Kitchen in a conservatory

Hmmzis

Hi fellow DIYers,

I wasn't able to find much info about conservatory extensions converted into kitchens therefore I'm hoping somebody could give me some advice here.

The situation is that I'm considering buying a house that has a conservatory extension to the back that has been converted into a kitchen. The idea seemed fine at first - loads of natural light and could look great with some work. Then I got the survey results and from what I understand from it, is that kitchens in conservatories are illegal (the main emphasis was on the glass roof).

I couldn't find much about this with just google searches (except in the UK). Hope somebody could point me to the right regulations explaining what exactly is wrong with a kitchen in a conservatory.

Thanks.

antiskeptic

Hmmzis wrote: »

Hi fellow DIYers,

I wasn't able to find much info about conservatory extensions converted into kitchens therefore I'm hoping somebody could give me some advice here.

The situation is that I'm considering buying a house that has a conservatory extension to the back that has been converted into a kitchen. The idea seemed fine at first - loads of natural light and could look great with some work. Then I got the survey results and from what I understand from it, is that kitchens in conservatories are illegal (the main emphasis was on the glass roof).

I couldn't find much about this with just google searches (except in the UK). Hope somebody could point me to the right regulations explaining what exactly is wrong with a kitchen in a conservatory.

Thanks.

I can't think of any practical reason why you couldn't have a kitchen in a conservatory - and don't understand what a glass roof would have to do with it (can't you put a string of rooflights over your ordinary kitchen extension).

Do the English regs shed um.. light on the rationale?

ART6

Apart from regulations, a conservatory can get very hot in the sunlight without doing any cooking in it. I wouldn't convert a conservatory to a kitchen since I like to fry the food rather than myself:D

The Irish Gunner

I have a friend who is studying Architecture and have just emailed him to see what his opinion is on this. As far as I can see there should be no problem. Will let you know what he thinks as soon as!

looksee

Be aware that with a glass roofed conservatory you will not need a fridge in the winter, you will however need an amazing amount of heating or fur boots and parka. And as the previous poster has said, you will be roasted in the summer. Don't buy a house that does not have doors between the house and the conservatory, and to be honest I would not have a house with a glass roofed conservatory again.

Hmmzis

Thanks you all for your replies. From the looks of it, legally there shouldn't be a problem with a kitchen in a conservatory.

The heat in the summer doesn't bother me too much since the garden is pointing N. Only the morning and evening sun shines directly into it. The winters, on the other hand, do make me worried a bit. If it dips below zero and the insulation is not up for it (I totally agree that a glass roof is just another term for a heat sink), then I could have broken plumbing.

Will have to think of something, maybe replacing the glass roof with some of those synthetic ones could help in terms of insulation.

ART6

Hmmzis wrote: »

Thanks you all for your replies. From the looks of it, legally there shouldn't be a problem with a kitchen in a conservatory.

The heat in the summer doesn't bother me too much since the garden is pointing N. Only the morning and evening sun shines directly into it. The winters, on the other hand, do make me worried a bit. If it dips below zero and the insulation is not up for it (I totally agree that a glass roof is just another term for a heat sink), then I could have broken plumbing.

Will have to think of something, maybe replacing the glass roof with some of those synthetic ones could help in terms of insulation.

I have a large lean to conservatory at the back of the house, and it gets direct sunlight in the afternoons. Then it gets very hot inside, while in Winter it can get very cold, although even in the coldest days never cold enough to freeze pipes (I use it partly as a utility room). I wouldn't think that freezing pipes would be an issue for you either unless you live in the Artic Circle!

The roof of mine is transluscent polycarbonate, so it does cut down on the direct sunlight, and all the windows and doors are double glazed. The polycarbonate sheets are 25 mm thick with an internal honeycomb structure. I don't know of any other material than that which could be used to replace glass.

Regards

ART6

martinn123

You may havea problem with a North facing Conservatory, depending on its age and the quality of the glass.
its possible now to get Double glazed units , low E plus argon filled which have a U value of 1.1

Older Conservatories with standard D/G units may have a U value of 2, or more. The bigger the number the worse the glass is insulated.

As its north facing retaining heat may prove a big issue. Check it out as part of the BER Cert survey.

Polycarbonate I would not recommend, as its insulation values are worse.

There are companies who advertise, turning a conservatory into a sunroom by taking out the glass and replacing with a Aluminium sheeting, I have looked at this product but decided not to use it as in my opinion its poor quality, but its relatively cheap.

Never seen a conservatory used as a kitchen, so cant help with regulations, someone will come up with a definative answer.

