be happy to go with who we feel will do the best job for the appropriate money. As we have no experience on orangeries we weren't sure what the ball park should be for one, so I think there was a little "Sticker Shock" on the price at first, but have since calmed down a bit when you take in all that is being provided and it includes VAT.

Maybe we set our budget expectations a bit low, i.e. £25 - £30k for everything (furntiture equipment etc. included).

Is it adviseable to go the full planning route (out of piece of mind) or if it can be avoided legally then there's nothing to worry about?

In your experience is it possible to negotiate on price with these companies?
Thanks again

Donnacha,

If it was me, I personally would go down the full planning route (if needed) just for peice of mind, otherwise, you will just need building regs where you will pay a % fee based on the total build cost. The building Inspector will make sure your build adheres to the regulations.

It is always possible in my experiance to haggle with these companies as they tend to price on the heavy side expecting the client to barter a little.

Give me a shout if you want a quote, a good freind of mine owns a large company supplying Conservatories, orangeries, etc.

[schroedm]

We're having an Orangery built right now from a company who specialise in them. It is essentially being used to double the size of our kitchen.

Ours is 4m x 4.5m and will cost £38k. This includes removals of an external wall, steels, some external patio rework too etc etc.

If, as we are, you are joining to the house with no 'entrance' to the orangery (i.e. just making a room bigger) then the biggest hurdle is building regs as you need to prove that your heat loss ratings will be acceptable. We have had to have more expensive glass installed and thicker insulation in the roof/floor to meet the requirements.

It is turning into a lovely airy, open space that will be far more usable than our conservatory.

We did not need planning in the end as you are able to go out 4m from your property (if detached) and if single storey (and as wide as your house).

Rgds

[Donnacha]

Originally Posted by schroedm

Ours is 4m x 4.5m and will cost £38k.

How much glass are you having?

That's not far off the size we're looking at and the first quote we got was £10k under that !! Still waiting on the next quote, so maybe it's not that bad after all? They did say they could move abit if we get serious!

Our other complication is that one of the bedroom windows would look directly out onto the Orangery, so we had thought about bringing the Orangery right up to that wall, bricking up the bedroom window and putting in a velux window in the roof. Not ideal, but the only other option is to leave everything as is and have the orangery about 2 / 3 ft outside that window so the "view" would be the side of the orangery ! The quote we got was for the velux version, as the builders said it would be cheaper to have an orangery where essentially only two walls are needed as opposed to 3.

will update once we get the 2nd quote

[raymondohunter]

Hi we have just had an orangerie done just waiting for the plasterboard to go on. 5.2 x 4 is the size, we paid a little over 20k and that includes the removal of the external wall, there is no requirement for planning as it is under 4m. I'm shocked at the 38k in the other post, we shopped around quite a lot and went with an established conservatory company in Hampshire we did get a friend to do the electrics so that would have made a saving although the price did include a heat exchange system. It looks great so glad we did it, keep on shopping around

[raymondohunter]

Originally Posted by schroedm

We're having an Orangery built right now from a company who specialise in them. It is essentially being used to double the size of our kitchen.

Ours is 4m x 4.5m and will cost £38k. This includes removals of an external wall, steels, some external patio rework too etc etc.

If, as we are, you are joining to the house with no 'entrance' to the orangery (i.e. just making a room bigger) then the biggest hurdle is building regs as you need to prove that your heat loss ratings will be acceptable. We have had to have more expensive glass installed and thicker insulation in the roof/floor to meet the requirements.

It is turning into a lovely airy, open space that will be far more usable than our conservatory.

We did not need planning in the end as you are able to go out 4m from your property (if detached) and if single storey (and as wide as your house).

Rgds

Mate that sounds like crazy money, I'm looking at the same dimensions and set up plus aircon system for 20k+ from Crofton Conservatories in Hampshire.

[Donnacha]

Hi All,

I've let this thread die a bit, but following the receipt of our second quote for an Orangerie we have now moved on to looking at a normal extension instead. The second quote was similar to the first for the orangerie, so we spoke with a local builder (very well regarded) about potential costs for an extension, 4m x 4m with a skylight, and it was much more favourable and more aligned with our expectations.

We've since gone ahead and gotten an architect to draw up some plans so we can submit them for planning permission. We should be OK getting this and we've spoken to our neighbour and he's fine with it as it doesn't really impact him, so fingers crossed permission will be granted.

Once that happens and funds permitting, we hope to start around April time with the build ! The idea with the room is that it will be an extension from the kitchen out the back of the house, that will serve as the cinema/gaming room (transfered from one of the bedrooms, see my sig below) for dad and the lad, as well as a nice lounge area to sit in during the day out onto the garden.

