How Much Value Does a Conservatory Add to Your Home?
Housing-Market / UK Housing May 27, 2014 - 10:13 AM GMTBy: Nadeem_Walayat
Percentage added to home value of 50% to 133% of typical costs incurred. Typically £16k spent can convert into as much as a £22k increase in value, though this is very variable and can result in a loss of 50% of the costs incurred.
Whether a conservatory will add value to your home is not a clear cut decision as it depends on a number of factors such as the intended quality of build as the price for conservatories ranges from £5k at the low end for a wholly UPVC build bolted onto the back of houses to one built onto a dwarf wall of upto 30square metres in area that can cost upto £30k.
Conservatories fall under permitted developments, so should be built in line with the rules and regulations governing single story extensions without planning permission, with added advantage that they are exempt from building regulations if the floor area is not more than 30square metres, and that it is separated from the house by external doors and isolated from the central heating system.
Who should consider having a conservatory built ?
- If you have a south facing garden and the area that the conservatory will occupy is not shaded.
- If it will have limited impact on the size of your garden.
- If your existing kitchen / dining area lacks space.
- If you don't have a green house and intend on growing indoor plants.
- If you have the budget for a professional build i.e. at least £12,500, avoid the cheap £5k sales pitches or DIY jobs as you will regret it.
- If you could do with a space that could double as a children's play area for at least 6 months of the year.
Who should avoid Conservatories?
- If the intended area for the conservatory is not south facing or is shaded by neighbouring trees / properties.
- If you already have adequate kitchen / dining area space.
- If you intend on occupying the space all year round i.e. as a home office.
- If your building will require significant alterations i.e. to widen the doorway.
- If you have a small garden.
Regular Maintenance
Conservatories require regular maintenance to prevent leaks, build up of algae growth on the roof panels and general disrepair which means that neglected conservatories instead of adding value will subtract value from your home.
Conservatories - Other Considerations
- It will tend to get very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter.
- A conservatory cannot be converted into a single story extension at a later date because the foundations are too shallow.
- The roof is unlikely to be able to be converted to a wholly covered roof such as slate at a later date due lack of strength. Steer clear of roof replacement companies as they are a waste of money. The
- The building will lack insulation, and the roof will leak heat in winter so will likely be very costly to heat during the winter months.
- Many people that have had conservatories built will several years later tend to decide to demolish and rebuild with all year round use single story extensions.
- It is highly probable that you will only recoup 50% of the cost when selling, so conservatories should be viewed more in terms of increasing quality of life rather than your homes value.
Cooling Conservatories in Summer
If you want to cool an existing conservatory in summer that has clear polycarbonate or glass roof panels then these are several cheap options -
- First clean and then paint the polycarbonate or glass roof panels either inside with water based paints or preferably outside with weather proof gloss paint or more expensive reflective paint. Note that the paint will eventually flake off given the smooth surface, therefore you will probably need to repaint every year.
- Attach solar reflective film to the panels and / or the windows.
Warming Conservatories in Winter
Various options are available from re-roofing and installing a layer of insulation to DIY jobs involving radiator reflector sheets glued to the underside of the polycarbonate panels. However none of these are cost effective and likely to make as much a difference (if any) as people expect, therefore it would be wiser to save the money spent on especially the more costly options to replace the conservatory with proper purpose built extensions.
Suggestions:
If you do decide to go with a conservatory then it is better to select the dwarf wall option which will likely cost at least £15k and probably over £20k depending on its area rather than the cheaper alternatives which are unlikely to add any value to your property due to short life span.
In the long-run it will probably be far better to go with a single story extension that would likely cost only an additional £5-10k on top of a £15-£20k spend as an extension will have a far longer life-span / hence value than even the best conservatories.
Ultra Cheap Conservatories
Want to know where you can pick up a cheap conservatory for typically under £1000 ?
Answer - Ebay. There is always a stream of home owners looking to get rid of their existing conservatories ahead of having an proper extension built. The auction sold prices range from as little as £1 for an old pile of rubble to as high as £1000 for a proper dwarf wall built conservatory, with the average sold price around £500, a fraction of the original cost.
