If you know how to build a shed or repair your house, have a long look at diy conservatories. Doing it yourself perhaps just makes it possible to own a glasshouse with all the advantages while your budget wouldn´t allow a luxury bespoke. Contrary to what prices often suggest there are ways to quite cheap conservatories. The key is to strip down on non-essentials. Ask yourself first the questions:
Do I really need ANOTHER living room, fully heated half of the year, with carpet floor and upholstered furniture? Or do I want in fact a garden room, to sit in there on sunny autumn days when it is already a bit chilly outside? It´s not only about the initial price of a heating system. Be aware that keeping temperatures year in year out at comfortable living room levels regular becomes a financial nightmare to the owners. If you just want it occasionally warm enough to drink your afternoon tea between your orange trees, a wood fireplace i.e. is as cozy as nothing else and cheaper.
How can I reduce the design? DIY conservatories sold as kits normally come in a few standard sizes premade by the manufacturer. Adding another glass element for greater length is usually easily possible, getting EXACTLY the length your measurements ask for most of the time not (at least not without a significant increase in price). So making some changes to a house wall or small compromises in size can pay off.
Diy conservatories really made for self-assembly seem to be rather rare and difficult to find. At least they are often not declared or available as such. They exist though, here some quite nice examples:
Italian UNOPIU known for its teak patio furniture makes an interesting iron structure called “Orangerie”, the cheapest Lean To costs 3,850 Euros.
German manufacturer Beckmann makes among greenhouse kits two different diy conservatories from aluminium. The cheapest costs just 1,449 Euros. Their model “Plantarium” with thermically separated aluminium profiles (which improves insulation and reduces condensation) and insulated glazing costs between 5,000 and 10,000 Euros. For a few hundred extra an aluminium base is available which makes it possible to install the whole structure on some simple pad footing or post foundation. If you wonder how durable it can be at this price: The conservatories come with 20 years guarantee and their catalogue shows a picture of the aluminium structure carrying 6 men.
If you know how to build a foundation and a roof, think about the window option.
3-5 big skylights for diy assembly (like from VELUX) and 5 large, double-glazed, wooden windows will cost less than most “glasshouses”, and even if the result does not look as light as a “real conservatory” the insulation and stability and therefore its suitability as a heated living room will easily be superior.
