At Home Tales, we specialise in house renovations and home extensions across London. We are frequently asked what the differences between a conservatory and an extension are. It is rarer to be asked about orangeries, but it still does crop up from time to time. In short, these three items are very different to one another. Due to misinterpretation and the flow of information on the web, lots of people get confused about the three nowadays. 

Here at Home Tales, when it comes to home extensions, we specialise in home extensions (not conservatories or orangeries). We frequently remove conservatories as part of our work, to then replace them with a home extension instead. 

Although the three items are similar to one another, they are not the same. Back in the day, the three were easy to identify from one another. Now, general misrepresentation means a lot of people think they are the same thing. It’s particularly important you know the difference if you are looking to buy a property or add one of the above. 

The short answer

If we were grading the three on a sturdiness scale, a conservatory would be the least, orangey is in the middle, and a home extension is the most. The home extension is an extension of the property itself. It’s just as sturdy as the host building. In fact, in many cases it will be sturdier as it will be compliant with current building regs. A conservatory is more of a ‘bolt on’ to the host building. It isn’t connected with bricks and cement. 

The Conservatory 

Conservatories generally consist of dwarf walls (a low wall) and lots of glass. The glass is typically supported by uPVC or a wooden structure. They are attached to the existing property, generally to the rear or the side. 

Image credit: Wickes

The Orangery

Orangeries were built for the aristocracy to grow orange trees (shocking). They were made up of brick and glass. With a more robust structure, the idea was to protect the trees from harsh winds and frost, while still maintaining enough natural light, heat and ventilation to enable the trees to thrive. 

Unlike conservatories, they can be separate structures altogether, and they are not necessarily attached to the house at all. You don’t find them in London that often, at least not in the properties available to the mass market. You are far more likely to find them in countryside mansions or houses with a lot of land. 

Image credit: Vale Garden Houses

Home Extensions 

Home Extensions 

Home extensions can come in a variety of options, be it ground floor, first floor, loft conversion, basement extension – the list is endless. They are constructed with insulated walls and a roof. They have much less glazing then conservatories, generally incorporating a few Velux windows and large doors to the rear. A home extension is an extension of the host property. They are made up of bricks and cement, with insultation and plasterboard. To properly extend a property, you will need to strip out the room it’s being connected to.

You might be interested to know, that when builders prepare quotes for building works, they will be looking at a combination of the existing and proposed area. This is because the building work will take place in both of these areas. Imagine you have an outrigger room of 4x5m (20SQM), and you are extending into the side infill. Let’s say the side infill totals 2x5m (10SQM). This means the total SQM of the finished room will be 30SQM. The quote will be based on the full room because the entire room will be demolished, stripped out, and refurbished. The steel support for the extended area will very likely stretch the entire width and length of the room, so it’s impossible to avoid the existing area. 

Did you know that here, at Home Tales, we offer a variety of services to help you on your home renovation journey? We offer architectural design, planning permission services, structural engineering, and much more. We can offer assistance on Party Wall, advice on Thames Water applications and Building Control. We can even match you with one of our preferred building contractors if you haven’t got a builder lined up already. 

Are you thinking of extending your property? Call our team today on 0207 043 2378 or email us at hello@hometales.co.uk. We would be delighted to talk you through our process and explain more about how we work. Book a home visit with a member of our architectural team and we will come to meet you at your property to discuss the project in more detail. After we visit your property we will issue a no obligation quote for the works. You can book a site visit via our online portal and have your slot confirmed within seconds. Click here to visit our live online booking page. 

Home Extensions 

Home extensions can come in a variety of options, be it ground floor, first floor, loft conversion, basement extension – the list is endless. They are constructed with insulated walls and a roof. They have much less glazing then conservatories, generally incorporating a few Velux windows and large doors to the rear. A home extension is an extension of the host property. They are made up of bricks and cement, with insultation and plasterboard. To properly extend a property, you will need to strip out the room it’s being connected to.

You might be interested to know, that when builders prepare quotes for building works, they will be looking at a combination of the existing and proposed area. This is because the building work will take place in both of these areas. Imagine you have an outrigger room of 4x5m (20SQM), and you are extending into the side infill. Let’s say the side infill totals 2x5m (10SQM). This means the total SQM of the finished room will be 30SQM. The quote will be based on the full room because the entire room will be demolished, stripped out, and refurbished. The steel support for the extended area will very likely stretch the entire width and length of the room, so it’s impossible to avoid the existing area. 

Did you know that here, at Home Tales, we offer a variety of services to help you on your home renovation journey? We offer architectural design, planning permission services, structural engineering, and much more. We can offer assistance on Party Wall, advice on Thames Water applications and Building Control. We can even match you with one of our preferred building contractors if you haven’t got a builder lined up already. 

Are you thinking of extending your property? Call our team today on 0207 043 2378 or email us at hello@hometales.co.uk. We would be delighted to talk you through our process and explain more about how we work. Book a home visit with a member of our architectural team and we will come to meet you at your property to discuss the project in more detail. After we visit your property we will issue a no obligation quote for the works. You can book a site visit via our online portal and have your slot confirmed within seconds. Click here to visit our live online booking page.