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Conservatory Designs offer a complete turnkey service which also includes advice on furnishing your Sunroom or Conservatory. All of our display conservatories are fully furnished with suites, tables and giftware from Johnstown Garden Centre. There is a wide range of fabrics and colours available. To view the range online visit www.johnstowngardencentre.ie

Are blinds a good idea for conservatory roofs? At Conservatory Designs we recommend glass roofs for conservatories where clients do not want to lose any light in the rooms of the house over which the conservatory is built. However this can lead to glare problems on the rare sunny days. Blinds offer the perfect solution, you just pull the blinds for the few hours when the light is too bright and open again once the sun has moved ensuring non-stop light into the house. While I am always reluctant to recommend other companies I have been working with Peter Fox blinds since 1994 and in this time he has never let my clients down. His prices are extremely competitive compared to some of the better known brands and Peter delivers a superior product. You can visit his website at  www.peterfoxblinds.ie

Bungalows have height restrictions for conservatories except of course when adding on to the gable end. There are two simple and very effective solutions; construct a false dormer/gable in the house roof or create a conservatory design which will link to the bungalow using a boxgutter.

Creating a false dormer in the bungalow roof conjures up images of stripping off the house roof, wet rainy days and hosts of structural issues, in fact it is a very simple job which we complete in two days. We do not cut any of the rafters in the house roof, we are simply adding rafters onto the existing roof. We first construct a template from the conservatory roof in the factory and then complete the false gable before the conservatory arrives on site, the conservatory is then just another straightforward installation with the house roof already fully sealed.

The second method involves designing the conservatory so that the eave of the conservatory attaches to the eave of the house using a structural gutter. Depending on the measurments of the house the conservatory will either be joined to the fascia of the house or to the wall under the fascia board.

So is there a “best” method? Not really it is a matter of taste, structural and other limitations. Some conservatories are more suited to one design than others, for example if you aspire to a conservatory measuring say 20ft along the house then it will not be possible to construct a false dormer 20 ft wide. Older houses may also be unsuitable for dormers if for example the existing roof tiles/slates are no longer available or if the existing house roof felt is compromised.

To discuss this issue and any other conservatory design issues contact our office and arrange a free design consultation with one of our consultants. We have built thousands of conservatories and have the experience to deliver the right design on budget on time for your home.