Month: October 2023

How Do You Stop Ice Building Up On A Conservatory Roof?

After a longer period of sun when a conservatory has been able to be enjoyed as it was truly intended, the mercury has started to plummet and the conservatory needs to be prepped for winter.

Often this includes fitting thicker curtains, installing a heater and altering the space for primarily indoor use, but it is also important to prepare the outside of your conservatory as well to avoid any particularly nasty surprises before the first flush of spring.

In particular, it is really important to take care of the roof, as thick snowfall and frozen ice dams can cause unexpected damage and necessitate bringing in experts to help repair your conservatory.

Here are some top tips to stop ice and snow from building up on your conservatory roof over the winter.

Check The Gutters

Outside of particularly unexpected blizzard conditions, the main concern for most conservatory owners will be heavy rainfall, and if that rain freezes it can cause particularly damaging ice dams on your conservatory roof.

The best way to stop that from happening is to ensure water flows quickly and smoothly from the roof, and the best way to achieve that is to check the gutters are free of leaves, mud and gunk before the temperatures get too low.

Install A Melt Sock

A common DIY solution to ensure water can flow from the roof even during particularly frosty weather is through the use of an ice sock.

Essentially, this is a nylon long sock or half of a pair of tights filled with a de-icing liquid that rests on your roof across an ice dam and overhangs the gutter to help melt and loosen ice and create a channel for water to travel down.

It is not a perfect solution, particularly given that some de-icers are corrosive to certain metals, so check before you set one up.

Get Your Conservatory Repaired Before The Winter Sets In

Conservatories are great additions to the house in both summer and winter, so it is a good idea for homeowners to make sure theirs in good condition before the cold weather arrives. 

If there are any cracks in the glass, this needs to be looked at by a specialist immediately so they can get  to work on the conservatory repairs as soon as possible. 

There is nothing worse than only discovering your roof leaks during a thunderstorm, and this season is well-known for its tumultuous weather conditions, including heavy wind and rain, starting with Storm Babet this week. 

It is also essential to make sure there are no gaps in the sealing, as this could lead to leaking. This would also result in warm air being lost to the outside, which nobody wants when the temperature drops outside. 

If there is condensation on the windows, this is a sign there are problems with the double-glazing or the sealing, so it is worth getting it checked out. 

According to heating experts, most people will heat up their homes before the end of the month. Therefore, they will not want the hot air they have paid for to escape through their conservatory roof, making it feel cold and uncomfortable in there. 

Homeowners could also get their roof insulation checked out to ensure it is still in good condition. If it is past its best, it is worth replacing, as this will help warm up the room, making it more usable during the colder months. 

Another way to make the conservatory warmer is by installing underfloor heating, as this ensures every part of the room is heated up, as opposed to the area immediately surrounding the heater. 

It is also worth fitting blinds, having lots of textures, such as cushions and rugs, and removing furniture from in front of the radiator.

What Is Daylighting & Can It Improve Your Health?

As the days get shorter and the nights get longer, many people are taking advantage of the time to check their conservatories and skylights and book any repairs or maintenance appointments if they need them.

The reason for this is that whilst a conservatory is often a delight in summer, it becomes more of a responsibility as the weather beats down on it.

However, that is not to say that a conservatory loses its importance in autumn and winter. Any room that is inherently constructed with daylighting in mind is not only important for a person’s mood but also potentially could improve their mental and physical health as well.

To explain why, we need to explore the connection between the body and daylight.

Conservatories, Skylights And The Circadian Rhythm

Daylighting is any architectural or construction work designed to maximise the amount of natural light that enters the building and is visible, typically trying to balance exposure to natural light without causing unnecessary amounts of glare or uncomfortably bright surroundings.

Conservatories are very popular among daylighting architecture because most of them are sunrooms by design, largely made of glass and designed explicitly to capture as much sunlight as possible during the summer.

However, it can also include skylights, roof windows, glazed partitions, open-plan interior design and anything else that removes the barriers between sunlight and most of the lived areas of a home.

The reason why this is undertaken is that there is a connection between exposure to natural light and several processes in the body that are collectively known as the circadian rhythm, often simply known as the body clock.

At a very basic level, the body times many of its internal processes to match what it is expected to need to do at different points of the day. 

The most obvious example of this is the sleep-wake cycle, where the body will be more alert when exposed to light indicating that it is daytime, whilst it will produce the hormone melatonin at night when it is time to sleep.

It is an essential bodily function, but something that can be disrupted by relying heavily on artificial lights during the day as opposed to natural light, which can happen in buildings not constructed with daylighting in mind.

It can also contribute to eye strain and potentially to seasonal affective disorder, a form of depression often seen in winter and connected to issues with a person’s circadian rhythm as well as their production of serotonin and melatonin, the sunlight and nighttime hormones respectively.

A well-maintained conservatory can help here, as it provides a space that is designed to allow for as much light as possible, which can help to boost a person’s mood and exposure to sunlight even as the days get shorter and there is less access to them.

This is what makes maintaining a conservatory essential even during colder months, as creating a light, open environment is beneficial to health, and choosing the right repair service will help you to avoid stress and all of the health problems that it can cause.