Conservatory Quote...... is it reasonable?
Conservatory Quote...... is it reasonable?
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K50 DEL

Original Poster:

9,657 posts

252 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
Just looking for some advice from those who've been in the same situation.

I've just had a couple of quotes for a conservatory installation to include the following works:

all groundwork (garden is level and there's only a small path to break up)
knock through from dining room and make good
install french doors from dining to conservatory
erect dwarf wall to 3 sides (i side with a break for the door)
erect full height wall to one side
install UPVC conservatory (approx 12' 10" by 12' 10")
install french doors to patio
install feed for a/c unit
install electrical sockets
tile conservatory floor with quarry tiles
lay patio (approx 12' by 12')


The quotes for this are coming in at about 12k which seems a bit steep to me...... anyone care to comment?

ColinM50

2,687 posts

199 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
£12K for that? Snap their hands off, I'd reckon on closer to £20

Muncher

12,235 posts

273 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
Proper K glass roof included in that?

nevgroom

2,174 posts

183 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
ColinM50 said:
£12K for that? Snap their hands off, I'd reckon on closer to £20
Ditto

Road2Ruin

6,233 posts

240 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
I had exactly that done about 7 years ago and cost me £8500. So factor in rising prices and VAT etc I would say it's not far off.

Pete

ColinM50

2,687 posts

199 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
Only thing I'd strongly recommend is to insulate the floor and install underfloor heating. I did mine using electrical system as an afterthought and it's good but would be better if I'd insulated the floor first - too late after the event though.

I can't recommend underfloor heating strongly enough. It's brilliant.

dustybottoms

512 posts

219 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
nevgroom said:
ColinM50 said:
£12K for that? Snap their hands off, I'd reckon on closer to £20
Ditto
Agreed, seems a very reasonable price for all that work.

dustybottoms

512 posts

219 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
nevgroom said:
ColinM50 said:
£12K for that? Snap their hands off, I'd reckon on closer to £20
Ditto
Agreed, seems a very reasonable price for all that work.

anonymous-user

78 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
I paid £500 more than that 5yrs ago for a slightly smaller conservatory, with tinted polycarb roof (was advised against getting glass as it's South facing and would heat up too much), no floor tiling and no patio, so it sounds a good deal to me, or I was robbed.

Jasandjules

72,024 posts

253 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
That sounds like a reasonable price to me.

The only thing I would say is, as another poster has said, get heating installed - you will regret it if you don't. Ideally if you can just add two radiators to the current system..

Road2Ruin

6,233 posts

240 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
Jasandjules said:
That sounds like a reasonable price to me.

The only thing I would say is, as another poster has said, get heating installed - you will regret it if you don't. Ideally if you can just add two radiators to the current system..
If you add heating don't you then have to get planning permission?

anonymous-user

78 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
Road2Ruin said:
If you add heating don't you then have to get planning permission?
I think if it can be isolated then its ok.. i just paid around 10k for a 3.3mx3.3m/dwarf walls/k blue glass roof/2 vents/walls plastered...

anonymous-user

78 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
Jasandjules said:
get heating installed
Absolutely, my biggest regret.

Jasandjules

72,024 posts

253 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
Road2Ruin said:
If you add heating don't you then have to get planning permission?
I have no idea, I certainly didn't get planning but this was maybe six/seven years ago in our previous house and the house sold ok......

Maybe you do now though!

b2hbm

1,301 posts

246 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
Another ditto, yep, sounds ok to me. In 2006 we installed a similar size conservatory. About £5k to get it, £750 cash in hand for a couple of blokes to erect it. The base was already there from a previous conservatory, likewise the doors into the house. I did the rest, tiling, etc, not a lot of cash (say £1k) but a lot of time.

Factor in the 5yrs inflation then on top of my costs you need a concrete base plus house work, electricity, flooring and you're getting someone to do it for you - it's sounding better all the time !

stemll

5,215 posts

224 months

Tuesday 24th May 2011
quotequote all
Jasandjules said:
Road2Ruin said:
If you add heating don't you then have to get planning permission?
I have no idea, I certainly didn't get planning but this was maybe six/seven years ago in our previous house and the house sold ok......

Maybe you do now though!
Not planning but building regs. If is does not have separate heating or is not separated from the house by exterior quality doors.

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/permission/common...

OP, you need to check on this bit:

PLanning Portal said:
Any new structural opening between the conservatory and the existing house will require building regulations approval, even if the conservatory itself is an exempt structure.
As for the original question, seems a good price provided the spec is right. We paid £10k for a 3mx5m conservatory 10 years ago.

K50 DEL

Original Poster:

9,657 posts

252 months

Wednesday 25th May 2011
quotequote all
Thanks guys, I've queried with the builder what type of roof and whether the heating is included.... also asked him about the planning / building regs.

Had hoped that the price would be under 10k but that appears to be a pipedream!

What's the general consensus about how much (if any) value a conservatory adds to a house?


stemll

5,215 posts

224 months

Wednesday 25th May 2011
quotequote all
Personally, I don't think it adds any value at all but I think it will make it easier to sell over a similar property without one. Resale value wasn't a consideration when we built ours.

dustybottoms

512 posts

219 months

Wednesday 25th May 2011
quotequote all
stemll said:
Personally, I don't think it adds any value at all but I think it will make it easier to sell over a similar property without one. Resale value wasn't a consideration when we built ours.
Agree with this comment regards adding value.
I think a good quality conservatory could possibly make it easier to sell a property compared to another similar without one and I am sure that a cheap and poorly planned conservatory would make it more difficult to sell and could possibly reduce the value of a property.

I like the idea of conservatories but the reality of them doesn't quite add up for me more often than not.
So unless it was something I deemed essential for my needs or of extremely high and modern quality I would not pay anymore for a house with one and more than likely I would look to buy a house without one (as I have done only 3 weeks ago), so I could decide to build one to my specification which meets my needs should I decide to do so.

Not wishing to put anybody off, but I read recently online when looking in to conservatories, that glass box, folding open doors modern style “bringing the outside in” are all the fashion now (and pricey to be done properly, some lovely examples of these posted on PH recently) and that older fashioned and traditional style conservatories are best not considered if adding value and / or desirability are a key objective.

Essentially the general advice was; to build one that meets your purpose and enjoy it for that.

K50 DEL

Original Poster:

9,657 posts

252 months

Wednesday 25th May 2011
quotequote all
dustybottoms said:
Essentially the general advice was; to build one that meets your purpose and enjoy it for that.
This is what I'm doing.... it'll add space to my ground floor that I desperately need, however I've not added one before and was interested to know if it added value.
Now I know it doesn't, I won't be disappointed when I have the place valued at the end of all the renovations!