Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, that is possible after prior appointment.
If you want to save yourself the trouble, your conservatory can also be delivered by us.
When you give us the delivery address, we can always inform you on the correct transportation cost.

Yes, definitely. Each conservatory comes with a detailed assembly plan.

Customer-specific measures according to the standard models are possible, we will draw your conservatory fully to size.
All parts are drawn in 3D and everything is first assembled in virtual reality to ensure a smooth and faultless assembly.

The glass is installed with overlaps of ca. 3cm using copper fasteners of 8mm wide and 0.5mm thick.
The panes are secured with putty based on linseed oil. The putty is a paste that is applied using a spatula,
filling-knife or putty knife. This is the traditional way of finishing. It used to be the standard method for installing window panes in rebates.

Of course, one should consider the available space, but it is best not to make your conservatory much smaller than our standard models.
Many make the mistake to purchase too small a conservatory. Only after having bought your conservatory, you will discover its endless possibilities.

To be able to enjoy your covered botanical garden to the fullest, you’d do best to consider the following guidelines:
In a sunny place:
The optimum orientation is southwest, with the front wall (with door opening) oriented to the south.
By orienting the long side of the conservatory (= biggest glass surface) to the east and west, the conservatory will be warmed and cooled more evenly.
With easy access from your house:
If the conservatory is easily accessible from your house, it will be used much more frequently.

A glass conservatory requires very little maintenance. The metal construction can be checked once a year for damage that may be caused by rust.
In general, an annual cleaning-up is amply sufficient. Broken window-panes must be replaced as soon as possible.
Clean the windows on the in- and outside, this ensures a perfect incidence of light and transparency.
If the window-panes are very dirty, some domestic bleach may be used (max. 1 l/ 10 l of water). Afterwards, the panes should be rinsed off THOROUGHLY using ordinary water.
Clean and disinfect the work tables and shelves to avoid diseases and parasites.

At the end of summer or autumn.
Do it before it gets really cold AND on a dry day. This way, loose plants, if any, can be placed outside.

Puttying is a traditional finishing method.
Formerly, putty based on linseed oil (mastic) was made of chalk powder and linseed oil.
This was often used for filling or stopping up holes or cracks in timberwork and for securing window-panes in rebates.

The mastic that we work with is a filling paste based on linseed oil, synthetic resin and fillers.
It is a mouldable paste that can be applied using a spatula, filling-knife or putty knife, partly on the edge of the window-pane and partly in the metal section.
The surfaces must be clean, dry and free of dust and fat and they must have been pre-treated with a primer.
The mastic must be applied in dry weather and at a temperature of at least 15° C.
The mastic can be painted over, between 3 and 8 weeks after its application (23° C/55% air humidity).
By applying this method, you'll get a truly authentic conservatory as these were installed in bygone days.
Always follow the instructions for use printed on the packaging.

Putty dries through oxidation, this means that it dries through the absorption of oxygen.
Therefore, it should always be painted over once it has cured.
The curing time depends on the type of putty used and is indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging.
Never dilute the putty with linseed oil, turpentine or anything similar to make it easier to process.
It would disturb its composition. You can make the putty easier to apply by leaving it some time before its processing in a heated room.

The conservatory consists of hot-dip galvanised steel sections that have been welded together.
Hot-dip galvanising is the best way to protect steel against corrosion and other external influences.

Galvanised steel offers a substantially improved resistance to corrosion (rust) compared to your ordinary painted steel.
But, in the end, also galvanised steel will corrode. For a long-term protection of the surface it is therefore finished with a rust-protective adhesive layer for galvanised steel (before the assembly).
You should follow the manufacturer’s instructions on the packaging.
Once the window-panes have been installed and the mastic has cured, 2 final layers of paint in the desired colour can be applied.

Transparent glass of 3mm thick.
This type of glass offers the following benefits:
It allows through about 90% of the available light and it blocks UV light.
There is no moist trickling down, condensed water flows downwards along the glass.
It is not subject to wear. It offers excellent protection against cracks, corrosion, atmospheric and chemical influences, cleaning products and acid rain.

For conservatories mounted on a brick wall at half height a foundation is required.
About 40 cm wide and 60 cm deep in the centre of the walls to be bricked.
We have detailed plans of this available.
For conservatories with glass panes down to the ground it suffices to lay a sill bricked in stabilised sand.

Our conservatories are based on authentic flower and botanical conservatories. So, of course they can be used for this application.
In spring time and in autumn, you can install your garden furniture in the conservatories and enjoy the first or last rays of sun.
But they are no sun lounges. The window-panes are placed on top of one another so that moist may always penetrate.

Standard models can be delivered out of stock.
If changes (e.g. an extra door) must be made or for customer-specific measures the delivery term will be about 4 months.

Here is some info on the sowing & planting of vegetables in a non-heated conservatory:
mid January:
early carrots, lamb’s lettuce, spinach, summer leek, garden cress, garden peas and mangetouts, early green beans.
February:
garden peas and mangetouts, radishes, chervil, turnip greens, early carrots, early oxheart cabbage, early cauliflower, early broccoli, iceberg lettuce, curled lettuce, romaine lettuce, cabbage lettuce (spring), lamb’s lettuce, green celery, celeriac, blanched celery, garden cress, red cabbage, savoy cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots, spring onions, parsnip, artichoke
March:
lamb’s lettuce, romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, cabbage lettuce (spring), parsley, chervil, sorrel, garden cress, rocket, white and red autumn cabbage, turnip cabbage, early carrots, garlic, endives, early potatoes, early autumn leek
April, sowing:
cabbage lettuce (spring), beetroot, radicchio, iceberg lettuce, turnip cabbage, early common beans, chard, purslane, New Zealand spinach, celeriac, green celery, blanched celery, late autumn leek, sweet corn, fennel, endives, beans
April, planting:
gherkins, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, aubergines, courgette, pumpkin.
May, sowing:
common bean, summer cauliflower, broccoli, gherkins, cucumbers, Chinese cabbage, melons, borecole, pumpkins, courgette.
May, planting:
gherkins, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, aubergines, sweet pepper, courgette.
June, planting:
gherkins, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, aubergines, sweet pepper, courgette.
July, sowing:
green celery.
July, planting:
gherkins, cucumbers, melons, tomatoes, aubergines, sweet pepper, Chinese cabbage, courgette.
August, sowing:
purslane, winter purslane, parsley.
September, sowing:
winter purslane, lamb’s lettuce, chervil, cauliflower.
October, sowing:
lamb’s lettuce, spinach, cauliflower, chervil.
October, planting:
Plant the lettuce and endives with root ball in the conservatory for longer keeping
November, sowing:
spinach
November, planting:
Planting out of cauliflowers
December, sowing:
spinach
December, planting:
greenhouse grapevines

You can also grow fruit in conservatories. They will, in general, be ripe sooner and thus better protected against birds eating your fruit. We can recommend for instance strawberries, kiwis, peaches, grapevines, even passiflora (edible), figs (up to 2 harvests per year), …
However, for these fruits the conservatory will have to be heated from December up to April.