How do I plasterboard and insulate my conservatory roof..?

[bobtail4x4]

Silverage said:

I had my conservatory roof converted earlier this year (in lieu of a summer holiday, thanks COVID).

It was done by a local firm and while planning permission was not an issue, there was £275 in the cost for it to be signed off by their building regs guy for the reasons Equus mentions above. I reckon he was here no more than 10 mins and must have x-ray vision, but I have a piece of A4 paper for my money, so all is good.

I see 3 or 4 of these a week, assuming they ring me I usually do 3 calls one when it starts to discuss job, one when roof on and insulation going in and again on completion,
some installers show you a crappy phone photo that could be anywhere, after its all finished.
you pay for a service from B Control ring them, they will call round when passing.
it`s in the home owners interest to get things checked.

[Silverage]

bobtail4x4 said:

I see 3 or 4 of these a week, assuming they ring me I usually do 3 calls one when it starts to discuss job, one when roof on and insulation going in and again on completion,
some installers show you a crappy phone photo that could be anywhere, after its all finished.
you pay for a service from B Control ring them, they will call round when passing.
it`s in the home owners interest to get things checked.

I watched it all going up and I’m happy with the quality of the job so no need to be chasing round after them. It just rankled that I was paying him 50p per second for the time he was here.

[bobtail4x4]

the back office needs paying for somehow,

if you dont ask them to visit you can hardly complain when you only got one call.

[LimJim]

Question for the bods.

I inherited an self built, oversized conservatory with underfloor heating when I moved. It doesn’t have regs, and when I bought, the property was valued and sold on basis it would be demolished.

It’s about 7 years old now. I’ve no idea what’s under the surface but seems well built and we’ve since insulated it in similar fashion to the above.

Council don’t seem interested based on my informal enquiries.

Do I have any options at all when it comes to formalising/selling other than demolishing or finding a similar sloppy buyer?

[mikeiow]

Equus said:

98elise said:

... if the original glazing stayed in place would that technically still be a conservatory?

No

The definition set out in LABC guidance is that 75% of the roof area must be formed from translucent materials. Plasterboard is not translucent.

Technically & grammatically speaking....the roof area WOULD still be formed from translucent materials.
Just sayin’
I’ll get my coat.....

[ChocolateFrog]

mikeiow said:

Equus said:

98elise said:

... if the original glazing stayed in place would that technically still be a conservatory?

No

The definition set out in LABC guidance is that 75% of the roof area must be formed from translucent materials. Plasterboard is not translucent.

Technically & grammatically speaking....the roof area WOULD still be formed from translucent materials.
Just sayin’
I’ll get my coat.....

Exactly it's the ceiling that's not translucent

[Equus]

mikeiow said:

Technically & grammatically speaking....the roof area WOULD still be formed from translucent materials.
Just sayin’
I’ll get my coat.....

The roof external surfaces would still be formed from translucent materials. That's why the LABC give a definition in terms of roof area: for it to be translucent, light would need to be able to pass from one side of the roof plane to the other.

In any case, the definition is not statutory - it's interpretive - so Building Controls response to clever-dick clowns will simply be 'it's not a conservatory because we say it isn't... now what you gonna do about it, loser?'.

[princeperch]

LABC would presumably expect to see a plastic roof but what would they say if you used two massive roof windows which complied with the 75pc requirement?

[Equus]

princeperch said:

LABC would presumably expect to see a plastic roof but what would they say if you used two massive roof windows which complied with the 75pc requirement?

They would say it complied, obviously. That's the point of their writing guidelines.

[princeperch]

I only asked because that would mean you could build a "conservatory" (with a door separating it from the house), on 1cms of concrete foundations (or none at all), out of bricks, with a heavy pantile roof, but as long as you had two massive velux windows (which in and of themselves could weigh 70/80kgs each) which were translucent to the degree required, it would still be a conservatory, rather than an extension.

[Equus]

princeperch said:

I only asked because that would mean you could build a "conservatory" (with a door separating it from the house), on 1cms of concrete foundations (or none at all), out of bricks, with a heavy pantile roof, but as long as you had two massive velux windows (which in and of themselves could weigh 70/80kgs each) which were translucent to the degree required, it would still be a conservatory, rather than an extension.

It would take more than a couple of big Velux.

But I've seen 'conservatories' with a big roof lantern, but a narrow strip of flat roof (housing downlighters, is the current fad) that have been designed to comply with the rules for exemption and have done so successfully.

You'd have to be an idiot not to do the structural design right, with something as heavy as a large roof lantern, but then that's what Darwinism is for...

[RATATTAK]

Equus said:

The definition set out in LABC guidance is that 75% of the roof area must be formed from translucent materials. Plasterboard is not translucent.

And then, of course, you're back to heat loss !

[Equus]

RATATTAK said:

And then, of course, you're back to heat loss !

Yeah, but although you bring yourself within the scope of Building Regulations (requiring an application), the position they've adopted is that the work involved in adding a non-translucent roof is a 'material change', but then that the only requirement in terms of heat loss is that you're not allowed to make it any worse than it was before.

...So as long as you keep your separation from the main dwelling, you're fine.

You just have to then prove that it's satisfactory in respect of other parts of the Regs (principally Approved Document A: Structure; to prove that the weight you're adding can be safely supported by the existing conservatory structure).

[RATATTAK]

Equus said:

Yeah, but although you bring yourself within the scope of Building Regulations (requiring an application), the position they've adopted is that the work involved in adding a non-translucent roof is a 'material change', but then that the only requirement in terms of heat loss is that you're not allowed to make it any worse than it was before.

...So as long as you keep your separation from the main dwelling, you're fine.

You just have to then prove that it's satisfactory in respect of other parts of the Regs (principally Approved Document A: Structure; to prove that the weight you're adding can be safely supported by the existing conservatory structure).

Exactly, but I was referring to the OP's original requirement to make his conservatory warmer by reducing heat loss through the roof.

[SJL123]

Has anyone had an issue with condensation after insulating?

[bobtail4x4]

lots do yes

[gizlaroc]

SJL123 said:

Has anyone had an issue with condensation after insulating?

No, in what way?

[Welshmaverick]

Pardon my ignorance but I thought as long as you kept an outisde door fitted then building regs dont apply to your conservatory??

[Mr Pointy]

Welshmaverick said:

Pardon my ignorance but I thought as long as you kept an outisde door fitted then building regs dont apply to your conservatory??

No, there's more to it than that. There have to be doors isolating it from the main house & it cannot be connected to the house heating system (although some BCOs seem to accept isolation valves on the CH feed & return pipes).

[Equus]

Mr Pointy said:

Welshmaverick said:

Pardon my ignorance but I thought as long as you kept an outisde door fitted then building regs dont apply to your conservatory??

No, there's more to it than that. There have to be doors isolating it from the main house & it cannot be connected to the house heating system (although some BCOs seem to accept isolation valves on the CH feed & return pipes).

And beyond that, quite simply, the exemption is limited to 'conservatories', and the accepted B.Regs definition of a conservatory is something with at least 75% of the roof area and at least 50% of its external wall area (excluding walls within 1m. of a boundary) formed from translucent materials.

If you plasterboard the roof, then its no longer translucent... no longer a conservatory... no longer exempt Building Regs.

See official guidance HERE