Keep us posted

looksee

I had a small glass conservatory, really just a lean-to extension of a room. While this was great in terms of opening up the room, the glass roof was totally useless. Eventually I filled the spaces between the 'rafters' with that thick silver backed rigid insulation, then put a ceiling of timber t&g. It has been much better, and far from missing the glass roof (faces west), it has made a huge improvement.

martinn123

looksee wrote: »

I had a small glass conservatory, really just a lean-to extension of a room. While this was great in terms of opening up the room, the glass roof was totally useless. Eventually I filled the spaces between the 'rafters' with that thick silver backed rigid insulation, then put a ceiling of timber t&g. It has been much better, and far from missing the glass roof (faces west), it has made a huge improvement.

What did you use on the outside, or did you leave the glass in place

looksee

Just left the glass in place. Its probably not an ideal solution but its much better than the glass roof.

sunnysoutheast

antiskeptic wrote: »

I can't think of any practical reason why you couldn't have a kitchen in a conservatory - and don't understand what a glass roof would have to do with it (can't you put a string of rooflights over your ordinary kitchen extension).

Do the English regs shed um.. light on the rationale?

It will be freezing in the winter so any moisture from cooking which isn't extracted will condense on the glass roof and run/drip down, together with any grease.

It will be unbearably hot in the summer and you won't want to go in it, let alone cook in it.

Conservatories were originally built to grow citrus fruits as they trap heat. It's basically a greenhouse as an extension.

SSE

martinn123

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

Conservatories were originally built to grow citrus fruits as they trap heat. It's basically a greenhouse as an extension.

SSE

Pity us poor workers who try to make a living in the Conservatory business. bad design and even worse use of bad materials, has led to the above impression of Conservatories. i have a conservatory on my house, south facing, low E Glass, plenty of ventilation including a Roof Vent, and for the past week it has been a pleasure to use, Yes I do not use it from end November to 1st Mar, but they are not, or should not be sold as 4 Seasons.

I do not grow citrus fruits, but the house plants I do have are thriving.

Give Conservatories a break.

looksee

Yes, conservatories are great if they are properly designed for the purpose. I was sold a conservatory (small extension) and was told that the glass roof was suitable for the purpose, but almost immediately it became obvious that it was not.

I have just had the floor lifted and insulation put in, the panels are standing directly on the concrete blocks with no draught barrier and no insulation so the floor was freezing in the winter.

I really like the way it has opened up the room, and the heating guy said that the windows are very good standard, so really the problems are down to bad advice and careless installation.

If you must have a glass roof, be prepared to have fitted blinds, and always have a dividing door between the conservatory and the rest of the house.

tricky D

What about grease rising and depositing on the glass, especially if cooking with gas?

martinn123

looksee wrote: »

Yes, conservatories are great if they are properly designed for the purpose. I was sold a conservatory (small extension) and was told that the glass roof was suitable for the purpose, but almost immediately it became obvious that it was not.

I have just had the floor lifted and insulation put in, the panels are standing directly on the concrete blocks with no draught barrier and no insulation so the floor was freezing in the winter.

I really like the way it has opened up the room, and the heating guy said that the windows are very good standard, so really the problems are down to bad advice and careless installation.

If you must have a glass roof, be prepared to have fitted blinds, and always have a dividing door between the conservatory and the rest of the house.

Very bad work here, no insulation in floor, no foundations, no DPC, the weight of the roof and walls carried by the pre-existing ground, sounds like no cill either which should be under frames to deflect water, who did the work, if you cannot post names, someone is getting away with very shoddy work. Sounds as if the entire project doed not comply with building regulations.

This certainly gives Conservatories a bad name.

looksee

Not quite true, it did have good foundations, and a cill, and dpc. What it was missing was a layer of mastic or similar between the concrete base and the panels, and insulation in the base (which was raised up off the ground).

Apart from these two issues the rest was fine, the problem was with the advice to have a glass roof, which was not nearly as effective as was suggested.

martinn123

Sorry, I misread your post.

when you say the glass is not suitable, what do you mean, is it south facing, too much glare, or poory insulated, and too warm/cold.

MARIA O

Hi,

The only people I know who had a conservatory as a kitchen was my late Aunt and Uncle, who by the way loved it and I never heard any complaints from them. But, when the house was being sold the sale could not go through without the family getting the sink, cooker etc moved back into the original positions in the house which had been turned from the original kitchen by my aunt into a dining room. The surveyor would not pass it as a kitchen but the actual conservatory was not taken done it was allowed to reamain and the sale went ahead.

looksee

There was not enough tint in the roof glass to cut the glare more than a tiny bit, and we were told that glass would give the best insulation, but it gave very little insulation. In this climate I think a solid roof would be better, even if it had skylights, and in fact I can see very little point in a glass roof at all.

Welease

Hmmzis wrote: »

Hi fellow DIYers,

I wasn't able to find much info about conservatory extensions converted into kitchens therefore I'm hoping somebody could give me some advice here.

