Conservatories, Sunrooms, Garden rooms, Solariums - Your Questions answered

CONDENSATION (3)

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Ref:03
Question submitted by Ray

We have recently had a 12ftx11ft Edwardian conservatory built on a south facing site. We took your advice and specified 25mm polycarbonate roof and K glass all round. Suffice to say we are delighted with the results! We had a Baxi gas wall heater installed in the dwarf wall to enable all year round use. We haven't encountered any condensation yet, but were wondering if it was advisable to leave the heater on low all night during the winter to provide background heat. Unless the outside temperature falls below freezing, the conservatory stays around 60 degrees at night at a cost of about 1.5p per hour.
 

This question answered by the Conservatories Online editorial team - Apart from very cold "snaps" very few people find it necessary to keep heating on at night. Occasionally shortly after the conservatory is built people may leave some "background" heating on in order to aid the drying out process. You may find some benefit in this, especially as the cost of doing so is very low. It is also worth remembering that condensation is best controlled by including some trickle ventilation - such as fitting "trickle vents" in the frames or leaving a window partially open. This is again an especially good idea during the drying out process.

Ref:02
Question submitted by Steve

I have recently had a 8ft x 6ft all white u.p.v.c. lean to conservatory built to the rear of my house. I intend to use it as a study. It is built on a dwarf wall concrete base. Suffering from condensation from roof supports and floor level joints. I am using a fully controllable oil filled radiator to heat as main wall not sufficient for a radiator. Could you please offer some help to my problem?

This Question answered by Tina Dunlop - The good news is that your levels of condensation are likely to reduce as the "building works" dry out. It is not uncommon for conservatories to take as much as 6 - 12 months to dry out once built. During this period condensation will be particularly bad. However there is no guarantee that you will not have condensation after this period - especially if you have "only" used normal double glazing and 16 mm polycarbonate. My best suggestion is to install a dehumidifier (you can hire this) for a few weeks - this will remove a lot of the moisture. Also continue to vent the conservatory - a lot of people keep the windows closed - believing this will help - It is far better to let the air circulate. You may also find it beneficial to install "trickle vents" in your frame work - which allows you to have some ventilation with-out opening your windows. Trickle vents are available from most double glazing suppliers at £15 - £20 each. For the record I recommend at least 25 mm polycarbonate in the roof and Pilkington "K" glass (low E ) for the frames in conservatories. This gives some of the best levels of insulation and helps reduce the risk of condensation.

Ref:01
Question submitted by a US Gardener

I bought a 10 x 6 from XXXX Greenhouses. It now has moisture and is cloudy. They want 3,000 dollars to repair failed glass!! - HELP!!

This Question answered by Tina Dunlop - Now as I'm sure you will appreciate, I can not make specific comments about XXXX sunrooms and greenhouses. I assume your greenhouse is double glazed and it is outside of warranty? Most of my experience is UK based - but what I know from the UK market is that quite often suppliers are not that interested in the glazing repair market. It is "more trouble than it is worth" for most of them and I have known companies to "inflate" their prices just so they don't get the work. They prefer local glaziers to do this work. Have you tried a local glazing company? - they should be able to source a similar specification. I am not saying your supplier works this way - just giving you another point to ponder. As regards cost - I do feel the costs quoted are expensive. Surely you would be better buying a new one if this was really the case. Maybe you could ask XXXX if they can recommend somebody other than themselves to do the work.