Diy Conservatory Design

PVC-u in all the styles

Since the 1890s the standard material for conservatories has been plastic. A frame of unplasticized polyvinyl chloride double-glazed windows and polycarbonate roof sheets.

PVC-u windows have aided conservatory design and looked better in white ever since the material became resistant to ultraviolet light and its fading ability, and this is still by far the popular choice. For those of us who prefer the appearance of wood with out the maintenance, PVC-u can be bought with a GRP skin embedded with a timber lookalike grain. You can have a choice of oak, mahogany or what ever else you wish. It doesn’t look identical to the real thing but you don’t need to pain or treat this.

You can choose from several packaged PVC-u conservatory designs or create you own. If you go with the latter option, remember that windows and doors come in standard sizes at greatly reduced prices, and also that polycarbonate roof sheets are modular. Designing your addition using these modular dimensions will save a great deal on waste and cost.

Most roof sheets are500mm wide, allowing for bars (because they fit to glazing bars, the width of these is taken into account) plus a starter bar width. If the starter bar is 50 mm, two sheets will get you a conservatory width of 1050 mm, six sheets 3050 mm and 10 sheets 5050mm. In many ways it pays to find your products before you finalise your design.