Greenhouse/conservatory DIY impossible mission

Haidee_Hammond

Hey all,

I seem to be set to achieve what right now it seems an impossible mission and I thought I would come here for advice. Situation is as follows: I am buying a new end f terrace house, small-ish garden (6x10m) S-E, and one of my main points for having a garden, or even a house, was the idea of having some small greenhouse or conservatory where I could have some plants and drink coffee enjoying the rare Irish sun as much as possible (not necessarily in the winters, although it would be awesome, but at least shoulder seasons, I tend to be cold even during the summer!).

I was thinking of lean-on since that way I would have access to water/power, not have to walk out in the rain/cold, improve insulation and leave enough space in the garden to have a "proper garden" (in my head that means grass, flowers, a small tree or two, space for the dog to run around).

But so far I have faced a few issues that have made my objective way harder than I expected:
- there is a lovely manhole in the garden kinda in the way that would force me to make it less deep than I intended to (2/2.5m) or have to deal with it
- the house wall has of course some vents and pipes that would force me to adapt whatever is built around
- I haven't found any ready-to-build solutions with the measures I need (also would need to cut the glass to let at least one vent out, if not 2)
- a builder asks for 20-40k, don't mind if it's fair or not, don't have that kind of money now
- builder I asked for seemed to think pouring concrete for a base would imply to do so until you reach certain depth and was saying it would be too expensive and honestly he didn't seem keen on the idea
- since right now we have some tiles laid out I thought we could use that as a base for a cheaper-lighter-greenhouse, but builder says it will sink
- if I build a non lean-on in the sunnier part of the garden (further from the house, but away from the fences) I will have to move electricity/water there and will take most of the garden (besides probably being too cold)
- building one to any decent specs seems challenging, everything I have seen online is wood-frame polycarbonate nailed/glued down, nothing in the way of adding insulation, or do windows/doors in a more "professional" way
- not to mention the polycarbonate multiwall have a great U-value but they look ugly and would not let me see the garden, but the single sheet have a pretty bad U-value so thing would be pretty cold most year round

As you can see I am a bit lost and don't seem to be able to find a solution, nor tell what is a 'no-go' from a 'it could be done', so any advice would be appreciated!

policarp

You might have a better chance of a reply if you show a few diagrams or photos.

Lumen

You're going to have real problems regulating the temperature in anything but a properly built extension, so I'd just buy a standalone glass greenhouse and run an extension cable out to it when you're using it. If it proves uncomfortable you can just grow plants in it.

When it's too hot sit outside and when it's too cold retreat to your house which is designed to be habitable in cold weather.

That said, I have seen a nice lean to which was open to the garden but closed on either side. The extra shelter made a real difference.

Haidee_Hammond

Thanks for the input! I am afraid that might be the case But 20-40k,even if I had it, sounds like a lot for a 6x2m added on. I was more worried about structural integrity and sealing the water out, I thought if it's too cold I can either use a heater or avoid it for anything else than watering the plants. Measurement are always a pain too, nothing I found so far suits .

As for pictures... Can do

Ps. also the vents, pipes, drains... it worries me, but at the same time, lean on seems ideal

Haidee_Hammond

And...

That should give a good idea of the matter

jmBuildExt

Thats not a diy job...
Looks like the vent of a gas boiler coming out there. You would have to move that if you plan on putting a conservatory there...That would involve major re-plumbing within the house.

Your best bet, as mentioned, is a standalone job. Running a cable down to it will be much less of a job than moving the boiler. Use a water butt for watering plants etc. There will be water init 11.5 months of the year in this country

Re the temperature: You say you would only use it in good weather anyway - so may aswell keep it detatched. Conservatories are pretty infamous regarding how useless they are temperature wise - I think it would be a big mistake do try throw one together there - especially if you're talking about building over the slabs... a non-insulated concrete slab would be as bad, because it will always be cold in the non-sunny times because it will just conduct heat away through the ground.
When you are comparuing u-values above you are basically comparing u-values on things that aren't good insulators in the first place - so relative to eachother you will find some products better than others - but only relative to products in that same sphere.
Relative to e.g. a well insulated proper wall - they would be miles off.
My point being a conservatory attached to your house will be as bad, as one not attached to your house (albeit you might have a radiator in the one attached to your house).

Anyway - thats my tuppence worth

Alkers

If you do decide to go freestanding, have a look at:
http://www.vitavia.co.uk/

Haidee_Hammond

Don't get me wrong, I would love to use the thing 13 months a year, but I had assumed by now that I probably won't be able to afford anything that would be warm enough for me during the winter. As for the vents, in my very naive approach, I was thinking of leaving the vents where they are and adding some pipe to conduct the air out of the greenhouse, I know sounds ugly as hell, but it made sense in my head. But sounds like you are right and I might need to give up on it, sadly. Thanks a lot for the advice anyway!