# Conservatory Roof



## SteveF (1 Jan 2014)

not sure what section to post this in  

has anyone fitted a flat insulated roof inside their conservatory?

Steve


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## Berncarpenter (1 Jan 2014)

I had a client ask me to give an estimate for fitting insulated plaster boards to the rafters of their upvc and polycarb victorian style conservatory last year.They didnt want to go to the expense of supporting a timber cut roof with slates.I gave them the estimate but never heard back from them . I am glad in a way because i am not sure how successful this job would have been .Be interesting to find out if anybody out there has done this with any success .Most conservatories are too hot in the summer and then too cold in the winter. 
Cheers Bern.


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## MMUK (1 Jan 2014)

Funny you should ask this. Just recently I've been doing a lot of electrical work for a friend who installs such roof conversions.

Basically, you rip out the roof back to bare aluminium bars. This is then insulated with 50mm Celotex and boarded over with 1/2" marine ply. On top of this goes a breathable A1 membrane then steel roof tile sheets with a traditional uPVC fascia and new guttering.

The inside is clad with 10mm foil bubble "Space Blanket" which is then lathed over and plasterboard applied.

Materials cost on a 4m x 3m Victorian or Edwardian roof is around £800.


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## SteveF (1 Jan 2014)

my brother recently had this done
which got me interested in diy option for ours

p.s. his cost 7k

Steve


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## MMUK (1 Jan 2014)

SteveF":1mys113n said:


> my brother recently had this done
> which got me interested in diy option for ours
> 
> p.s. his cost 7k
> ...




Done by Total Roof Care by any chance? Owner is a guy called Andy.


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## Graham Orm (1 Jan 2014)

This then crosses a boundary. To be a conservatory, (which doesn't currently require building regs) it must have a translucent roof. Once you put on any form of covered roof it is potentially an extension. This would then require all sorts of other changes to comply, including testing of foundations and a reduction of the glass area.


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## MMUK (1 Jan 2014)

Grayorm":20doyd4o said:


> This then crosses a boundary. To be a conservatory, (which doesn't currently require building regs) it must have a translucent roof. Once you put on any form of covered roof it is potentially an extension.




The roof doesn't come into the equation strictly speaking, it's down to the glazed area of the "room" as to whether or not it's classed as an extension. And buildings regs won't apply retrospectively in these cases.

As a side note to anyone thinking about one of these roof conversions, the weight of the steel tile roof is less than that of a laminated/toughened double glazed roof.


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## SteveF (1 Jan 2014)

I understand the tiles are light weight but

the marine ply
breathable membrane
insulation
plasterboard

surely put a load of weight on the ally struts?


Steve


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## MMUK (1 Jan 2014)

SteveF":30wxo049 said:


> I understand the tiles are light weight but
> 
> the marine ply
> breathable membrane
> ...




Don't get me wrong there's a lot of weight but it still works out less than a glass roof. Also to consider is that by using the ply you are making the structure more rigid and, erm, structural :mrgreen:


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## Graham Orm (1 Jan 2014)

The spars rest on the frames which will spread quite easily unless you use ties across the width of the conny. 

Steve. Just read up. The glazing of 75% of the roof and 50% of the walls to conform as a conservatory was dropped in 2010.

*WELL WORTH A READ*
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/pro ... -roof.html


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## Berncarpenter (1 Jan 2014)

Grayorm":1f0byfn0 said:


> The spars rest on the frames which will spread quite easily unless you use ties across the width of the conny.
> 
> Steve. Just read up. The glazing of 75% of the roof and 50% of the walls to conform as a conservatory was dropped in 2010.
> 
> ...



Very wise words from Jeff Howell nice find Grayorm.

Cheers Bern


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## MMUK (1 Jan 2014)

Grayorm":m9q8jres said:


> The spars rest on the frames which will spread quite easily unless you use ties across the width of the conny.
> 
> Steve. Just read up. The glazing of 75% of the roof and 50% of the walls to conform as a conservatory was dropped in 2010.
> 
> ...




I knew regs had changed but I wasn't quite sure exactly how, I don't tend to deal with planning apps these days.


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## Hivenhoe (1 Jan 2014)

As Grayorm points the spars rest on a "ring beam" which, although substantial, is attached to the top of plastic window frames by whatever screws the fitters have to hand. 
Also whilst most frames will have reinforcing inserts but there are a lot that don't.
You need to consider the overall loading on the materials used in the first place, eg. cills are hollow plastic the window frames rest on and could possibly fail under say a snow load that tiles will hold.
Flat PVC door infill panels will be a straight replacement for the polycarb sheets without much work or adding additional load to the roof bars and supporting window frames, cill etc. Snow should slip of as before.


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## Graham Orm (1 Jan 2014)

MMUK":asp413n7 said:


> Grayorm":asp413n7 said:
> 
> 
> > The spars rest on the frames which will spread quite easily unless you use ties across the width of the conny.
> ...



I was under the impression they still stood. It's 7 years since I was involved with a conservatory installation. :wink:


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## SteveF (2 Jan 2014)

guess i have some reading to do

thank you all for input

Steve


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