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Brick pillars, a solid perimeter roof and a glazed lantern: the light of a conservatory with the temperature, quiet and permanence of a proper room, built by the firm that designs, builds and glazes it.
40 years
of building experience behind the work
Family run
since 2013, you deal with Wayne Nolan
£2,000,000
public liability insurance in place
10-year guarantee
insurance-backed QANW cover on structural work
Mon–Sat, 9am–6pm
when you can reach us
An orangery sits between an extension and a conservatory. It has masonry pillars at the corners, glazing between them, and a flat perimeter roof with a glazed lantern in the middle. The result is a room with real thermal mass and a solid ceiling perimeter you can plaster, downlight and heat, while the lantern floods the centre of the plan with daylight.
That combination is why people who have owned a conservatory before often choose an orangery second. The perimeter roof cuts the summer heat gain and the winter heat loss that made the old room unusable for months at a time, and the plastered internal reveal means it reads as part of the house rather than something bolted to the back of it.
Orangeries suit homeowners who want a dining room, garden room or family sitting room that is used every day of the year, not a space that becomes storage in February. They work particularly well on properties with a decent rear elevation where a full extension would darken the existing rooms behind it; the lantern keeps light travelling deep into the house.
They are also the right answer when planning or the character of the property calls for something more substantial than a glazed box. Brick pillars matched to the house give an orangery visual weight that a conservatory frame cannot.
An orangery is a small building with a lot of junctions: base to wall, wall to pillar, pillar to ring beam, ring beam to lantern, lantern to flat roof. Every one of those is a potential cold bridge or leak path if it is detailed badly. Insulated foundations, a proper damp proof course, a warm flat roof build-up and correctly flashed lantern upstands are what separate a room you sit in through January from one you avoid.
We design, build and glaze in-house from the base up. Drawings and structural calculations are prepared where needed, building control is dealt with through the build, and heating and electrics are installed by us on the same programme.
What goes wrong
Built on a shallow conservatory base with an uninsulated perimeter roof, an orangery loses its main advantage. The room runs cold, condensation collects at the lantern upstand and the plastered ceiling stains within a couple of winters.
The lantern is the highest-risk detail in the whole structure. A poorly formed upstand or a flashing lapped the wrong way leaks straight onto the new plaster, and the repair means stripping a finished roof.
Adding radiators to compensate for a thermally weak build shifts the cost onto your energy bills permanently. Insulation is a one-off cost; heat loss is an annual one.
Where an orangery is not exempt, work carried out without approval cannot be certified. That surfaces during conveyancing, not while you are enjoying the room.
Frames and lanterns bought first force the masonry to fit the units. Openings then end up in the wrong place for the room, and the sightlines are wrong for the elevation.
How we work
Step 1
We look at the elevation, the ground, the drainage and the rooms behind, and agree what the orangery has to do: dining, sitting, kitchen extension or all three.
Step 2
Plans and, where the structure requires it, engineer's calculations for the ring beam and any opening formed into the existing house.
Step 3
An itemised written estimate priced from the drawings, with a realistic build programme.
Step 4
Insulated base, brick pillars, ring beam, warm flat roof, lantern, glazing, then plaster, heating and electrics, all by us, in sequence.
Step 5
Snagging walked with you, building control sign-off where applicable, and a 10-year QANW insurance-backed guarantee on structural work.
What you get
Solid perimeter roof and insulated base mean the room holds temperature instead of tracking the weather outside.
The lantern puts light into the middle of the plan while the perimeter stays solid, plastered and quiet in heavy rain.
Matched brickwork, plastered reveals and downlights make it a room, not an add-on, which is how buyers and valuers read it too.
Design, build and glazing are handled in-house, so nobody is waiting for a supplier who is waiting for a builder.
Reduced glazed area and a warm roof build-up cut both heat loss in winter and solar gain in summer.
£2,000,000 public liability during works and a 10-year QANW insurance-backed structural guarantee afterwards.
In detail
An orangery starts with a properly excavated and inspected foundation, not a shallow raft. Masonry rises to the damp proof course, an insulated floor build-up is laid, and brick pillars are built to match the house, with the same bond, and ideally the same brick, sourced against a sample taken on site.
