DIY conservatories sales are officially going up according to consumer resources who have reported a staggering 40% increase in sales during the recent recession.

Home owners who are looking to extend their living spaces but cannot afford to move to a new home are increasingly turning their attention to DIY conservatories as the next best alternative. As any family knows, space is always an issue when you have a growing family and not enough room to accommodate them.

Compared to conventional purchases of conservatories which are installed professionally, DIY conservatories are much, much cheaper to buy and erect, and can be done so without too much hassle. A reasonably adept person at DIY can easily build a conservatory as long as they have the groundwork done by a professional beforehand or use steel conservatory base construction.

DIY conservatories are proving to be the ideal solution in creating a workable living space which doesn’t cost a fortune. Many families use DIY conservatories as dining rooms, to serve as an additional lounge or even a children’s play area.

The possibilities are endless, and they make an excellent feature for a home, all while saving costs of extending a house or moving. DIY conservatories are easy to maintain, and you can add in a heater without difficulty to keep it warm during colder days.

With families looking at saving costs wherever they can, DIY conservatories are perfect for creating additional space without a costly extension, whilst also adding value to the price of your home.

The ConservaBase steel conservatory base system is the modern way to quickly and easily construct conservatory base foundations. Standing on just a few easily constructed concrete pads or foundation blocks, it simply bolts to any existing wall. Conservatory base construction can now be completed in just a day, greatly reducing the time taken to build the whole conservatory, enabling the construction to be completed in days instead of weeks.

ConservaBase steel bases are constructed from strong, made-to-measure steel box sections to the exact size and shape of any conservatory, ensuring a perfect fit every time. The steel, coated with anti-corrosion green oxide is delivered in fully welded sections, providing the ultimate steel conservatory base construction, to the highest specification.

There are too many benefits of this future-proof method of conservatory base construction to list here, but the benefits include: reduction in build time, exceeds all relevant building regulations, no skips needed to remove spoil as no major earthworks are required, no builders required, manholes and drains can be left undisturbed and remain accessible, can even be taken with you if you move and, comes with an industry beating 25 year guarantee.

Typically, DIY conservatories are sold at around 20% less than what is needed to sustain a profitable business model, particularly when sold to retail consumers.

The main problem here is marketing costs. Basically, there are two types of customer, trade and retail. Once you’ve marketed for, and obtained a trade customer, that’s the job done. With trade customers you receive repeat business as they will order DIY conservatories for each of their customers, therefore the marketing cost for that trade customer provides more business, albeit at a lower margin than the marketing cost for a retail customer which normally provides a one-off order. This means that with retail, you don’t only have the marketing cost of obtaining each customer, but the marketing cost of obtaining each and every conservatory order.

There is one golden rule. You cannot sell DIY conservatories to retail customers at trade prices and sustain a long term profitable business. It just doesn’t work.

The problem here is that many DIY conservatory suppliers do just that. Sure they don’t last but no sooner do they go under, another supplier pops up doing exactly the same thing. Therefore you have this never ending problem to face with suppliers quoting trade prices to the retail and forcing you to either try to compete with those prices or justify the reasons why your product is worth more.

Internet marketing is great for getting targeted and quality enquiries but it’s not without its downside. For example, consumers searching for the term DIY conservatories are presented with relevant results from many different suppliers and typically obtain quotations from three or four of them.

If you are quoting sensible prices, the chances are, your quote won’t be the lowest, in fact you will probable be several hundred pounds more expensive than some of your competitors.

The good news is that not everyone buys on price, in fact only a small minority do. The best solution is to manufacture and supply a superior product and provide a better service than your competitors. Invest in a good quality control system, provide professional sales advice and after sales service. This will give your customers the confidence they need to buy from you at a reasonable price.

Always remember, people don’t buy on price, they buy on confidence. This applies to any product you are selling, not just to DIY conservatories.

