Orangery extension cost: what the job involves and who is registered to do it

How orangery extension cost works

1. Settle whether it is permitted development. A great many orangery are permitted development, which means no planning application, but the limits on depth, height, materials and how much of the plot is already built on are specific and a designer should read them against your own house before anybody prices anything.
2. Get drawings and a structural design. Existing and proposed drawings, then a structural engineer's calculations for whatever is being opened up or carried. On a orangery this is a small share of the total and it is what turns an idea into something three builders can price identically.
3. Serve the party wall notices in time. Work on or near a shared wall, or excavation within three or six metres of a neighbour's foundations, engages the Party Wall etc. Act and the notice periods are set in months rather than weeks. Serving late is the commonest reason a start date slips.
4. Price it against a specification, not a sketch. Ask each builder to price the same written specification, with provisional sums shown as provisional sums. Two quotes that differ by a third almost always differ in what is included: the kitchen, the flooring, the decoration and the drainage diversion are the usual absentees.
5. Agree stages, retention and building control. A staged payment schedule against completed work, a small retention until sign-off, and a clear statement of who is notifying building control. The completion certificate is what a future buyer's solicitor will ask for.

Insurance and paperwork

Common questions

What is the practical difference from a conservatory?

Thermal comfort and use. An orangery has insulated walls and roof around a central lantern, so it works as a room all year, while a lightweight conservatory swings between hot and cold. That is the reason most people pay the difference.

Does an orangery need building regulations approval?

Normally yes, because the walls and roof are not mostly glazed and it is not thermally separated from the house. Treat it as an extension from the start and the process is straightforward.

Can an orangery be added to a kitchen?

It is one of the commonest uses, and it is then a kitchen extension with an orangery roof. Price the building work and the kitchen separately, as with any kitchen extension.

Registered contractors by region

• Registered roofers in the East Midlands postcode area
• Registered roofers in the East of England postcode area
• Registered roofers in the London postcode area
• Registered roofers in the North East postcode area
• Registered roofers in the North West postcode area
• Registered roofers in the Scotland postcode area
• Registered roofers in the South East postcode area
• Registered roofers in the South West postcode area
• Registered roofers in the Wales postcode area
• Registered roofers in the West Midlands postcode area
• Registered roofers in the Yorkshire and The Humber postcode area