A ring beam ties the pillars together and carries the flat roof deck. The deck is built as a warm roof, with insulation above the structural deck so the plasterboard ceiling below stays above dew point. The lantern sits on a formed and insulated upstand, correctly flashed and sealed, with a plastered internal reveal and pelmet lighting where wanted.
Glazing between the pillars is specified for performance as well as looks: low-emissivity double glazing as standard, with solar control coatings where the elevation faces strong afternoon sun and toughened or laminated units where the position requires it. Doors are typically bi-fold, sliding or French depending on how much wall you want to open and how much space you have to stack panels.
Lantern glazing carries the same thinking. Self-cleaning and solar control glass are worth specifying overhead, because a lantern gathers dirt and heat faster than vertical glazing does. Where the room adjoins a kitchen, ventilation and opening vents are planned in rather than added afterwards.
A conservatory is the lightest and fastest to build, mostly glazed, with a glass or polycarbonate roof. An orangery adds masonry pillars and a solid perimeter roof, which improves comfort and permanence at a higher cost. A full extension is solid on all sides, offers the most thermal control and the most wall for furniture, and gives the least daylight of the three.
The right choice depends on what the room is for and what the rooms behind it need. Where the existing kitchen or living room would go dark behind a solid extension, an orangery is usually the better answer. Where the space needs full walls for units, storage or a staircase, an extension is.
Because we carry out plumbing, heating and electrical works, the orangery is wired and heated as part of the build rather than after it. That means underfloor heating laid into the insulated floor build-up where it suits the finish, or radiators and pipework run and pressure tested before the floor closes; sockets, data and lighting circuits set out to a plan you have seen; and downlights and pelmet lighting fitted into a ceiling designed to take them.
Internally, plastered reveals and a plastered perimeter ceiling let the room be decorated like any other. Floors are commonly tile, engineered timber or LVT over the insulated screed, chosen with the heating method in mind.
We build orangeries across Cannock, Stafford, Lichfield, Rugeley and the surrounding Staffordshire villages, and further out into Birmingham, Solihull, Telford, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and Derby. Older properties in Lichfield and Stafford in particular benefit from the masonry detail an orangery allows, because the pillars can be matched to existing brickwork rather than sitting against it.
Questions
It depends on size, the number of pillars, glazing specification, lantern size and the internal finish. We price from drawings and give a written, itemised estimate rather than quoting a headline figure that changes later.
Longer than a conservatory and less than a full extension, but the exact programme depends on groundworks and glazing lead times. You get a realistic programme in writing with the estimate.
Yes, in normal use. The solid insulated perimeter roof and masonry pillars reduce both winter heat loss and summer solar gain, which is what makes the room usable year round.
Often it falls under permitted development, but that depends on size, height, boundaries and whether the property is listed or in a conservation area. We confirm which route applies after seeing the property.
In most cases yes, and we deal with building control through the build. Some fully glazed, thermally separated structures are exempt, we tell you which category yours falls into before work starts.
Yes. Forming an opening into the existing house is structural work: the beam is sized by an engineer, padstones are set on masonry that can carry the load, and the opening is propped while it is formed.
We take a sample at survey and source the closest available brick and bond. If an exact match is not obtainable, we tell you before the work starts and discuss the options.
Structural work carries a 10-year insurance-backed guarantee through QANW, and we hold £2,000,000 public liability insurance during the works.
Built with proper foundations, a warm roof and correctly flashed lantern upstands, it is a permanent masonry structure: the same lifespan expectation as the rest of the house.
Yes: Cannock, Stafford, Lichfield, Birmingham, Solihull, Telford, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Stoke-on-Trent and Derby.
Designed, built and glazed in-house, from the base up, to suit the age and style of your property.
Single and double storey extensions that add genuine living space and lasting value to your home.
Full kitchen fits including joinery, plumbing, electrics, tiling and making good.
The trades your project needs, coordinated on one programme by one point of contact.
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One visit, one written itemised estimate, one team from start to finish: backed by £2,000,000 public liability cover and a 10-year QANW insurance-backed guarantee on structural work.
Next step
Send a few details and Wayne will arrange a visit, talk through the options and put a written, itemised estimate together. No obligation.
Tell us what you have in mind. No obligation, no pressure.
