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Conservatory or orangery quotes
A conservatory or orangery adds a bright room onto the back or side of the house, usually opening onto the garden. The difference between the two is mostly the roof and how much solid wall there is: an orangery has more brickwork and typically a flat roof with a lantern, a conservatory more glass.
These fell out of favour in the UK for a good reason. The older ones were too hot in summer and too cold in winter, so people used them for a few weeks a year and built extensions instead. What has changed is the roof. A tiled or properly insulated flat roof, with radiators inside, turns the room into somewhere you can use all year, which is what makes them worth considering again.
Is your property suitable?
This suits a house with a garden worth looking at. Windows on three sides facing greenery is the whole point of the room, and it is something a conventional extension rarely gives you.
It is also a simpler job than an extension. You are not knocking down walls, the footings are lighter, and the local rules are usually easier to satisfy. That makes it a sensible route where an extension would be more disruption and more money than the extra space is worth to you.
Typical cost range
£4,600 – £57,500
Excludes VAT, and includes a 15% contingency allowance for the unexpected.
What moves the price is the specification rather than the size. Rooflights, the number of lights, the type of windows, and whether you are running plumbing out for a radiator all change the figure.
Timing is worth weighing alongside cost. A straightforward glass conservatory is usually two to five weeks depending on what you have asked for. An orangery, with more brickwork and a tiled or insulated roof, takes longer. Either way it is a great deal faster than an extension, and if the disruption of a long build is what puts you off extending, that difference matters as much as the price does.
Get multiple quotes for the specific type you want. Quotes for "a conservatory" are not comparable. Quotes for the same roof, the same glazing and the same heating are.
What to ask before hiring
Ask what the roof is and how it is insulated, because that is the single thing that decides whether you use the room in February. Ask whether heating is included and how the radiator is being fed.
Ask what the glazing specification is. Ask how long the build will take and what happens to the price if it runs over. Ask whether the work needs any approval and who is arranging it.
Red flags
A quote that treats the roof as an afterthought, or offers a plain polycarbonate roof without telling you what the room will be like in summer and winter.
Anyone quoting without asking what you intend to use the room for. A price well below the others, which usually means a thinner specification somewhere rather than a better deal. Vagueness about timescales.
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Conservatory or orangery
When the quotes come in
Common questions
What is the difference between a conservatory and an orangery?
Mostly the roof and how much solid wall there is. An orangery has more brickwork and typically a flat roof with a lantern; a conservatory is more glass.
Will it actually be usable in winter?
That depends entirely on the roof and whether there is heating. A tiled or properly insulated roof with radiators inside makes it a room you can use all year. The older all glass ones were too hot in summer and too cold in winter, which is why they fell out of favour.
How long does one take to build?
A straightforward glass conservatory is usually two to five weeks depending on the specification. An orangery, with more brickwork and a tiled or insulated roof, takes longer. Both are far quicker than an extension.
Is it simpler than an extension?
Usually. You are not knocking down walls, the footings are lighter, and the local rules are generally easier to satisfy.