Orangeries and conservatories in Nottingham
A conservatory is a mostly glazed room with a glass, polycarbonate or lightweight solid roof. An orangery has brick piers or solid wall sections, glazed panels between them and a flat perimeter roof around a central glazed lantern. A glazed extension is a conventional brick extension with large doors, windows or rooflights. Which one you choose changes the cost, the way the room is used, and whether Building Regulations approval is needed.
This page helps you compare the three and pick a direction. Our orangery extension guide and conservatory extension guide go into each one in detail.
- Conservatory, orangery and glazed extension compared
- Planning and Building Regulations explained separately
- Free site survey and a written, itemised quotation
Conservatory, orangery or glazed extension?
The names get used loosely. What matters is how much of the wall and roof is glass, because that decides how the room is built and which rules apply.
| Conservatory | Orangery | Glazed extension | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walls | Mostly glazed, often on a low dwarf wall | Brick piers or solid sections with glazed panels between | Mainly brick or block, with large doors and windows |
| Roof | Glass or polycarbonate, or a solid warm-roof system | Flat perimeter roof with a central glazed lantern | Solid flat or pitched roof, often with rooflights or a lantern |
| Building Regulations | Can be exempt if every condition below is met | Usually treated as an extension, so approval is needed | Treated as an extension, so approval is needed |
| Planning | The same permitted development limits apply to all three when they are single-storey additions to a house | ||
| Wall space inside | Little, which limits units and radiators | Some, on the piers and solid sections | Most, as with any room in the house |
When a conservatory can be exempt
A conservatory can be exempt from Building Regulations approval, but only while it meets all of these conditions:
- The floor area is 30 square metres or less.
- It is built at ground level.
- It is separated from the house by external-quality walls, doors or windows, so the house stays thermally separate.
- Any heating is independent of the house, with its own temperature and on/off controls, or there is no heating at all.
- The glazing meets the safety glazing requirements, and any new electrical work still has to comply with the rules for electrical safety.
If any condition is not met, or later stops being met, the room needs approval like any other extension. Taking out the doors between the house and the conservatory, or connecting it to the house heating, are the common ways the exemption is lost.
Orangeries and conservatories with a largely solid roof usually fall outside the conservatory definition. They are treated as extensions, which means Building Regulations approval, including insulation to current standards.
Planning and Building Regulations are different
Planning permission is about whether you can build it. Building Regulations are about how it is built. A room can fall under permitted development and still need Building Regulations approval, or the other way round.
Planning permission and permitted development
Conservatories, orangeries and glazed extensions are all treated as single-storey extensions for planning. Many may fall under permitted development, depending on the property and any restrictions that apply, but each property needs to be checked.
National permitted development limits (England), in brief
- Rear additions: up to 3m deep on attached houses or 4m on detached houses, or up to 6m and 8m through the prior approval process.
- No more than 4m high, and no more than 3m to the eaves within 2m of a boundary.
- Side additions: single storey, no more than 4m high and no wider than half the width of the original house.
- Extensions and outbuildings together must not cover more than half the land around the original house.
Conservation areas, listed buildings, Article 4 directions and conditions on earlier planning permissions can remove or narrow these rights. Applications go to your local council, which in this area could be Nottingham City, Rushcliffe, Broxtowe, Gedling or Ashfield, or Erewash Borough Council for Long Eaton, which is over the county border in Derbyshire.
Want certainty?
If your design appears to fall under permitted development, a lawful development certificate from the council confirms it in writing. We can prepare the drawings.
Which one suits how you will use the room?
Conservatory extensions
Suits a garden room, dining area or playroom where the priority is glass and a view of the garden, and where the room can stay separated from the house by doors.
Orangery extensions
Suits a dining room, snug or kitchen-diner that needs some solid wall for units, radiators and furniture, with a lantern bringing light in from above.
Single-storey rear extensions
Suits a room that opens fully into the house, such as an open-plan kitchen, where you want it to work exactly like the rest of the ground floor, with glazing where it counts.
Thinking bigger?
If you need extra bedrooms or a larger footprint, a double storey extension, loft conversion or wrap-around extension may suit better. We are happy to talk through the options at your survey.
Heat, glare and comfort: what to ask about
Any room with a lot of glass behaves differently from the rest of the house. How comfortable it is depends on the design choices, not on the label. These are the questions worth raising at your survey.
