Looking forward to the Summer? Here at Finesse – Summer time = conservatory season.
If you are thinking about adding a double glazed conservatory to your home and wondering where to begin then hopefully this article will give you some ‘food for thought’.
The first question you need to ask yourself is ‘what is the conservatory for?’ Only once you have answered this question can you then start to design it properly.
There’s many uses for a modern double glazed conservatory – typically our customers use their conservatories for play rooms for children, TV rooms, dining rooms, green houses for plants, some have even used them to indulge their creative side as music rooms or spaces to paint in. Having a clear idea of the use for your room will make the selection of choices much more simple.
The choices of specifications that you’ll have to consider generally fall into 3 main categories:
Security – is your new room likely to be the last line of defence between the outside world and your home – or are you leaving the existing external doors in place too? Are you going to be storing expensive equipment in the room e.g. Plasma TV, Piano? Highly secure, internally glazed windows, doors with anti-snap, anti-bump cylinders are a pre-requisite for any conservatory but if security is a major consideration it may be worth adding Laminated glass into your design too. If you incorporate laminated glass into your double glazed conservatory it will be much harder for any ‘would be thief’ to gain access.
Comfort – Is your conservatory South facing? Are you likely to be using the conservatory to watch TV during the day? Do you like being in the sun? If you dislike being in direct sunlight or if you expect that the glare from the sun may be a problem for you it is wise to consider upgrading the double glazed units in your conservatory roof to a specification which will reduce glare and reflect heat out of the room rather than absorb it. You can even design the roof to have solid sections which offer shade and ultimate privacy from overlooking neighbours. Alternatively, if your conservatory is North facing and you know that people using the room are likely to feel the cold – you need to consider using the best heat retaining double glazed units and coupling this with underfloor heating.
Style – If you value the aesthetics as much as the function of the room there’s a whole host of options you can consider. Modern double glazed conservatories don’t have to be plain white boxes. In recent years the trend has been very much towards ‘Liv-in room’ orangery roofs, bi-folding doors and different colours. Nowadays, anthracite grey, chartwell green, cream and even white foil are very popular options for conservatory colours. You can even change the smaller details like the handles and hinges to compliment and enhance your home. Once upon a time the options were limited to standard handles in white or gold – now you’re literally spoiled for choice from white, gold, chrome, antique black, graphite. And even the shape of the handles can be upgraded from standard to monkey tail or tear drop.
Hopefully this article has given you a few ideas to provoke further questions. If you’d like to discuss a double glazed conservatory for your home we would love to see if we can help. Please call us on 0121-451-3724 to speak to one of our designers.