Westbury warns conservatory owners to plan for Summer months

Don't swelter in a typical conservatory

With a hot, dry summer predicted by weather forecasters, Westbury Garden Rooms has today issued a warning to anyone planning to invest in a conservatory: now is the time to take steps to ensure that a conservatory is fully functional throughout any unexpected peaks in temperature, otherwise the room may not be equipped to cope.

Jonathan Hey, Managing Director at Westbury Garden Rooms said: “It’s a complete nonsense to make a substantial investment into an additional room for your home, to only find it is completely incapable of functioning as it was originally intended, just because we have a hot Summer.”

It is quite common for a poorly constructed conservatory to reach temperatures as high as 40oC, if there has been no forethought given to planning for the Summer. Similarly it is often the same conservatories that suffer from low temperatures during the Winter. So anyone wishing to use their new additional space for more than just two seasons of the year, would be wise to consider the following:

• Have a clear idea of the purpose of the conservatory and what activities will take place in the room and at what times of day.
• It is also key to consider who will be using the room: young children, adults, pets etc. The more information the homeowner can feed to the designer the better the outcome will be.
• The location of a conservatory is paramount and can dramatically impact on the temperature in the room. A homeowner with a choice of locations available would do best to construct on a south facing outer wall to attract more sunshine.
• Shade is imperative to keep a south facing conservatory cool and if you do not have the advantage of natural shade one solution is to apply high quality film to the windows. This works by not only reflecting the heat from the sun but also nearly all of the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays – which is what causes the fading of furniture and carpets.
• In the Summer, ventilation is another crucial consideration for keeping a conservatory cool. It is essential that air is able to flow through the building and that colder air can be drawn into the conservatory. Consider the use of either roof vents, extractor fans, ceiling fans or air conditioning.

Jonathan Hey continued: “A conservatory may also require a little more upkeep than the rest of a property, simply because it is often built out at the rear of a property leaving it more exposed to the elements. Rain water can easily seep in to wood that has been left bare by splintering paint, so it is vital to maintain the exterior of a conservatory as well as plan the internal specification.”