Mr. & Mrs. Clayton

Client design brief:

The client wished to utilise a recessed area at the rear of the house, beyond the kitchen window, in the hope of gaining a space suitable for dining and entertaining guests. The newly refurbished kitchen, whilst spacious and functional, lacked the required space for dining in comfort. The client also required access from the kitchen straight out into the garden which at present wasn’t available. Privacy for both the client and the neighbours was also an important consideration as was the aesthetic decision not to extend beyond the building line.

It was agreed to open out the kitchen to the conservatory by removing the existing window and extending the opening across the width of the room to introduce a walkway. This required building regulations with the inherent problem of maintaining the overall u. value of the property. On the recommendation of a civil engineer, thermal insulation was maintained by increasing the loft insulation and double glazing, adding to the solar heat gain via the conservatory.

We used woodgrain-on-white frames in order to match in with the existing window colour externally and white on the interior to maximise light. The glass roof allowed light to flood into the conservatory and the kitchen, whilst the full height glass front made the most of the outstanding views to the rear of the property.

The ambience in the conservatory is very much enhanced by the well positioned lighting and the underfloor heating.

The client was delighted that the end product met with all their requirements and fulfilled their dreams to the point that, they have since ordered another conservatory to mirror the existing one.

Having satisfied the building regulations, we overcame the potential privacy problem by incorporating a 1700mm high wall on the right side of the conservatory, continuing around the corner to the front, which was then matched symmetrically to the front left.

The specifications of main materials used are as follows:

• Floor - 150mm insulation, 100mm concrete, electric underfloor heating.
• Walls - external facing brick, 75mm cavity wall insulation, internal block dry lined.
• Sides - 70mm, fully reinforced, woodgrain on white PVC-u internally glazed with 28mm double glazed low e plus argon gas units ( U value 1.5)
units with a self-cleaning film (U value 1.2, solar gain 26%)
• Ventilation - five opening top lights, french doors, integral ridge ventilation