Tips on Building a Conservatory

Conservatories or sunrooms are often built either as extensions to existing houses or as part of new build homes. Often they are built on the wrong side of the house where there is least sun and/or are overshadowed by other buildings or existing trees. When this happens the conservatory is often in shade and is a less attractive room as a result. This is an expensive mistake and one that is easily avoided. Ideally conservatories and sunrooms should be positioned on the south (or as a second choice on the west) side of the house. If they are on the west side they will have one side facing north and it is best if this wall is a highly insulated solid wall rather than glass to avoid heat loss on this side.

Another approach to the conservatory add-on to a house is to create one or more sun filled rooms that are part of the house itself and not an add-on. This is often more cost effective than building a separate room since many conservatories (sunny or not) are often little used perhaps because they don’t get much sun (and aren’t
very appealing) or because they’re remote from other commonly used rooms such as kitchen/dining and family room.
A skilled designer with a good working knowledge of the annual sun path can cleverly ensure that the external walls and windows of the most frequently used rooms are positioned and sized to take advantage of the maximum amount of sun (when it exists) for as much of the year as possible. This means that it becomes unnecessary to build a separate sunroom or conservatory.