Conservatory: Kitchen Extension and Dining Room

[Richuu]

We're currently having a conservatory built which is the entire width of the back of the house. The back of the kitchen will be knocked out, so the kitchen will extend into one end of the conservatory (about a third), with the remainder being a dining area. Total size of the conservatory is about 9m x 3m. When finished, it will be an 'L' shaped kitchen diner.

Surprisingly, I couldn't find much info on the 'net about kitchens in conservatories. So, as the design progresses, it seems I'm having to come up with more and more solutions for the problems, er, I mean, design challenges ahead.

One of the more unusual is the fact that half of the kitchen will have no wallspace above worktop height (it'll all be windows!), so no or very low splashbacks. This means nowhere to put sockets. The solution I've come up with so far is floor sockets (the one's with sprung flaps), flat on the worktops. They'll either look really funky and industrial, or crap. I'll let you know.

Second is worktop lighting. Normally you would have under cupboard lighting. But, no wall cupboards, no under cupboard lighting! I'm thinking something along the lines of "LDS4021" on this page, fixed to the posts between each window.

All water / drainange will be within 2m of an existing soil pipe (from upstairs bathroom) and incoming water supply, so plumbing should be easy (apart from having to shift the main stop cock).

Finally, I don't think, with some of the layout features we want, that we'll get anything near a perfect 'kitchen triangle', but to ease things, there are changes we could make. I'm thinking dishwasher near to the sink, oven (eye level built-in) near to hob, fridge / freezer near to cooking area etc. Any other tips?

The conservatory itself is having a proper glass (Pilkington self cleaning Activ thermally reflective) so it will be an excellent scene for dinner parties! Can't wait until it's finished, but the more I think about it, the more 'design challenges' I see.

All other comments gratefully received!

 

[Richuu]

The wall sockets problem has been resolved - the builder said the proposed brick level was too low, lower than his usual window height standard - 1050mm - so he's going to build it a row or two higher, giving me a nice handy splashback area for sockets.

That makes life easier!

 

[Static]

If you open up the house into the "conservatory" without including external grade doors, you are effectively extending the house and this will need planning and building regs. This means the grade of glass and insulation will need to be increased from a normal conservatory, but your architect will cover this.

 

[stem]

I've just had a conservatory added to the back of my house. The local building authority insisted that to meet building regs the conservatory has to be completely isolated from the main house, which has meant fitting double glazed doors & windows between it and the rest of the house in order to meet building regulations (Part L I think) which deals with heat loss.

A conservatory does not meet the regs as it has too much glass so it has to be classed as "outside" and totally separated from the main house (including the operation of any heating).

Because of the regs I even had to have one small window in my kitchen even though it's fairly big at 5m x 5m because I had already had french doors and a bigger window would mean I had too much glass.

I'm glad you're not fitting the sockets into the work top, but am surprised you even considered it. Have you never spilt any liquid on your worktops?

 

[Richuu]

A conservatory does not meet the regs as it has too much glass so it has to be classed as "outside" and totally separated from the main house (including the operation of any heating).

Because of the regs I even had to have one small window in my kitchen even though it's fairly big at 5m x 5m because I had already had french doors and a bigger window would mean I had too much glass.

I'm glad you're not fitting the sockets into the work top, but am surprised you even considered it. Have you never spilt any liquid on your worktops?

I did wonder about the flat sockets, so I'm pleased to.

As for insulation, the roof will be a Pilkington Optitherm glass roof, and all other glazing will be Pilkington K, with a non metallic (high density insulating foam) spacer (called Super Spacer, I think). The floor is insulated, and the block and brick cavity walls have Knauff insulation in between. Overall, it shouldn't be too bad.

 

[sm1thson]

Overall, it shouldn't be too bad.

but does it confirm to regulations? and does building control know what you are doing?