The base for any conservatory is extremely important and your choice of base types is varied. There different types of base are denoted by the style of conservatory that you select.
For a full height building with either panels or glass at the bottom you can elect to go for a concrete base or a small footing and damp course wall. The most efficient and quickest base type for this conservatory is Pre-fabricated type such as a durabase or the new easy base system. These allow for the fastest base construction times usually around 2-3 hrs including digging the concrete pads. More recently these prefabricated systems come with a 525mm bolt on brick slip wall. No more digging deep trenches and back breaking footings.
If you are going for traditional conservatories then it is important to hire a good local builder to create the base. You must ensure that your builder is supplied with a decent set of plans and understands exactly what you require. I.e. brick types and finish etc. Some companies will even supply you the base specifications so that you can cost and buy the base materials yourself saving even more money.
After the base is laid, installing the conservatory becomes very easy. The best systems on the market come pre-glazed i.e. with the glass already in the frames. This means that they need a jointing system to couple to frames together. This system saves time and money in the building construction and you don’t smash the expensive glass trying to glaze the conservatory.
Roof design is next once you have decided on the conservatory designs. Lean to shape are great for bungalows as are hipped back conservatories in height restricted sites. The most common are the Edwardian and Victorian conservatory with the Edwardian design maximizing the floor space available.
Once you have decided on the roof type the roofing material is also a factor that needs to be taken into consideration. The two types of roof are glass roof and polycarbonate roof.
Polycarbonate roofs are always cheaper than glass roofs this is mainly due the fact that polycarbonate is cheaper and lighter than glass and the roof does not have to be structurally reinforced to take the weight. But polycarbonate roofs do have that advantage of coming in a far wider range of colours including bronze, opal, and heat guard.
Both roof types can be upgraded to reflect the sun to keep your building cool.
On the internet, you come across various companies trying to sell you great conservatories and instillation techniques.