Its not a huge space, and it will just about work for my existing 92" screen and xbox Kinect (although I'm toying with how I could squeeze a 106" scope screen and new 1080p projector into the budget ). Additionally it frees up one of the bedrooms for any other extensions to the family

Anyway, watch this space as once we start in earnest I'll probably have a build / construction thread, with lots of "how do I?" questions in it !!

Cheers...and merry xmas all !

[MarkP80]

Interesting thread Donnacha, it's thrown up a few good points, particlarly regarding when is a conservatory not a conservatory.
I've been thinking about a similar project for a couple of years now. The previous owner of my house had a conservatory built on the side, probably just within the 4m limit mentioned away from the house, and probably 6m wide. I don't belive they had planning approval, or building regs, but from what I've read, this wouldn't be required. Access was originally only from the garage. However, it's clear that at a later date a door from the kitchen has been added - and not an external door. So that doesn't sound quite right.
Anyway, I spoke to a builder about replacing this conservatory (it must be at least 10 years old) with a new one, but this time with brick dwarf walls and a brick wall at one end. He came round with the building inspector to talk about foundation requirements, at which point the building inspector advised that the side facing the neighbours could only have 1m2 of glass, as it was less than 1m from the boundary fence (it was in fact about 0.8m). As that would turn the conservatory into virtually a brick building, I don't intend to go down that route!
So, I'm keen to turn this job back into "replacing an existing conservatory". I do want brick dwarf walls, but scrap the idea of a new wall at one end. i don't think therefore that I need planning permission. Not sure about building regs, any views?
Any thoughts on what I "must" do as part of the design, or what I must "avoid", to stay clear of falling foul of any regs?

cheers,
MarkP
(and apologies if this is thread hijacking, it's not meant to be, I thought it was of general interest to the conversation going on).

[raymondohunter]

Mark

Call Crofton Conservatories and ask about all of the stuff you mentioned in your post and they will put you right, we were in the same position as yourself and now have an orangery built which looks fantastic, IMO better than an extension or a conservatory. If you get another conservatory you'll be in the same conversation in 10 years time and double out of pocket!! IMO!

[Kerensa]

Just happened to stumble on this forum by mistake when googling "orangeries" and just wondered if someone could give us some advice. Had a few quotes on orangeries with established orangery specialists who have quoted between £39k to £45k for a 7m x 3.8m extension into the garden. This does not include any plastering, electrics etc so still reeling from the shock! However, had Prime Oak on the phone to give them a sensible offer from the £39k quote they had given us. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. We live in sunny Cornwall.

[Donnacha]

Not sure I can help, but the whole reason we abandoned the orangerie idea was cost. Going with an extension build is working out cheaper

[Kerensa]

Thanks, Donnacha - it looks like we'll have to go that way or get a builder to build a flat roof structure and order a customised roof lantern! Have you gone for an extension with the velux version?

[Donnacha]

Yes, going to have a vaulted ceiling and a large velux window in the roof. Should provide sufficient light as well as the patio doors at the end of the room. .....besides the less windows the better for a home cinema room

[nonumb]

My parents have a sort of half and half thing which works v well. Got a proper roof but on one side the last bit is glazed, glass windows covering about 2/3 of the sides, 2 sets of french windows.

Its great because you get so much light etc in through all the windows but the walls and roof keep the heat in. Its a tiled floor with underfloor heating and its great.

Will try and find some pictures

[raymondohunter]

Originally Posted by Kerensa

Just happened to stumble on this forum by mistake when googling "orangeries" and just wondered if someone could give us some advice. Had a few quotes on orangeries with established orangery specialists who have quoted between £39k to £45k for a 7m x 3.8m extension into the garden. This does not include any plastering, electrics etc so still reeling from the shock! However, had Prime Oak on the phone to give them a sensible offer from the £39k quote they had given us. Any thoughts on this would be appreciated. We live in sunny Cornwall.

Mate take my advice please, Just had our orangerie finished it looks superb much better than a conservatorie and more eye catching than a bog standard extension. We paid Crofton Conservatories £21.5k for all bar the electrics. The job is first class. We live in Lee on the Solent, Hampshire if you are serous give them a call.

[Donnacha]

Well, just a quick update that the new build is about to start today !!

The digger's coming on Monday to start in earnest !! Anyway, think I'll start a new thread for the project as it'll be approx. 8 weeks of work , that someone else is doing

Cheers

[LionelR]

I've just chanced upon this thread whilst searching for info about fitting a cinema screen in my orangery - which is almost complete.

Our price was at the upper end of the range discussed above (almost £50k) but that was for hardwood frames, with quite a lot of extra structural work and piled foundations. More importantly, it very very much at the lower end of the range of quotes we received, some of which were horrendous.

We use Kingsholme conservatories, I think they only cover a limited area, but they have done a very good job.

[Donnacha]

any pics?

[J-a-m-e-s_7]

Just an idea, dont know whether or not its been mentioned by anyone but what about a normal extension with a lantern roof these can look really nice!

Regards
James