ConservatoryLand, the UK’s leading manufacturer of DIY conservatory systems, has just launched a video which demonstrates just how quick and easy it is to build a conservatory base in just 1 day.

• Manholes & Drains – ConservaBase spans manholes and drains whilst still leaving them accessible. This eliminates the need for relocating them, saving several hundred pounds per manhole and drain in both materials and labour.
• Sloping Ground – ConservaBase is manufactured to accommodate sloping ground conditions with extended steelwork and brick skirt. This eliminates the need for building up brickwork, saving several hundred pounds in both materials and labour.
• Skips – ConservaBase sits on a few easily constructed concrete pads or foundation blocks and therefore requires minimal ground excavation. This eliminates or reduces the need for skips on site, saving money on both skip hire and labour.
• Skills – ConservaBase eliminates the skills needed to build conventional foundations and walls. With no builders or bricklayers required, your conservatory fitters can complete the whole job from start to finish. Its cheaper.
• Time is Money – ConservaBase installations are far easier and quicker to organise than conventional builds.

The Main Benefits are:

• No more time spent estimating quantity of materials and organising severaldeliveries of concrete, building materials and skips to site and being there to accept them. We will deliver ConservaBase direct to site for you, all in one go.
• No more time spent trying to get builders to site. Your fitters can do it.o No time lost waiting for concrete to cure.o
• No time lost due to bad weather. ConservaBase can be fitted in the wet.
• Complete around seven conservatory installations in the time it normally takes to complete one. This means you can complete far more jobs in a much smallertimeframe, keep fewer customers from waiting and employ fewer staff andsubcontractors.
• Less Come-Backs – Organising  jobs quicker, no builders messing your customers around, completing  jobs in a fraction of the time,  perfect brickwork every time and a clean undisrupted site. Keeping your customers happy will result in less bad debt and more recommendations.

The Benefits

• ConservaBase is manufactured and delivered in large fully welded sections. It is four times faster and substantially stronger than other steel base systems which are supplied in bar lengths with hundreds of nuts and bolts.
• A full list of other benefits can be seen at conservabase.com.

Share/Save

This post contains all the information you need for how to build a conservatory base for all shapes and sizes of conservatories.

For this article, we have chosen to use the ConservaBase Steel Conservatory Base and Modular Wall System. Due to the simplicity and speed of its installation, this is the preferred choice for modern diy conservatory base construction.

The system can be installed in one day by following the step by step instructions below.

Preparing the Site

The modular base can be installed on an existing patio or concrete area providing the foundations are adequate. If the foundations are not adequate or the base is to be installed on bare ground, then a concrete pad is required under each adjustable leg, except on the rear cill section, which are non-load bearing.

Each pad should measure 450mm square by 450mm deep on firm subsoil’s. On clay, sand or peaty subsoil’s there should be an additional layer of well compacted hard-core to a depth of 200mm below the concrete. Although the surface of each pad must be level, any one pad does not have to be level with the others. The purpose of the adjustable legs is to enable the base to be levelled on uneven or sloping ground.

Leave the pads to harden for two days. In winter months they must be protected from frost, by covering with polythene or sacking. A strong weed killer should be applied to the area covered by the base if it is being installed on bare ground. It is also advisable to lay a strong polythene sheet on the ground beneath the base.

Modular Wall Assembly Instructions for Dwarf Wall Conservatories

Your modular wall needs no special maintenance although you may wish to seal the face of the bricks with a clear brick sealer.

Share/Save

Here’s a video I found from Direct Conservatories 4U showing their conservatory frame connector system on which I have commented below.

Well I can see how this would look attractive to would-be DIY conservatory customers and I must admit that it is a nice idea… BUT, we are living in the real world and from my own experience in manufacturing and supplying thousands of DIY conservatories, I can see a very real problem here.

Due to the fact that the internal frame dimensions have to exactly match those of the internal roof ringbeam for the roof to fit correctly, this system would cause a problem when any tolerance is needed as there is no adjustment on frame spacing, as far as I can see.

This means that all the conservatory frames would have to be manufactured to the exact millimeter in width which can never be guaranteed due to weld burn-off tolerances which vary and are dependant on temperature.

The standard acceptable industry weld burn-off tolerance is +/- 2mm.

So lets say over a 5-frame conservatory elevation, the overall combined width of the frames is for example 6mm greater than that of the internal roof ringbeam – you’ve definately got a problem there, with no possible adjustment available and I’m afraid that the aluminium ringbeam won’t stretch even 1mm. Your only option would be to bodge the job with unsightly trims, otherwise re-make frames.

I also notice that their video show a Victorian section with 135 degree angles – what happens there? and what about fixing the frames to the corner posts? These have to be screwed together I would think, so that would mean you’re using one fixing system on some frames and another on others! What is the point of that?

I think that like ourselves, most conservatory suppliers prefer the use of PVCu H-connetor or aluminium butt joints between the frames and fixed securely with the correct screws. This then gives up to a 3mm adjustment per frame, so for example over 5 frames, you’ve got a 15mm overall width tolerance by loosening or tightening the screws that secure the frames together.

This makes any tolerances much easier to overcome for DIY conservatory customers and far less customer support requests for us.

Share/Save