We intended to add a conservatory type additional extension to our kitchen, i.e. knock down most of the outside wall and then add the conservatory as 'half' the kitchen. However someone has said that new regulations mean that you can no longer do this type of extension and that you have to have proper walls etc between the glass part and the brick part of the kitchen. Is this right?
It would merely give us some room for a table and to sit we weren't thinking of putting units etc in that half.
If we are allowed to do such an extension do more experienced DIYers think we ought to consult a: architect b: kitchen planner C: Good conservatory company e.g. Bergen and Easton
You can do what you want, but showing compliance with the Part L energy regs may be a challenge, depending on the local BCO. The general approach is to get compliance by improving the insulation etc elsewhere in the house so that the overall position after extending is no worse.
I'd prefer:- d: sit down and spend some serious time yourself planning it.
More effective and much cheaper in just about every case. Only you really know what you do in your kitchen, what is necessary and effective for you may be quite different from what is good for someone else. The basics of sensible layout and positioning of equipment are fairly easy to find out by a quick Google search or getting some free handouts.
Mostly correct. There was a recent test case about this. I believe the householder won, although it would be a lot of work to use the same method.
There is no way you are going to get it approved using the u-Value for individual components method, as there is too much glass.
One alternative is that you can prove that the energy efficiency of the entire house is up to modern specs. This would be very difficult to achieve in an existing property.
Instead, what you can do is prove that the entirety of the works done to the house for the application result in a lower energy consumption for the house as a whole. Your conservatory will result in a considerable energy loss that will require balancing with considerable work to the rest of your property to get greater gains back. This work is likely to include large amounts of Celotex/Kingspan insulation in the walls and ceilings, and possibly even fitting a condensing boiler.
However, it doesn't mean the BCO will play ball. The householder in question had to go to the High Court to get his appeal through. In fact, the appeal technically failed because they were trying to push it through some exemption and the court said that application was technically compliant with the regulations anyway (under the principle that the application improved energy efficiency), so the exemption couldn't be given!
You will struggle to meat part L on insulation. If you have it south facing, triple glazed with an underfloor heating system run from a heat pump and increase the insulation elsewhere in the house you'll still only just pass the regs.
But if you use a sun-house rather than a conservatory, i.e. with a slate roof filled to the gills with insulation, things get a lot more viable on the regs front, though you now need planning permission instead :-(
If you see people on Grand Designs doing this you'll usually have Kevin commenting about they've had to install horredously expensive glass and fill the garden with heat pump pipe.
"Mike" wrote | "Janet Tweedy" wrote | > We intended to add a conservatory type additional extension to | > our kitchen, i.e. knock down most of the outside wall and then | > add the conservatory as 'half' the kitchen. | > However someone has said that new regulations mean that you can | > no longer do this type of extension and that you have to have | > proper walls etc between the glass part and the brick part of | > the kitchen. Is this right?
You are allowed exterior-grade doors, and just leave the doors open. This would normally mean a threshold, so safer to have a definate step.
| But if you use a sun-house rather than a conservatory, i.e. with | a slate roof filled to the gills with insulation, things get a lot | more viable on the regs front, though you now need planning permission | instead :-(
PP might not be needed if it falls within Permitted Development. But you would need full Building Regs approval, including foundations etc, as it would not have the exemptions granted to conservatories.
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