Outdoor SunSpaces News

Our range of verandas and garden rooms are available to order with a variety of customisable options. From sound, heating, locking doors and gutter options, with SunSpaces you are truly able to make your veranda or garden room your own.

One of the main options available, however, is the material of the roof. Choose from either glass or polycarbonate, but which is better? Here we take a look at the two materials, providing the advantages and disadvantages of both.

Glass Roofs

Advantages:

• Glass roof provide ideal acoustic properties, meaning less noise will be made during heavy rainfall
• Completely clear material results in great opportunities to gaze outside at the stars at night and birds in the day
• Clean, polished appearance brings a classy look to the property

Disadvantages:

• Potential safety risk if panels are not of a good enough quality
• Little to no UV protection
• Sometimes slightly costlier

Polycarbonate Roofs

Advantages:

• Life expectancy of up to 25 years
• Cost-effective option
• Very high impact resistance
• Available in a variety of clarity options
• High UV protection
• Excellent structural performance
• Maintains strength and colour over a long period of time
• Resistance to all weather conditions
• Self-extinguishing qualities

Disadvantages:

• Unlike a glass roof, you are not able to have a clear view of the sky unless a solid polycarbonate is used
• Poor acoustic properties – quite noisy during heavy rainfall

The main points

The roof of your garden room or veranda is its most important feature. It keeps the structure together as well as protecting it from rain, wind and snow. But with different material options available, it can become quite difficult to choose the right one. Above we have listed some of the main advantages and disadvantages when it comes to polycarbonate vs glass roofs, but a few of these stand out more than others, so let’s take a deeper look!

Sounds Insulation

If you’ve ever been under a polycarbonate roof during heavy rainfall, you’ll definitely be familiar with the loud thudding and sometimes unbearable noises that occur. Unfortunately, this is enough to put the majority of homeowners off as a veranda and garden room is a place where people want to sit back and relax, not listen to loud and annoying noises. Being interrupted with the loud thudding of rain and the howling wind is the last thing you want, therefore, if a peaceful space is something you’re interested, a glass roof is definitely the choice for you.

Aesthetics

Glass roofs enable light to fill your garden room as well as providing beautiful views that you can use to gaze at the sky and surroundings during both day and night. Its classier appearance enables structures to look more prestige, perfect for homeowners looking to create a property that stands out. Polycarbonate roofs, on the other hand, are often translucent so not completely clear and do not offer the same look like glass.

Maintenance

Glass roofs often use an easy clean coating which repels dirt fantastically. The provides a clean-looking roof that doesn’t require much effort to keep looking good. Polycarbonate roofs sometimes do not offer this level of low-maintenance and require some level of upkeep to remove dirt and moss.   

And there you have it – our polycarbonate vs glass roof comparison! Here at SunSpaces, we offer both glass and polycarbonate roof options for our range of verandas and garden rooms. However, our selection of polycarbonate and glass roofs are made of the very best materials, meaning the differences between the two are very slight and ultimately come down personal preference.

For more information on our polycarbonate and glass roofs, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of the SunSpaces team today by calling 01727 845 788 or emailing info@sunspaces.co.uk

For many people in the UK, a sunroom and conservatory are the same things, often mistaken for one another. The names are used interchangeably, without ever realising that they are in fact two totally different structures that contain distinct differences.

One thing that the two do have in common, however, is the fact that they are both structures added onto a property, designed to soak up the sun whenever possible. Homeowners that have either of these attached to their property can look forward to a beautiful summer's day in peace and quiet.

So, what exactly makes a sunroom and conservatory different? Let's take a look!

Length of Use

Conservatories are well known for their seasonality, meaning the times of the year they are typically used. Conservatories tend to become incredibly cold during the winter months, which can make it difficult to relax! In the summer, on the other hand, a conservatory can become extremely hot due to high exposure levels to the sun.

Sunrooms, however, are suitable for use from March until early October.

