1 in 4 homes in UK has one - The average costs $15,000! by: Geoff Broughton

it conservatory solarium, United Kingdom is this phenomenon about to hit the other side of the Atlantic?

In the UK, the conservatory as a solarium live in has become nothing less than a £ 15 billion ($ 25 billion) a year industry. It is now estimated that one in four houses in the UK has a veranda as if addition.This popularity easily exceeds all other forms of home improvement. The United States is about to follow the trend or is it intended to be a purely English phenomenon.

It is not difficult to understand why people in the UK has been heated to such an idea. They create a space that the benefits of being enclosed and protected like the rest of the house, but at the same time enjoy the heat, light and air conservatory solarium offer. It has also proved to be the only form of home improvement that could virtually guarantee an increase in the value of a house that was beyond the capital. The added value will never be enough to make a fortune for an owner, but at least the return is very comfortable on the wisdom of the expenditure required.

In the United Kingdom with its climate cooler than the added heat could also, at first, persuade you that this is the main reason for their popularity. This proves once again be one of the advantages, but I would suggest the possibility of choosing a room with heat added, is not quite the same as the relocation of Florida!

A few years ago, I was asked by two brothers who were re-locating from New York to help set up a company in Austin, Texas. They intended to build Conservatory solariums English style. They decided to use components and manufacturing methods imported from the United Kingdom. As every American knows, the climate in Texas is closer to that of Egypt that the United Kingdom. However, as I was not involved financially, and they persuade me that there was a market, I agreed to provide the design in the office and the 'field' (or should that be desert or scrub). On a personal note at this point, I really enjoyed my stay in Texas. I was very, very welcome. My visits to Zilker Park and Barton Springs on Sunday morning was an absolute treat, and how could a stay in Austin go without mention Fat Tuesday, St Patrick's Street and 6th. Back to the conservancy. Of course I was totally intrigued, but I was also surprised. The English style popular thing, but what about the level of comfort in a solarium in such a climate. First, technically, the heat is reflected from the roof using a form of multi-walled, aluminum, which had "stains" co-extruded through it. One of the names is called "heat shield". The IG units in the sides of a conservatory in the United Kingdom would be designed to keep heat in. I learned that in Texas that same technology that I was very familiar with the UK was used by units in reverse to keep the heat! Then, what are the benefits. A few inquiries with our cousins Texas quickly clarified the situation. In the UK, conservatories were used to free us from being surrounded by walls during the long winter months. (am a little sun would be breakfast on the veranda very pleasant) In Texas sun porch would exactly the same except in summer! Instead of being surrounded by walls in the middle of the summer (protected from the heat in air conditioned rooms), air-conditioned space as a repository to provide a welcome break!

After being on the veranda business over 20 years, this cast a new light (pardon the pun) on the benefits of a conservatory, not only in hot climates, but also as used on my property. I think this reason is probably the key one in the UK!

There is another aspect that applies the "purely English phenomenon 'notice. In the UK at least half of the conservatory solariums that are built do not require any form of building permit. Although this certainly having an effect, having to wait for 6 weeks in the United Kingdom to get real planning permission is not a deterrent.

Adding a conservatory can have many benefits. Unless your climate is perfect at all times of the year, I am sure that the case can be made for a better quality of life because of their acquisition. Whether this style will be as popular in the United States, only time will tell

Part 2 The conservatory as a room addition, the learning of the errors committed in the UK - more! More tales of my travels "Stateside"


About the author:
Geoff Broughton
http://www.conservatorydesigns.com
The ONLY Internet resource dedicated to the design of verandas.

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