Conservatory Materials

There are a number of options when choosing what material to have your conservatory built in with UPVc clad aluminium by far the most popular.

UPVC Conservatory and PVCu - The vast majority of conservatories are made from PVCu clad aluminium – perfect for structural strength and yet offering low maintenance and excellent thermal sleeving. The aluminium that is used in the structural parts is 95% recyclable where as the PVCu components are 100% recyclable and can be used up to 10 times.


Hardwood Conservatory - Fewer conservatories today are made of timber, but it is an excellent material offering decent thermal performance. It can be fully recycled at the end of its life, but it must be responsibly resourced ( there are a number of ‘stewardship’ schemes to look out for one of which is FSC). When selecting timber, generally it is a ‘hardwood’ that is used due to the denseness of the grain which gives it a long life. Hardwoods can be light woods like oak or darker African products like Sapele – always seek professional advise.


Aluminium Conservatory - Currently retaining the smallest share of the market, it does nonetheless offer some great benefits one of the main ones being that it can be powder coated in virtually any colour to give a long lasting maintenance free finish. This material is often specified by Planning Authorities in conservation areas, for example.


Curved Glass – was used in early Victorian constructions – now too expensive for standard domestic conservatories

We had, at our previous property, a wooden frame conservatory but decided this time that a low maintenance UPVC one would be preferable. We are also situated close to the North Coast of Cornwall and thought the UPVC roof would withstand the salt winds better. We have found the tinted glass roof far superior to the old polycarbonate type and it’s lovely to watch the clouds racing in off the sea through the roof!    Carol Henderson-Smith