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Think Big! Extending a Conservatory

21 August 2010

Centurion has had several enquiries recently from customers who are really, really pleased with their lovely new DIY conservatory - except that it has become their favourite room in the house and it just isn't big enough.

It is possible to extend an existing conservatory - just this week we supplied extra parts to a customer in Warrington to add an extra 750mm width on to the original lean-to conservatory which they built in April 2009. This was a full-height frame model with a polycarbonate roof so making the modifications was reasonably straightforward, but still involved a lot of hard work and ended up costing considerably more than it would had they bought bigger in the first place. Obviously these customers considered the effort worth it to give then the perfect finished size for their requirements, but they did wish they had saved a lot of disruption and money and bought bigger in the first place.

Any DIY project such as building a conservatory requires a lot of thought and planning - should it have a glass or polycarbonate roof? Do you prefer Edwardian or Victorian, lean-to or gable style? Should you build a dwarf wall, or would full height glass be most effective? But perhaps the most important question is "Will it do the job I want it for?"

Centurion recommends that you look at this question really carefully - do you need your new conservatory to give enough space to seat six people around a dining table? Or have you got a big comfortable sofa in mind for relaxing away from the kids? Or do you just want enough space for two chairs and a coffee table to enjoy a Sunday breakfast for two?

When deciding on the finished size for your DIY conservatory you have to remember that the internal useable size is smaller than the external brick or base dimensions. A dwarf cavity wall reduces the floor area by at least 500mm (20") in width and 250mm (10") in projection, and even a full height frame model is 200mm (8") smaller in width and 100mm (4") in projection than the outside measurements.

You need to take this into account when calculating the usable space you require - maybe even using string and pegs to mark out the exact internal and external sizes, and perhaps sheets of cardboard or newspaper to represent your proposed furniture.

Centurion is always happy to quote for different size conservatories - we want to make sure you have the perfect conservatory for your requirements. And it is often surprising how little the price goes up to add an extra meter to the original design.

It is possible to extend after building, but so much easier to build to the size you need in the first place.

For free, friendly advice on planning and designing your perfect new DIY conservatory call our design team on 0800 389 7261