The situation is that I'm considering buying a house that has a conservatory extension to the back that has been converted into a kitchen. The idea seemed fine at first - loads of natural light and could look great with some work. Then I got the survey results and from what I understand from it, is that kitchens in conservatories are illegal (the main emphasis was on the glass roof).

I couldn't find much about this with just google searches (except in the UK). Hope somebody could point me to the right regulations explaining what exactly is wrong with a kitchen in a conservatory.

Thanks.

Conservatories in the UK are not considered an internal part of the house, I would assume that is part of the reason.
So for example, if you build an conservatory from the back of your dining room.. the door between the dining room and the conservatory needs to be an external standard door.When we removed ours, the builder notified us it wouldnt pass council building regulations if potential buyers surveyors asked for certificates. We were also not allowed to extend our radiator system into the conservatory etc.. (had to use seperate underfloor heating system).. given those limitations, not being allowed to have a kitchen isn't surprising.

MARIA O

Hi,

The house I was referring to still had the original Back Door in place which led into the house. This was here in Ireland and the surveyor for the new buyers insisted the kitchen facilities be moved back inside the original house.

Kitchen Expert

Some very good points made here especially on the heat in the conservatory and the grease that would rise to create a layer on the roof. Also you would have major problems with condensation. I have seen someone put there utility presses into a conservatory and it was done really well with a belfast sink and integrated washing machine and tumble dryer.

neeb

Where was the original kitchen in the house? you may have the option of moving the units back in there?

sunnysoutheast

Welease wrote: »

Conservatories in the UK are not considered an internal part of the house, I would assume that is part of the reason.
So for example, if you build an conservatory from the back of your dining room.. the door between the dining room and the conservatory needs to be an external standard door.When we removed ours, the builder notified us it wouldnt pass council building regulations if potential buyers surveyors asked for certificates. We were also not allowed to extend our radiator system into the conservatory etc.. (had to use seperate underfloor heating system).. given those limitations, not being allowed to have a kitchen isn't surprising.

The massive growth of "conservatories" as extensions in the UK was based on their exemption from certain of the building regulations (for example they had to have a lockable door and be treated as an adjunct to the house etc.) until a few years ago, together with the mistaken and widespread belief that they were somehow exempt from planning - in fact they were usually erected under permitted development - the UK equivalent of the 40sq.m. allowable in Ireland under certain conditions.

The simplified building regulations allowed double glazing companies to market their conservatories aggressively as all that was required was a cheap parapet wall with limited or no foundations plus a number of standard sized window units plus, as a rule, a polycarbonate roof. It also goes without saying that a whole host of cowboys piled into the market as they were quick and cheap to build. Any company that did things properly couldn't really compete.

This is why you see so many UK and Irish houses with these godawful white-framed monstrosities on the back of them, rooms that are way too hot in summer and freezing in the winter, often unused for most of the year, done on the cheap. As I said, it's a greenhouse as an extension.

SSE

Hmmzis

neeb wrote: »

Where was the original kitchen in the house? you may have the option of moving the units back in there?

Good question. I have to see the original plans of the house first, but I'm assuming it was located in what now is considered to be the dining room. It would be a slightly bigger room for a kitchen and still a good space left for a dining area (though, a good deal darker). Will have to check on that option when and if the compliance certificates have been received by my solicitor.

RKQ

Hmmzis wrote: »

Then I got the survey results and from what I understand from it, is that kitchens in conservatories are illegal (the main emphasis was on the glass roof).

I couldn't find much about this with just google searches (except in the UK). Hope somebody could point me to the right regulations explaining what exactly is wrong with a kitchen in a conservatory.

Basically a Kitchen can not be called a Conservatory.
See Dept of Envirnoment definitions. A certain amount of glass is allowed in a Conservatory but this may not be allowed in a Kitchen because of the extent of heat loss in winter.

If it's got a kitchen in it, then it's not a conservatory no matter how much glass there is (as far as UK building regs are concerned). It will have to comply with building regulations for a dwelling. The building control department in the UK are likely to want to see some SAP energy calculations before giving approval ( similar to BER in Ireland), and compliance won't be easy but neither will it be impossible.

So technically you have a glass roofed kitchen with lots of windows which must comply with heat loss building regulations in Ireland, unless it was built prior to 1992. (Also check L.A by-laws if the dwelling is in a City)

smashe

The main problem with fitting a kitchen in a conservatory is the dramatic change in temperature so you are likely to have problems with the kitchen units them selves. I fyou go for a solid timber kitchen your doors are likely to cause problems with movement and eventual cracking, equally with a vinyl door that has intense heat and direct sunlight on a ongoing basis the vinyl could lift from the doors, As a kitchen designer I would never recommend fitting a kitchen in a conservatory.