The major drawback is that you will likely be expected to dismantle, transport and then erect the conservatory yourself, so it is only a job for someone very competent at DIY and with a lot of time on their hands.
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| Top 15 Value Increasing Home Improvements | Page |
| 1. Home Extensions | 191 |
| Permitted Developments | 191 |
| Planning Applications | 193 |
| 2. Kitchens Sell Houses | 196 |
| 3. Renovate Bathrooms, Add En suites and Toilets | 197 |
| 4. Loft Conversions | 198 |
| 5. Convert Front Lawns into Driveways | 200 |
| 6. Extend Leases and / or Buy Freeholds | 202 |
| 7. Conservatories | 203 |
| Who should avoid Conservatories? | 204 |
| Cooling Conservatories in Summer | 204 |
| Warming Conservatories in Winter | 205 |
| 8. Front and Back Garden Landscaping | 205 |
| Front Landscaping, Cladding or Render | 205 |
| Front Dwarf Walls and Metal Railings | 209 |
| Back Gardens | 213 |
| 9. Replace Tired Old Garden Fences | 214 |
| 10. Tree's Danger, Inspection, Pruning and Removal | 216 |
| Are Your Trees Too Close to Property? | 217 |
| Solar Panels | 217 |
| Tree Dangers | 218 |
| Tree Preservation Orders | 218 |
| Tree Inspection | 218 |
| Hedges, Trees and Neighbours | 220 |
| Cutting Your Neighbours Overhanging Branches | 221 |
| Trees to Avoid Planting | 222 |
| Dealing with Medium Height Trees (Under 10 metres) | 222 |
| Dealing with Tall Trees (Over 10 Metres) | 224 |
| Container Trees | 226 |
| 11. Going Green - Insulation, Green houses and Water Butts | 228 |
| INSULATION | 228 |
| WATER BUTTS | 229 |
| GREEN HOUSE | 229 |
| 12. Storage Space Ideas | 232 |
| Staircase | 232 |
| Converted Lofts | 232 |
| Garages | 234 |
| Sheds | 234 |
| Under House Storage | 234 |
| 13. Replace Flat Roofs with Pitched Roofs | 235 |
| 14. Quick Cheap DIY Ideas to Help Sell Your Home | 237 |
| Replace Bland Old White Switches and Sockets | 237 |
| Light Fittings | 238 |
| Add or Renovate Neglected Flower Baskets | 239 |
| Solar Lights | 240 |
| House Signs and Numbers | 242 |
| Air Fresheners | 243 |
| 15. Painting, Decorating, Cleaning and Maintenance | 244 |
| Ceiling and Wall Plaster Cracks | 244 |
| Painting & Decorating | 244 |
| Carpet Stains | 246 |
| Water Leaks and Maintenance | 247 |
| Exterior Brick Walls Holes and Mortar Repair | 248 |
| Exterior Painting | 250 |
| Decking, Fencing, Garden Furniture and Railings | 251 |
| Lawns | 254 |
| Driveway Pressure Washing and Sharp Sanding | 255 |
| Roofs | 256 |
| Home Improvements to Avoid | 258 |
| 1. Swimming Pools & Garden Ponds | 258 |
| 2. Solar Panel Installations | 260 |
| 3. Garage Conversions | 262 |
| 4. Children's Play Equipment and Areas | 264 |
| 5. Basement Conversions | 267 |
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By Nadeem Walayat
Copyright © 2005-2014 Marketoracle.co.uk (Market Oracle Ltd). All rights reserved.
Nadeem Walayat has over 25 years experience of trading derivatives, portfolio management and analysing the financial markets, including one of few who both anticipated and Beat the 1987 Crash. Nadeem's forward looking analysis focuses on UK inflation, economy, interest rates and housing market. He is the author of five ebook's in the The Inflation Mega-Trend and Stocks Stealth Bull Market series that can be downloaded for Free.
Nadeem is the Editor of The Market Oracle, a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication that presents in-depth analysis from over 1000 experienced analysts on a range of views of the probable direction of the financial markets, thus enabling our readers to arrive at an informed opinion on future market direction. http://www.marketoracle.co.uk
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