Conservatory as a greenhouse?

[chris_gla]

I'm struggling to find a lean to greenhouse for the garden but there seem to be plenty of second hand conservatories for sale- some single glazed, some double. Some glass roof, some polycarb.

Has anyone used one or have experience?

I seen a mention in a thread about the double glazing stopping the sun's heat getting in but surely it will just "smooth" the temperature a bit by taking a bit longer to heat up but cooling more slowly? It will also be easier to heat if I go that path...

Another mentioned that they get too hot but I'd probalby try to rig auto roof vents the same as a greenhouse.

Not sure if the roof polycarbonate is a lot lower transmission than greenhouse stuff?


Any thoughts... could save a lot of money here!

[Alice]

Welcome to the Vine Chris Gla.

Sorry, but if your looking for a lean to glass house for your plants what's the difference if it's called a greenhouse or a conservatory. Am I missing something ?

[chris_gla]

yes.. that's what I figured.
I've been searching for second hand "greenhouses" for months and debating buying a polycarb, etc- finally took the plunge at the weekend and bought a Halls lean to then cancelled it as it really stretched the budget and still wasn't what I was looking for.
Then for some reason I tried a search for second hand "conservatory" and found loads of them- some seem almost perfect for a greenhouse, others less so (dwarf wall, opal roof, frame hard to keep clean, etc). Some even free if you dismantle/ remove!

Unfortunately looks like I'll still need to travel a bit to get one... not too many in the area but now I know what to look for!!!

There is one other very big difference... I believe almost any conservatory needs planning permission under new building regs- called the council to check and a "lean to greenhouse up to 30m sq" does not!

[Eyren]

I have a south-facing conservatory, which is double-glazed with a plastic roof (two layers of clear plastic with square "tubes" sandwiched between - don't know the proper name for it!) and a tiled floor. It gets VERY hot in summer and ventilation is limited to two small windows and of course the door. It's great in spring for raising young plants, and also nice in autumn, but in the long term I'd like to replace it with a small sun-porch and get a proper greenhouse.

I would have thought that a second-hand conservatory would be a lot of hassle to construct, as unlike a greenhouse they are not designed to be self-assembly (or at least not in the same way). As you point out, they would also require some jerry-rigging to get the ventilation right. I guess it all depends on your budget-to-handyness ratio!

[Alison]

I find my conservatory invaluable at this time of year for young plants but don't use it much during the growing season. This year I'm going to trial aubergines in there though so will have to see how they go. I'd say it gets hotter than my greenhouse but think that's as it doesn't have auto vents etc, unlike the greenhouse.

[chris_gla]

They are definitely a bit more hastle to construct and take down, this said I tried asking on one of the trade sites and looks like I can get a fitter to help me for about £100.
Once I've seen how it comes down I hopefully can put it back up myself!

I am still a bit concerned about polycarb roofs- I think the transmission of the conservatory ones may deliberately be a bit lower. This said I've seen one or two single glazed ones with glass roofs which must be almost identical to a greenhouse.

It is all about cost really- the cheapest 6x12 lean to greenhouse I can get with toughened glass is £650, add almost £300 to that to get it white powder coated to look pretty and it's not cheap!
Ideally I want 14 x 8 or 16 x 6 but the only one I found that could do this is from Elite Greenhouses, that works out at over £2,000!!!
Compare that to £100 for some help, £50 - 100 for a conservatory and some work and I seem to have a lot better range of "medium" sizes available.

Just slightly worried that even if I put up a second hand one with slab base and use it as a greenhouse the council may come along and tell me it's a conservatory!!!

[j r hilton]

If you cannot enter it from inside the house you may have a good argument that it is indeed a green house and not a conservetory.

[Basher]

I used our conservatory for chillis, melons and aubergines before we got a greenhouse last year.

When we first moved in we found the conservatory (which is SW facing) to be unbearably hot during summer, so we had a series of reflective filters inserted into the box section roof panels. This made a dramatic difference in maximum temperature, but it is still cosy in there.

I suspect the conservatory even if bought and used as a greenhouse would be classed as an extension to the house and would likely be controlled by planning rules, and might even need planning permission.

This site might help with it

Planning Permission for Conservatories

Good luck

[Scottishnewbie]

I use our conservatory (poly carb roof) attached to the house for germinating seeds and it works brilliantly just now. HOWEVER, we also have another conservatory (previous owner left us a flat packed one they'd bought from B&Q but never got round to putting up!!) which is attached to a wall in the garden. I've put some of my seedlings in it (brassicas; lettucee and the like

[Scottishnewbie]

oops! as i was saying......and they dont seem to be doing so well - getting a bit leggy and sorry looking so not sure it will work as well as the 'normal' greenhouse. it may just be where t's sited as it isnt in direct sun but not sure i'm afraid. work out how much you are going to save over a couple of years by not buying veg from the supermarket and this might help you decide which option is right for you. Also give your planning office a call & talk it through with them

[chris_gla]

Speaking to building control (Glasgow) they were only interested in whether it was under 30 sq m (any greenhouse on a residential property), I did push the fact that it was attached to the house and they said it "should still be ok" as long as no services were in it.
"Should" leaves the doubt I'm a bit uncomfortable with- problem is that to get a formal "letter of comfort" to this effect would now carry a significant cost!
I suspect there a good chance I'd need a letter of comfort if I went to sell and left the greenhouse attached (to avoid leaving holes in house wall)

I think that the "spirit" is that greenhouses really are ok with fairly liberal planning... the tightening up on conservatories seems mainly because the councils aren't happy with people using them as permanent additional rooms due to the poor insulation they generally offer.
In case anyone comes across this thread in future I would re-iterate one point that every greenhouse sales person I spoke to failed to mention which all the manufacturers i looked at specifically mention- if a lean to covers an entrance to the house it must be safety glass. Seems sensible... if your trying to use an escape route last thing you want is shards of glass falling on you or around you.

All this said, I may now have succeeded in picking up a second hand standalone greenhouse today... will find out later! This should get me by for a year or two anyway.

Thanks for all your replies