There is no better way of extending your existing Berkshire or Hampshire home than with an Amberwood Designed Conservatory. It will give your home a totally new perspective and give you the benefit from luxurious living.
We recommend installing a quality air conditioner at the same time to keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
We have a fabulous range of conservatory designs for Hampshire and Berkshire homes at our showroom in Aldermaston, near Tadly Berkshire.
Each Amberwood conservatory has its own individual benefits and will become the location you turn to when you want to eat your breakfast, dinner or lunch in the most sophisticated style possible. Life can be lived to the full in an Amberwood conservatory.
Amberwood Designs provide exceptional quality at exceptional prices with exceptional service throughout Berkshire from Newbury, to Maidenhead, including all parts of Reading; from Henley-on-Thames in Oxon including Didcot and Wallingford; and in Hampshire from Basingstoke to Andover, Alton and Farnborough.
Amberwood offer, Supply and install with 10 year insurance-backed warranties for piece-of-mind or
Supply only with fitting assistance or Supply only at Trade prices.
Whilst many different materials
can be used in the roof and sides, the secret of a successful Conservatory build is the quality
of the basework and installation. High quality frames installed badly, result in a poor quality Conservatory.
So many factors need to be considered. All different for different family uses and whether the Conservatory
is in the sun or in the shade.
Conservatory Designs
Conservatories come in virtually any shape or size you could imagine but generally the designs fall
in to certain categories.
Lean to
This the traditional and original design. From low pitch for bungalows and steep pitch for houses it
used to be the design for many.
In recent years people prefer more adventurous types of roof but during
the past 12 months steep pitched lean-to’s have become more popular. Ask us to use the same base
plan but draw a Lean-to roof on one and a hipped or Georgian roof on another.
Hipped
Basically this is lean-to with the sides of the roof hipped. It is like and Edwardian but without the ridge
and cresting, a popular design when a lean-to is not required and the conservatory is too wide
for a Georgian design.
Georgian
A very popular design because there are interesting shaped panels in the roof and the square corners
allow for maximum use of the floor area. Many people like a high ridge to give a feeling of space but
also because lighting and ceiling fans can be installed at high level.
Some people find that the cresting
on top of the ridge is difficult to clean and so we are leaving off the offending cresting and just installing the pointed finial at the front of the ridge.
Victorian
This design was the most popular until the last 5 years. Although angled corners are preferred by
many people as opposed to square, the loss of space in a small conservatory is too much for some
and therefore the Georgian design has become the preferred choice.
If the preferred choice of style is a Victorian design but the loss of space is of concern, a good
compromise is the wide facet Victorian. Shaped corners satisfy those who do not like square but
as the space lost is reduced this design is becoming increasingly popular.
Gabled
Imagine a square-cornered Georgian but instead of the roof at the front hipping backwards the
front of the conservatory continues up vertically resulting in a triangle over the front elevation.
This design is particularly useful if there is an attractive view at high level. Fitting roof blinds to the
triangle can be troublesome.
L-Shape, P-Shape, T-Shape
Combine a Victorian and a Lean-To design and you have a P-Shaped design.
Add a Georgian to a Lean-To and an L-Shape is created.
Join a Lean-To each side of a Georgian or Victorian design and you have a T-Shape. Any design you can imagine can be designed using a combination of the above shapes.
Roof Glazing
During the 1960’s 10mm thick honeycomb acrylic materials were mostly used for roof glazing.
Improvements in technology allowed layered polycarbonate to be used. Thirty % of Amberwood’s
conservatories are still installed using polycarbonate in various colours and finishes but the material
is now 35mm thick allowing for superb insulation and privacy without the need for blinds.
However, the Seventy % of customers who choose glass for the roof do so for various reasons.
Your choice may depend on the intended use of the conservatory. If you are to use the conservatory
as a room for summer or sunny days and could retire to another room if necessary then polycarbonate
is fine. If you want to chill out in the conservatory and like a view of the sky then
glass may be the choice. If the area is to be used for dining a heavy rain shower could cause you
to cease talking until the rain stops.
Here is a brief summary of the benefits of both polycarbonate and glass.
The Benefits of a Glass Roof
Better thermal insulation
Better sound insulation
Better view of the sky
Easyclean or self-cleaning glass is available
The Benefits of a Polycarbonate Roof
Lower cost
Privacy
Better glare reduction
Lower security
Cooling a conservatory
Both polycarbonate and glass can be coated with a solar-reflective coating providing over a 70 %
reflection of the sun’s heat rays. What is often overlooked is that a great deal of heat enters the
conservatory through the sides. Virtually clear solar-reflective glass is now available and is very
affordable. During hot weather solar-reflective materials can reduce the temperature inside the
conservatory by 15 degrees centigrade, however if the reduced temperature is still 30 degrees
this is still too hot if you intend using it for dining.
This being the case a climate control system can be installed that provides warm as well as cool air.
If the unit is used for cooling then considering the number of times the system is likely to be used
you should not suffer high running costs.
Heating a conservatory
If the sun shines then heating is not required even on a winter’s day. Some of Amberwood’s
customers have installed log-burners, open fires, electric convectors and air-source heat pumps.
An air-source heat pump can be installed easily, need not be expensive to fit and can be economical
to run because many have a coefficient of heating of over 3. This means that for every single unit of
energy the system consumes it provides you with 3 units of energy. This is a simple explanation but
I have been advised is an acceptable claim.
Electric underfloor heating is expensive to install and relatively economical to run. Many of our customers are delighted with the comfort of this form of heating.
Amberwood Rough Guidelines
Although new Government guidelines have resulted in many Conservatories not requiring permission,
many authorities refuse to supply a letter confirming this.
You will require a written confirmation to sell your property, so it may be that some form of application
is required. Director Roy Ward will advise you if call him.
Show Site:
Open Mon-Fri 8am-5pm Sat 10am -3pm
Amberwood Designs,
Ground Floor, Estate Offices
Youngs Industrial Estate
Paices Hill, Aldermaston
Berkshire, RG7 4PW
Tel: 0118 9820300
office@amberwooddesigns.co.uk