• Cutting-edge bespoke PVCu-cladded aluminium conservatory roof system, available in a selection of beautiful styles, these roofs are guaranteed to enhance the character of any home.
• Fully compatible and colour-matched with the conservatory frame PVCu profile system.
• PVCu conservatory roofs should be designed for simple installation and a secure, weather-tight finish.
• A range of styles to suit all conservatory shapes and sizes.
• Conservatory roofs should incorporate many design features, including gutter assemblies with fail-safe designs to ensure that water never leaks into the conservatory, as well as time-saving features for rapid, first-class installation.
• The conservatory roof should be capable of accepting reinforcement to support the weight of glass if required.
• A good range of conservatory roof glazing options should be available such as polycarbonate, solar control and self cleaning glass double glazed sealed units.

Such attention to detail means that conservatory installers can spend more time making sure the job is perfect, instead of struggling against a system that’s tricky to fit.

Good conservatory roof suppliers offer a range of finishing touches to complete a conservatory, including crestings and finials, fans and electrically operated roof vents.

Huge cost savings – this is the big one, the main and most common reason for opting for a DIY conservatory.

When compared to getting a conservatory company to provide the full design, building and installation package, the DIY option will typically save around £4000 on an average model with standard specifications although this can vary subject to what is specified, for example different glazing options or woodgrain finishes will provide even greater savings.

The savings made on a DIY conservatory are achieved in several areas for example,  no site visits are required as you measure yourself, no builders to pay, no fitters to pay and no profits on building work to be financed. On top of all this, there is far less VAT to pay, as the taxable costs are lower.

The other common reason for going DIY is the fact that many home owners actually want to fit the conservatory themselves because they enjoy doing it and feel a sense of pride in the knowledge that the finished product is a result of their own work.

Conservatories should not be so big that they look out of place on the property to which they are attached, they should be in proportion to look just right. Similarly, a conservatory should not be too small to be of practical use for the purpose for which it was intended.

The first thing to consider is what you want to use your conservatory for. With this in mind, decide how big the conservatory will need to be and where it will need to be installed on your home.

Depending on position, the style of your property and subject to none-moveable obstructions, you then need to decide which style conservatory will be most suitable and look best.

For bungalows, flat roof extensions and other height restricted situations, simple traditional lean-to conservatories often provide the best solution, however if a Victorian or Edwardian design is preferred, these can also be installed by having the conservatory roof manufactured with a hipped back which normally joins to the fascia board.

Subject to individual preference, conservatories can be manufactured with full height frames with glass to the ground, PVCu panels around the bottom or have shorter frames to sit on a dwarf wall, typically 600mm in height.

Then there’s the colour. Modern PVCu conservatories are normally available in white, rosewood and golden oak woodgrain finishes and with the recent introduction of cream PVCu profiles there is a colour to compliment any property.

Consider the environment and your heating bills. Advances in technology now means that there is an excellent range of energy efficient glazing options, both for the frames and the roof.

Another thing to consider is keeping conservatories at a comfortable temperature during the summer months, particularly if they are south facing. A great range of solar control roof glazing products are now available including polycarbonate fitted with reflective foil inserts and solar reflective tinted glass.

This article covers the main issues to be considered when designing great conservatories.

For homeowners the MOOD integrated speaker system represents an exciting new innovation that should capture their imaginations and make the idea of a conservatory even more appealing. It’s basic premise is simple; it enables homeowners to fill their conservatories with music rather than large bulky speakers. MOOD is the only integrated conservatory audio system in the market giving the company a clear advantage.

The idea behind the development of MOOD came from our research into trends in the market. Many homeowners, inspired by the possibility of de-cluttering, were looking for clever ways to make the best use of available space and because conservatories are used as family rooms, dining rooms and entertainment areas, anything that made this space work harder was desirable. Our findings also showed that because many families with young children have conservatories there is also a safety consideration when it comes to the purchase decision. Traditional speaker systems in conservatories often have trailing wires that can be a trip hazard.