- Orientation. A south- or west-facing glazed room gets more direct sun than a north-facing one, which affects both summer heat and glare.
- Roof type. A glass roof, a lantern and a solid roof let in very different amounts of light and heat.
- Glazing specification. Ask what glass is proposed for the roof and walls, and why.
- Ventilation. Opening windows, roof vents and doors all help move warm air out on hot days.
- Heating. How the room will be heated, and whether that affects the Building Regulations position.
- Blinds and screens. Plan them early if the room will hold a TV, a desk or a kitchen worktop.
Typical uses
Dining rooms, family snugs, garden rooms, home offices and kitchen-diner extensions.
Our build process
Free survey
We visit, measure up, look at orientation and ground conditions, and talk through how you want to use the room.
Design
We draw the layout, roof style, glazing and finishes, and explain whether the design is likely to count as a conservatory or an extension.
Approvals
We check the planning position and Building Regulations route, and prepare any application needed before work starts.
Groundwork
Foundations, drainage and the floor base are prepared for the new structure.
Build and glaze
Dwarf walls or piers go up, then the roof, lantern, glazing and doors are fitted.
Finishing
Plastering, flooring, electrics and decoration leave the room ready to use.
Handover
A final walk round, snagging, and any certificates and guarantees passed to you.
Indicative cost ranges
Indicative 2026 guide ranges to help you plan, not quotes. We confirm the cost for your project in a written, itemised quotation after a free survey.
| Option | Typical size | Indicative guide range |
|---|---|---|
| Compact conservatory | Up to 12 sq m | £15,000 – £22,000 |
| Standard conservatory | 12 – 20 sq m | £22,000 – £32,000 |
| Large conservatory with warm roof | 20 – 30 sq m | £32,000 – £48,000 |
| Compact orangery | 3m x 3m | £30,000 – £40,000 |
| Standard orangery | 3.5m x 4m | £40,000 – £55,000 |
| Large kitchen-diner orangery | 4m x 5m+ | £55,000 – £75,000+ |
Costs depend on groundwork, drainage, glazing specification, roof type, heating, finishes and site access. A solid-roof design is usually treated as an extension for Building Regulations, which brings approval fees and insulation requirements into the budget.
See the work before you decide
Photos tell you more than a paragraph of promises. Our project gallery is organised by extension type, so you can look at finished work before you book a survey.
Our reviews page explains how we check feedback: a review is only published once it has been matched to a real job. That is also why you won’t find anonymous testimonials on this page.
Ask for a reference
At your site survey, ask us for a past customer with a similar orangery or conservatory you can speak to. It’s the most direct way to hear how a project ran from someone who lived through it.
Orangeries and conservatories across Nottingham
Not sure if we cover your street? Get in touch and we will let you know.
Orangery and conservatory FAQs
A conservatory is mostly glass, with glazed walls and usually a glazed or polycarbonate roof. An orangery has brick piers or solid wall sections and a flat perimeter roof with a central lantern, so it has more solid wall and reads as part of the house. Orangeries usually cost more to build.
Not always. A conservatory can be exempt if it is under 30 square metres, at ground level, separated from the house by external-quality walls, doors or windows, and has independent heating with its own controls or none at all. Safety glazing and electrical rules still apply. Orangeries and solid-roof designs are usually treated as extensions and need approval.
It depends on the property. Many conservatories and orangeries may fall under permitted development, subject to size and height limits, but conservation areas, listed buildings, Article 4 directions and earlier planning conditions can change that. We check your property before design work is finalised.
That depends on the design rather than the name. Orientation, roof type, glazing specification, ventilation and heating all affect how comfortable the room is in summer and winter. We talk these through at the survey.
As an indicative guide, a conservatory typically takes around three to six weeks on site, and an orangery, with more masonry and finishing, around eight to twelve weeks. Design and any approvals come first. We give you a programme after the survey.
Our indicative guide ranges start from around £15,000 to £22,000 for a compact conservatory, with a standard orangery around £40,000 to £55,000 and large orangeries from £55,000. These are not quotes. Your written, itemised quotation follows the survey.
Get advice on the right glazed room for your house
Book a free site survey. We will look at orientation, space and how you want to use the room, explain the planning and Building Regulations position, and give you a written, itemised quotation.