Materials

Another difference between a sunroom and conservatory is the materials that are used when building them. A conservatory tends to be made of UVPC and glass windows, or a brick base and glass windows with a polycarbonate/glass roof, meaning you typically only benefit from the top half of the structure being made of glass.

A sunroom, on the other hand, is typically made entirely of glass – from the glass door panels all the way up to the glass roof. The roof of a sunroom is typically manufactured from glass and is solid, offering increased protection from the sun.

Consent & Speed of Assembly

The final difference between a sunroom and conservatory is the process that you need to follow in order for it to be built and attached to your home. If your sunroom or conservatory exceeds a certain size, it will require planning permission from your local council*.

Neither option is cheap either when built from the ground up. A great way that you can avoid the problems and drama of planning permission and building from scratch is purchasing a ready-built structure that you can attach straight onto your home.

These ready-made structures mostly* eliminate the need to gain planning ​permission (*in most circumstances – speak to a representative to ensure no planning permission is required) ) and your home turning into a building site for a couple of months – and you can get one right here!

But by far the biggest benefit of adding a sunroom over a conservatory is the speed of assembly. A typical veranda can be installed in 1-2 days, with a garden room typically being installed in 3-4 working days!

There you have it, the main differences between a sunroom and conservatory. If you're thinking about adding one of these structures onto your property, we hope this blog helps to inform your decision. But if you're asking us, a sunroom is definitely the way to go. The ability to use it year-round and add amazing customisable options makes it a no-brainer.

Don't just take our word for it...

One of our previous clients has moved from a home with a SunSpaces sunroom to a home with a conservatory, she got in touch and said:

"We had one of your sunrooms built onto our old house and it was fantastic. The best thing we ever purchased. We have a conservatory on our new house and we hate it. It's so old fashioned and dated. Would love to remove it but not an option at the moment. We can’t understand anyone purchasing a conservatory anymore when they could have an amazing sunroom design. Stunning!"

For more information on our range of sunrooms, be sure to get in touch with a member of the SunSpaces team today or request an instant, free quote!

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When it comes to personal space in the home, many men throughout the western world like nothing more than to retreat to the comfort of their man cave for solitude, sport and a sly beer.

Yes, the secluded sanctuary of the man-cave makes it the perfect venue for us blokes to disappear into a state of stereotypical bliss and enjoy some occasional alone time.

For some cave-dwellers, a PS4 and a gaming chair may be their idea of sequestered bliss. For others, a newspaper and a deck chair may suffice just as well. Luckily, the man-cave doesn’t discriminate.

Right, enough jibber-jabber. Let’s light a flaming torch and take a peek inside the inner workings of the Eighth Wonder of the World that is the man-cave.

Types of man-caves

Before we go any further and risk being labelled as misogynistic chauvinists, let’s make one thing clear: despite the name “man-cave”, that doesn’t mean ladies have to be excluded from the festivities either – this is the 21^st century, after all.

A man-cave can just as easily become a girly grotto, she-shed or lady lair with a few subtle tweaks or perhaps even no tweaks at all. The versatility of the man-cave goes beyond gender, age and nationality, making it perfectly adaptable to all tastes and personalities.

From carpentry workshops and art studios to garage gymnasiums and music rooms, the awesomeness of the man-cave knows no boundaries. You could even turn your personal space into your own make-shift bar!

Building a garden man-cave

While it’s easy to let your imagination run wild with the possibilities of what you could do with an extra room to manoeuvre, there is one notable catch - building a man-cave can be a mammoth task.

Before anything else, man-cave prep requires a lot of groundwork (literally), not to mention a colossal amount of construction. And all of that is before you’ve even thought about making your man-cave inhabitable with fixtures and furnishings.

If that sounds like a lot of work, it’s probably because it is. Overall, from start to finish, building your own man-cave from scratch is quite the undertaking, with enough labour to make Tommy Walsh cry uncle.

Luckily, for those without the time, patience or inclination to build their own, there is an easier way…

SunSpaces man-caves

Why not create the ultimate garden man-cave with the help of SunSpaces?

