DIY Conservatories

I get shivers down my back when I read adverts for companies trying to persuade consumers to buy conservatories DIY. I have been in the business for over 20 years and have built literally thousands of conservatories and sunrooms, trust me these are not a DIY item. I know they may look easy but when dealing with glass it is all about precision, you can build the conservatory and be ready to finish it off with the last pane of glass and find that you are slightly off square and it doesn’t fit, what do you do then, it not just a case of taking it down and starting again…doing this means breaking all the seals…will they be as good the second time around. We had a rule that a fitter was never left on his own to do ANYTHING until he had completed 2 years fitting and only then would he be allowed do even the simplest of tasks. Remember this is not a wardrobe or shelf unit that you are assembling that can be thrown out, this structure means making significant changes to the fabric of your house. Adding a conservatory to your home means cutting into the masonry of the house to fit lead flashing, moving drains, drylining the back wall of your house, all this affects the future value of your home. Do you think a future buyer or surveyor appraising your home will know the difference between a DIY conservatory and a properly designed and built conservatory or sunroom, I think they will. If you were buying a new house, would you like to buy someone elses DIY work? I think not.

this blog is not an attempt to run down the competition, it is to advise people that they are making a mistake buying a DIY conservatory, the few thousand you might save will be eaten up in tears, frustration and in the future value of your home. I have no problem losing business to other companies who do a good job for their clients, thats the nature of competition, but have a serious think before you consider spending your hard earned money on a conservatory that arrives in a box with an instruction booklet.