Structure and Use

Conservatories nowadays are a hallmark of the discerning, whether they regard the conservatory as a purely hallowed place of peaceful contemplation and co-existence with their favourite plants, or just as a sunshine filled room to extend the space of the house and the quality of life.

Conservatories are not just a seasonal adjunct to the house. They can be used everyday of the year, whether for dinner parties in the soft flickering light of candles on a bleak snow filled evening, where the warm cosiness of the interior is enhanced by the sweeping views out side, or for parties on a Summer's day, when it is so nice to be able to retire from the garden to the open, but gentle comfort of the conservatory as the chill of the evening grows nigh.

Conservatories vary a great deal in construction and in price. Much of the difference is concerned with installation, materials, dimensions of section, structural stressing and type of glazing incorporated. They can encompass the lighter, perhaps flimsier plastic uPVC glazed units with a correspondingly shorter life, to sturdy, properly designed and built structures which both aesthetically match their environs and withstand all the rigours of the British climate, whether it be hurricanes or blizzards.

L.west & Son design, manufacture and install conservatories to the latter specification. Their conservatories last, and are loved by their owners generation after generation.

 

West conervatory Specification

The sectional drawing shows the basic construction detail.

The conservatory will be properly based on sound foundation with base walls to a height required by the client. Base walls are generally at 18" (457 mm) from the floor level.

Generally, the conservatory will be made from basic 4" (95 mm) timber section in specially selected redwood, with hardwood sills, or entirely in hardwood, such as dark red Meratanti, Mahogany, Oak, or similar hardwoods.

Vertical sections will be to sizes necessary for the total security of the proposed structure. All timber is selected with considerable care to meet the best quality standards and to be fit for its purpose. L.West &Son will be happy to advise if special timbers are required.

All timber is vacuum impregnated with a solution to resist fungus, wet or dry rot and vermin attack, and will meet all relevant BS specifications. In all instances, Wests seek to ensure the timber is selected from properly farmed and re-newed forestry stock.

The roof members are of aluminium alloy patent glazing bar system on a timber sub-frame. The glazing bars are fitted with lead wings for a permanent weather-tight seal , and the whole of the roof is virtually maintenance free. the roof can incorporate opening vents which are either manually, automatically or electrically operated. Electric operation can be linked to both thermostatic and rain sensors.

The roof, as with the side panels and doors can be either single or double blazed. All glazing uses glass units relevant to British Standard for quality and safety.

Flooring, generally a hard surface is preferred of terracotta or quarry tiles, but timber, or even carpet can be utilised. L.West & Son will lay the flooring as required. Finishes can be in either low maintenance micro-porous paint, or stain, in a wide range of colours. Wests are happy to advise if special finishes are required.

 

The West conservatory follows the basic specification given. it is made to be durable and of a strength to withstand the vagaries of our weather with the fortitude expected of any house extension. Steel tie bars are used, to the specification requirements of the Structural Engineer, to completely tension the structure against movement, and to further ensure complete safety. Where ever possible steelwork is treated as a decorative component to enhance the visual appeal and to further contribute to the overall ambience of the conservatory.

A selection of rainwater guttering and down-pipes, in uPVC or cast iron, is available for choice.

the conservatory is designed to give the least possible maintenance requirements to our clients. Generally, all on-going maintenance required in the form of re-painting externally every four years or so, is restricted to easy to reach areas below the eaves level.

L.West & Son have, in the past, agreed to manufacture and install conservatories for some of the other, larger, top quality producers, where the specifications were suitable to the high quality benchmarks set by L.Wext & Son.

Now the quality standards of over fifty years continue in the design, manufacture and building of conservatories which L.West & Son continue to produce in their own name. L.West & Son are builders and joiners: they have been established as real craftsmen in timber, stone, flint and brickwork for nearly half a century. Situated in the countryside of West Sussex, they have maintained a reputation of quality, good workmanship, sense and value which has seen the produce of their labours travel well beyond their home counties of the South Coast to Such illustrious buildings as Kensington Palace and Windsor Castle, and to lands beyond our shores, which include The Channel Islands, Cypress, Ireland and Portugal.

 

 

These are a few larger views of some of the conservatories we have recently built.