With a SunSpaces garden room, our team of expert outdoor aficionados can help bring the ultimate man-cave structure to your property, providing a professional finish that stuns and wows in equal measure.

Best of all, you won’t even need to lift a finger. Simply choose the structure you want, decide when you want it and, hey presto, you could be the proud owner of the coolest man-cave in town!

Garden man-cave options

If you do decide to go down the SunSpaces route, congratulations on an excellent decision! Next up is your second decision to make, this time regarding where your want your man-cave to sit in your garden.

There are two primary options to think about before anything else, which are as follows.

Attached Garden Room

The most common garden room option is the attached garden room that acts as an extension on to your house. Accessible immediately from your interior living space, the attached option allows you to roam freely from your home to your garden room without stepping out into the elements.

A great option for those looking to avoid the wind, rain and snow, an attached garden room provides you with an additional room without making it independent from your existing living space. While this can make it less private in terms of man-cave capacity, it does make it a lot easy as far as accessibility goes.

Free Standing / Detached

Independent from the rest of the house, our free-standing garden room option allows you to create a detached yet enclosed space that ticks all the boxes.

Private and separate from your main property, this option is much like a typical shed; however, it comes with a laundry list of perks that are night and day when compared with a simple shed.

Comfortable, bespoke and homely, this option is a great way to expand on your living space without extending on to your house.

Benefits of a SunSpaces man-cave

From remote-controlled blinds and UV protection shades to toasty heating and Bluetooth enabled sound systems, our SunSpaces man-caves can be as homely as you want them to be. Even after the sun goes down, our LED lighting options can keep your garden man-cave illuminated long into the evening hours.

With a variety of colours, styles and materials to choose from, we can make your man-cave specifically to fit your wants, needs and specifications. We have the ability to create and customise every SunSpace to ensure that it’s perfect for you and your individual needs.

When it comes to creating man-cave fit for a king, SunSpaces is the premier choice. Find out more by calling 0800 085 8110 today or hit the button below to drop us a line now.

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A swimming pool can be the most relaxing and refreshing outdoor living features in your garden during the warm summer months, and while openly lounging by the pool is great - you might want to create a little bit more privacy and shade.

Why not complement your pool with a gorgeous and practical pool house from SunSpaces? Our garden rooms and verandas can be tailor-made to fulfil your pool house dreams, simply choose one of our garden structures and we'll help you alter and adapt the design to suit your exacting requirements. 

Side Panel and Roof Options

One thing that makes our SunSpace garden rooms and verandas perfect pool houses is the different side panels and roofing options we offer. The remote-controlled fabric side screens and our aluminium blade system available for our Horizon garden rooms give you the flexibility to create a private space to get changed in, but can also be adjusted to allow in plenty of sunshine when you're ready to dry off in the sun!

Having the flexibility to choose how your pool house is constructed really does allow you to transform it into whatever kind of space you desire. Whether you plan to spend summer relaxing in the shade with a good book or hosting bustling poolside parties, a SunSpace pool room offers endless possibilities.

Accessories

We want to make sure you can make the most of your pool house, night and day! That's why we offer a range of versatile accessories that will fit effortlessly into any of our garden rooms or verandas.

Heaters & Speakers

Our selection of heaters will not only help you dry off quickly after a swim, but they'll also allow you to make the most of your new pool house during cooler periods. What's more, our heaters can even help you eliminate the need for extension cables or portable speakers.

The heater you see above has Bluetooth speakers integrated into it! Connect your mobile device and create whatever poolside atmosphere your heart desires. With our versatile heater/sound systems, your pool party will be the hottest place in town!

Are you ready to improve your poolside? Get in touch with a member of our team to discuss your options and arrange a consultation - we can't wait to hear from you! Call 0800 085 8110 or email us at info@sunspaces.co.uk today.

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Sheryl Crow had the right idea back in 2002 when she told the world she was going to “Soak Up the Sun”.

We took that statement to heart and you can too – all from the comfort of your own home – with a gorgeous veranda courtesy of SunSpaces!

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