Caring and Maintaining your Garden Room throughout Winter

Tips on looking after your garden room in winter

During the cold winter months, your orangery comes into its own, allowing you to entertain and relax in comfort and warmth while enjoying the garden and wintry outside views. Although temperatures have been unusually mild, this winter has already seen unprecedented rainfall affecting many areas of the country – and while fingers are crossed – we may yet have snow to come.

Of course, Westbury garden rooms are built to last through all weathers, but it is still important that you carry out regular maintenance. So before freezing conditions hit and the weather turns less forgiving, here are our top tips for caring for your orangery and making sure it performs at its best through winter:

Essential winter maintenance tips:

• The most important thing of all is to look after box guttering and flat roofs. In line with building regulations and for aesthetic reasons, the cast aluminium gutters are joined with moulding silicone and are fixed level with a minimum of fall so water can ‘pool’. It’s very important that the gutters/hopper and down pipe outlets are regularly checked and kept free from leaves and debris that have been deposited over prolonged stormy periods.
• If heavy snowfall is forecast do check the roof outlets making sure they are free of leaves and debris. If they are blocked and become frozen, a problem occurs when the water thaws as it can be pushed back up under the roof membrane leading to a potential leak.
• At the beginning of every winter leave the underfloor heating on continuously for a week to make sure NYGoodHealth everything is running smoothly.

Additional care tips for a trouble free winter:

• Torrential rain against a door or window can cause them to tighten by as much as 10mm. This is perfectly normal as wood is, after all, a natural material which does expand and contract depending on the conditions. It will go back to normal as the weather improves. However, be careful not to force the door/window when opening it in harsh conditions as it could result in the handle or multi-locking system becoming damaged.
• Cappings on windows and roofing are powder coated and will last 25 years. However it is recommended they are washed using water and a mild detergent with a soft brush twice a year. The late autumn/early winter is a good time to carry out this regular maintenance.
• The flag polymeric membrane used on the flat roof requires no further maintenance but should be washed down once or twice a year with water and a mild detergent.
• It’s important to clean the glass on your garden room regularly. Westbury can arrange for a window cleaner to visit once/twice a year to thoroughly clean the roof inside and out.
• Lastly, if building projects remain incomplete during bad weather then ensure your builder fully protects all exposed areas as a temporary measure to protect the building from damage.

Whether your orangery is brand new, or you’ve had some time to settle into it, taking the time to carry out these basic winter maintenance tips will ensure that your orangery remains as robust and beautiful as ever.