MOOD is unique in that the wires are integrated into the structure of the conservatory making them completely hidden from view. All you see with the MOOD system is the connection point in the wall and stylish speakers that blend seamlessly into the conservatory roof ring beam.

When we were designing MOOD we made sure that the speaker system worked with any player or amplifier that has a standard speaker cable output. This now means that it can be connected to a hi-fi, ipod, mp3 player, amplifier, TV or home entertainment system to provide high quality audio enabling homeowners to create the perfect ambience in their conservatory.

For most consumers, the self-build Edwardian conservatory is the most popular. This is because it is very versatile for any home style. In fact, it is more spacious and easier to furnish than any other conservatory style.

With such designs for DIY conservatories, there are many purposes such as a living space, dining space, study area and garden that they may be used for.

If you are an expert or know a lot about building or carpentry, DIY conservatories will be easy for you. You just have follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer or supplier.

On the other hand, if you have limited knowledge in building conservatories but want to get DIY conservatories for money saving reasons, you may also get a third party fitter or builder to install them for you and still enjoy the same great results.

So whether you are an expert builder or a novice one, you can actually choose DIY conservatories and still expect a satisfying installation.

This year, DIY conservatory sales have been good, very similar in fact to those of 2008 and my own company has manufactured, supplied and delivered over 800 complete conservatories in addition to our double glazing and fascia installations.

DIY conservatories have risen in popularity over the last few years, particularly during the recession with consumers constantly looking for ways to save money without depriving themselves of the products they would normally purchase.

Anyone looking to undertake their own DIY conservatory project should choose their supplier carefully to ensure that they receive a good quality product and at the same time, maximise their savings.

The first thing to look for is a supplier that manufactures their own conservatories, this should include both the conservatory frames and the roofs.

The next important factor is to make sure that the quality and design of the supplier’s DIY conservatories are up to date, for example, they should now be using modern fully sculptured PVCu conservatory frame profiles that are made from recyclable raw materials with a colourfastness guarantee. The frames should also be glazed from the inside for security.

Another quality factor to take in to account is the conservatory roof system that is being supplied. This should be manufactured using structural aluminium profiles with PVCu cappings that exactly match the colour of the frames.

Always check out how the company intends to deliver your conservatory. DIY conservatories can easily suffer transit damage if enough care is not taken by the driver when loading and off-loading. Look for a firm that delivers in their own company vehicles rather than using third-party couriers.

It is important to remember that price isn’t everything. It is important as afterall, this is the reason you will have opted for a DIY conservatory rather than getting a company to do the job lot, however quality should never be sacrificed in favour of a lower price. Remember, your conservatory needs to last you a very long time.

Projects can take many forms after the consumer has purchased their DIY conservatory, for example, subject to their ability, the consumer may carry out all of the work themselves including, foundations, base, brickwork, conservatory assembly and lead flashing.

However, more often than not, the consumer will bring in outside trades to undertake some or even all of their project for them. In these circumstances, a builder is often employed to build the conservatory base, after which, the consumer may assemble their own conservatory or get the same builder to do that for them as well.

As it is the building work that most consumers don’t feel comfortable with, there is an ideal product that will enable the consumer to build their own base and dwarf walls without the need for any building or bricklaying skills. This then makes what we call DIY conservatories completely DIY.

That product is a steel DIY conservatory base which makes it possible to complete the entire project in just 3 days, rather than in around 3 weeks.

Modern steel conservatory bases are extremely high quality and come with a structural guarantee, they meet all relevant building regulations and simply stand on concrete pads or foundation blocks.

A standard steel base with dwarf walls can be installed in just 1 day and completely eliminates the need for concrete and skips and reduces disruption to the surrounding garden area to an absolute minimum.

Further, where there is limited access to the rear of the property, the whole of the base can be carried through the house to where it is to be installed.

It is expected that steel bases for DIY conservatories will become increasingly popular over the next few years, particularly with the proposed new building regulations that will require a stricter criteria for foundations and bases.