Recent Blog Posts

We often get asked about bases. After all it is the most important part of the conservatory. Some manufacturers suggest using a product like durabase. These are prefabricated in steel or similar and are supposed to be plonked onto a flat bit of ground upon which your conservatory will sit.

This sounds great until the ground moves over time with the weight of the conservatory on top of it. We have had phone calls asking what can be done about this. In effect - not a lot! Normally there is no alternative other than dismantling the conservatory, building a proper solid base and rebuilding the whole thing.

Although there is more work involved, there is no substitute for building the base correctly. With a dwarf wall the footings need to go down at least 600mm. For a full height conservatory, a well dug out and concreted flat base is essential. If your back yard is lucky enough to have a solid concrete floor that has been down for years with no cracking or movement, this can also be used.

We err on the side of caution as a fully glazed conservatoy is remarkably heavy!

There can be nothing better after building your DIY conservatory than sitting in the finished item, thinking " I built this"! We do our bit here at the factory to make certain that what you ordered is what you get, and that it is top quality.

However, the most important part of the whole thing is the base - if you skimp on this, your conservatory could well end up like the Leaning Tower of Pizza after a couple of years, or even worse, end up detatching its self from your house and slowly - very slowly cruising away down the garden! This is particularly a problem on sloping gardens after heavy rainfall.

All this angst can be avoided just by digging out the base to the correct depth and if using a dwarf wall, going down at least 600mm depending on ground conditions Anyway, digging is defined as good exersize and that can be no bad thing for you, as any weight you loose digging out the base, you are sure to put back on lounging around in your conservatory!

We do not supply any flashing with our DIY conservatories as there are plenty of products on the market to do the job from lead to conservaflash. It is the customer's choice.

However in order to ensure that the conservatory is leak proof, it is essential that whatever flashing is used is fitted correctly. The main cause of leaks on conservatory roofs is that the flashing has not been let into the house wall sufficiently and / or that the overlap onto the roof is not sufficient. A little care at this stage of fitting will save hours of trouble later.

We supply two main types of glazing for our conservatory roofs. Both are excellent at their job and it is largly the choice of our customers as to which are supplied with each conservatory.

Polycarbonate is ideal for the DIY'er as it is lightweight, very strong and has superb insulating properties. Easy to handle and install. With a wide range of colours and solar control features, there is plenty of choice. ( Solar control is ideal on a South facing conservatory as it reflects the suns rays back into the air away from the interior of the conservatory ).

Glass is also available in a range of types - all toughened and with various finishes from clear to blue active or grey antisun. These have the same kind of properties as solar control polycarbonate. The downside of a glass roof can be the extra cost, and the weight which makes it more awkward to fit and requires more labour.

However, if you are in your conservatory during a hail storm, you will appreciate the extra quietness of a glass roof over polycarbonate!

From October this year all new windows fitted will have to BFRC energy rated.

This is good news if you are having your windows fitted by us as we are already BFRC rated and our standard window is an approved energy rated 'C'.

This is turn will lead to lower fuel bills which is good news for you and even better for the planet!

One of the easier parts of building your conservatory is the frame glazing. We supply in the fixing kit enough glazing packers to do the whole job. The fixed toughened windows are very straitforward with the packers equally spaced around the frames and the bead gently hammered in afterwards. Similarly, the small toplights are simple but more care should be used when beading as these are not toughened.

With the French doors, these require a different approach. The glass units need to be toe and heeled. This has the effect of transfering the main weight of the glass towards the hinges, and by using supplied wedge packers along the top of the door sash on the opposite side to the hinges, the entire sash can be jacked up to the correct position, allowing for perfect alignment.

When you have decided on the style of conservatory that you want, there are a number of things to take into account before going much further. The most obvious one is do you have any height restrictions where the conservatory will join your house.

These would include upstairs windows, the roof eaves, external cladding etc. If the height is ok for your house look out for other items. You do not want a manhole cover in the floor of your conservatory and as they are normally situated on the rear of a house, what about soil pipes, drain pipes, boiler flues and the like. These can be difficult if not impossible to move.

I you ask us, we can send you a guide to designing your DIY conservatory which will cover all of this and more.

For whatever reason, the sales of our DIY conservatories have dramatically increased over the past month.

Maybe it is because this year is warmer than last, or that people are improving rather than moving - whatever the cause we now have many more satisfied customers with our Prior Conservatories self builds!

All winter, you sat inside freezing and waiting for Spring. When Spring came, you thought about getting your DIY conservatory but kept putting it off because of the rain, cold and damp.

Now that you are finally digging out the footings, the ground is rock hard and bone dry. Should have gone with your instincts and ordered earlier in the year. Instead of sweating with the spade, you could be enjoying a cold pint!!