Buying guide

Orangery or conservatory? What the difference actually means for your roof

"Is mine a conservatory or an orangery?" comes up on almost every survey, usually because someone has been quoted wildly different prices for what looks like the same job. The words get used loosely by salespeople, so it is worth being precise: the difference is mostly about the roof and the amount of solid wall — and that is exactly what drives the cost.

Here is the plain-English version from a roofer who fits both, including the bit most pages skip: you can usually get the orangery look by converting the conservatory you already own, for a fraction of building a new one.

At a glance

	Conservatory	Orangery
Roof	Fully glazed or polycarbonate, running to the eaves	Mostly solid and insulated, with a glazed lantern set into the middle
Walls	Mainly glazed, on a low dwarf wall	Substantial brick or rendered piers between the glazing
Ceiling inside	You see the underside of the roof glazing	Flat plastered ceiling with a perimeter pelmet, then the lantern
Feels like	A garden room — bright, but tied to the weather	An extension of the house you use in February
Typical spend	£12,000–£25,000 built new	£30,000–£50,000 built new — or £6,000–£12,000 to convert an existing conservatory's roof

The honest definition

There is no legal line between the two, which is why the words get stretched. In practice the trade means this: a conservatory is mostly glass, including its roof. An orangery has a solid, insulated flat roof with a glazed lantern in the middle, and more masonry in the walls. Everything else — the underfloor heating, the bifolds, the fancy name — is optional.

The reason it matters to your quote is that a solid insulated roof is a different piece of engineering from a glazed one. It weighs more, it has to be insulated to current standards, and it needs building-regulations sign-off.

Converting a conservatory to an orangery-style room

This is the job most people actually want, and it is the one nobody advertises clearly. If you already have a conservatory, replacing the glazed roof with an insulated tiled roof and a lantern gives you the orangery look and — more importantly — the orangery temperature, without touching the frames, the base or the walls.

Costs follow the same per-square-metre maths as any conservatory roof conversion: roughly £480–£720 per m² depending on tile, glazing and internal finish. In real numbers that is usually £5,760–£8,640 for a compact room and £7,680–£11,520 for a typical family-size one, with the lantern adding around £1,000–£2,500.

Keeps the existing frames, glazing and base — the expensive parts stay put
Adds a plastered ceiling, so it reads as a room rather than a conservatory
A lantern in the centre keeps the light the solid roof takes away
3–5 days on site, weathertight overnight throughout

When a conversion is the wrong answer

We turn this work down often enough that it is worth saying plainly. If the existing frames are at the end of their life, if the base was never built to take a solid roof, or if the conservatory is failing at the wall junction, putting a good roof on a tired structure is money badly spent. We check the frames, the base and the ring beam at the survey and tell you before you commit to anything.

Equally, if you want the extra floor area rather than a usable version of the room you have, you want an extension, not a roof. We will say so.

Building regulations, either way

Swapping a translucent roof for a solid one is building work and needs building-regulations approval — it is not optional, and the completion certificate is something a buyer's solicitor will ask for when you sell. A legitimate installer designs to an engineered lightweight system, insulates to current standards and handles the sign-off as part of the job. A quote that is dramatically cheaper than the ranges above is usually missing this, the insulation, or both.

Our verdict

If you are choosing between building a new conservatory and a new orangery, the orangery is the better room and roughly double the money. But most people asking the question already own a conservatory that is too hot in July and unusable in January — and for them the answer is neither. Converting the existing roof to an insulated tiled roof with a lantern gets you the orangery experience for £6,000–£12,000 instead of £30,000-plus.

We survey the structure first and tell you honestly whether yours is worth converting, then give you a fixed written quote within 48 hours. You can see finished conversions from real local jobs on our projects pages before you decide anything.

Common questions

Can any conservatory be converted to an orangery-style solid roof?

Most can, because modern tiled systems are engineered to be light enough for conservatory frames. The limits are the condition of the frames, the base and the ring beam — we check all three at the survey, and if yours will not take it, or is not worth building on, we tell you before you spend anything.

Will a solid roof make the room dark?

It is the most common worry and the easiest to solve. A lantern set into the middle of the new roof keeps the light coming down into the centre of the room, which is where you want it. Most customers tell us the room feels calmer once the glare of a translucent roof has gone.

Do I need planning permission for an orangery conversion?

Rarely — replacing an existing conservatory roof normally falls under permitted development. Building regulations do apply though, and a legitimate installer handles that approval and hands you the completion certificate as part of the job.

Is an orangery warmer than a conservatory?

Considerably, and that is the whole point. An insulated solid roof stops the summer overheating and the winter heat loss that make a glazed roof uncomfortable, which is what turns a room you avoid for half the year into one you use all year.

Do you fit orangery roofs around Mansfield and Nottinghamshire?

Yes — conservatory and orangery roof conversions are a large part of what we do across Mansfield, Nottingham, Chesterfield and the wider East Midlands. Fitting is done by our own team, not subcontracted.

Wondering if yours is worth converting?

Free survey, fixed written quote within 48 hours.

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