On 2007-02-16 14:11:52 +0000, "Mikeyboy" said:

Hi
I am thinking of getting my lean to consevatory updated. I would like
to be able to use it for more of the year - at present it is no good
from late September onwards - too cold. It is only single glazed, and
has brick sides so the only glass is the roof and front, which is all
glass with a sliding patio door.
Just considering the options for the change - thinking of hardwood.
Should I go for a low brick wall or keep it all glass? Which is best
for winter use?
Thanks for any advice you can give!

In terms of heat loss you can reduce that by going for double glazed
roof and wall/door.

That will be the main part. Going for a low brick wall will only make
a difference to the extent
of the area of that. If you are getting up to the height of a
window as in a normal room window,
you risk exceeding the limit for what is allowable for a conservatory.

This is that at least 50% of wall area and 75% of roof area is
translucent material (i.e. glass or horrible polycarbonate)

Beyond that it becomes an extension and is subject to building and
planning controls and you may not want to bother with that so you will
need to measure and check existing wall areas as you may already be
close to the limit.

If you are going to add heating, then there must be separate controls
for it to those for the house.

In any case, the door and any windows from the main house need to be
equivalent to exterior
versions in terms of insulating properties - i.e. not knock-throughs