Conservatories are often highly sought-after additions to homes that people make. They are an excellent source of living space that can really change the way people get to experience their homes in a positive way. Unfortunately, there are some important disadvantages of owning a conservatory that are often overlooked when people first choose it as an extension, and this is what this article will explain, as well as offering some solutions, such as alternative materials, building reinforcements, and things like a conservatory roof replacement.

The first disadvantage of owning your own conservatory is the exposure to weather that it can undergo. This is an important consideration, as weathering can potentially lead to damage to your extension, and in this eventuality, you will discover that using glass as a building material presents a number of problems in comparison to more typical building materials. For example, steel reinforced concrete is able to undergo much more weathering than glass, and when it does begin to fail, it is rarely disastrous. This is because steel reinforced concrete is able to distribute stress more effectively, leading to gradual breaking that will hopefully be detected and treated long before your building undergoes complete destruction. On the other hand, glass is a brittle material that will undergo complete destruction with little to no warning, when a point of failure is reached.

The second disadvantage to look at is with heating and heat loss that you will find with a typical conservatory build. Usually, conservatories become relegated to spaces used by homeowners during warmer times of the year, as they offer little comfort during the rest of the year. There are arguably two methods for dealing with this issue, which are changing the type of glass and increasing its thickness, and increasing the amount of heating for the space, but both have limitations. Despite advancements in glass building technology, such as certain types of glass that can retain heat more effectively, or the use of double or triple glazing, it remains a fact that glass is less effective at retaining heat than other insulating materials. In order to even approach the kind of insulation level of typical building work, you would have to increase the amount of glass used in the construction precipitously (with a correspondingly large increase in cost), and so this method is rarely implemented. Alternatively, you can increase the amount of heating supplied to the conservatory, however this is both an expensive endeavour, and an option that ignores reducing contributions to carbon emissions.

There is a potential solution to these disadvantages of owning a conservatory, but you will have to consider if you are willing to compromise to a small extent. This is to replace sections of the building with more traditional building materials to reinforce the structure, and provide space for added insulation. Something like a conservatory roof replacement in Kidderminster could be applied to significantly reduce the amount of heat loss of a building. If the main value you feel like you get from your conservatory is a view to the outside, a conservatory roof replacement is an excellent option that will sacrifice very little of the charm that it offers, while also reducing the cost of the building in the long term.