Glass extension conservatory replacement

When the owners of a home in West Yorkshire decided to replace their old conservatory, they knew exactly what they wanted to take its place: a Solarlux Wintergarden.

It’s unusual that a customer comes to us with such a firm idea, but the homeowners had done extensive research and knew that this custom-made glass extension would tick all their boxes.

Not only did they appreciate the exceptional quality of the product, but they also recognised that a structure tailored to their requirements would give them the versatility they needed to achieve their ideal design.

This included having sliding doors in their new glazed extension - something that is rarely offered with traditional conservatories. And they were very specific about the configuration of these sliding doors, too, which led to a UK first for Solarlux. But more on that later.

A visit to the Wintergarden display at our Leeds premises, complete with Cero II sliding doors, cemented their decision. As they said to us: “Only Solarlux could fit the bill and our vision.”

The transformation

The detached property near Ilkley had an outdated uPVC conservatory set in a corner between two adjoining outside walls. The new glass extension was almost a direct replacement, positioned in the same place to make the most of the aspect onto the garden.

Our installation team and our recommended structural engineer worked closely with the builder JM Developments to ensure the construction of the extension was carried out perfectly, from the foundations to the final touches.

It was a tricky installation because of the design with the sliding doors, which we'll explain in detail below. Another challenge was the corner attachment which required a traverse beam with a difficult fixing to ensure the amount of glass didn’t have to be reduced. Not to mention that the weather was horrible and made the installation even harder!

Because of the complexity of the project, we gave ourselves well over a week to carry it out. With the appalling weather, we had to pull out all the stops to ensure the extension was finished on time as the customer had a planned holiday that had already been cancelled three times due to Covid.

The products

The customers chose a Solarlux Akzent Plus Wintergarden glass extension with a roof pitch of 5.2 degrees, which is almost the minimum pitch possible, and a sliding roof window. A three-pane Solarlux Cero II sliding door runs along the front of the structure and there's a two-pane Cero II sliding door to the side.

SKN 176 solar control glass was used throughout. This has a high-performance coating for excellent solar control, allowing for a comfortable inside temperature and helping to save energy. The extension also featured integrated lighting for increased comfort.

The extension’s metallic grey colour was DB 703 textured aluminium, which is also scratch resistant.

A first for Solarlux in the UK

Solarlux Wintergardens were originally designed to accommodate bi-folding doors, which run on a track up to 84mm in depth. Sliding doors need a much deeper track because the panels stack one behind the other. This difference in depth has an impact on the adjoining elements of the glass structure such as the eaves beams and the legs to either side of the doors. For this reason, most Wintergardens are still fitted with bi-folds. However, with enough design and installation expertise, it’s possible to install sliding doors.

We love a challenge and as part of our Wintergarden display in Leeds we were keen to showcase some Cero sliding doors. So, after liaising with the Solarlux team in Germany, we became the first partners in the UK to install Cero sliding doors in a Wintergarden glass extension – specifically a two-pane Cero II. The addition of beams made from Glulam⁺ was a key part of the modifications that allowed us to achieve this.

We may have mastered the installation of a two-pane Cero II in our own Wintergarden display, but it really upped the ante when our customers asked for a three-pane Cero II along the front of their glass extension!

A three-pane sliding door in a Wintergarden glass extension requires a triple track that's even deeper than a double track. The Cero II sliding door, for example, has a twin track that is 157mm deep and a triple track with a depth of 243mm. This means there’s a lot more to consider at the design and installation stages regarding the impact of this on the adjoining structure.

Again, we liaised with Solarlux’s engineers in Germany and put a lot of thought into the best way to do it. This was a complicated project and its success is testament to the expertise, skill and experience of our team. With the completion of the project we became the first in the UK to design and install a three-pane Cero II sliding door in a Wintergarden!

The end result is just what the customers wanted, giving them all the benefits of a high-quality sliding door with slim sightlines and a flush threshold.

⁺ Glulam, which is an abbreviation for Glued Laminated Timber (sometimes shortened further to GLT), is structural engineered wood combining multiple layers of timber, glued together with structural adhesives, with the grain all running parallel.

This means it’s dimensionally stable, holds its shape, and resists warping, bending and twisting as it doesn’t shrink or swell with changes in the weather and moisture content.

It’s truly versatile and helps us deliver varied and differing bespoke Solarlux Wintergarden and Glass Room designs. These are unique every time to meet not only the client’s needs but the physical needs for installation on site as nearly no house is ever the same.

Installation timelapse