The revolutionary hup! building system from Ultraframe is the ideal choice for quickly and easily transforming outdated conservatories into modern, energy efficient extensions in a matter of days. The flexibility of the system means that walls windows and doors can be placed anywhere in the new design to transform the space from a typical conservatory with dwarf walls, into a stunning new room with plenty of wall space and lots of light thanks to the many glazing choices for the roof. Not only this but hup! is so light that the existing conservatory base can be reused, saving further time – and money – for the homeowner.
Fortress Windows and Conservatories of Chester are huge advocates of the hup! system and one of the projects they have used it for recently was a conservatory transformation on The Wirral. Explaining more about what the hup! system means to them, Managing Director, Steve Duddridge, said: “Now that we’ve started using hup! we won’t look back – in fact, I don’t know why anyone would do a conventional build now that hup! is available – especially with the Building Regs making walls so thick on a conventional build. With hup! each build is incredibly fast, the weather can’t stop you – it’s a complete no brainer!”
Vernon and his family had an old conservatory which was nearly 20 years old and had many issues – the polycarbonate roof was too noisy when it rained, it leaked, and the polycarbonate in the roof was discoloured. The family also found that the doors that separated the conservatory from their home made it feel like an ‘add on’, rather than being a part of their home, and so they decided to look for a replacement.
To begin, Vernon looked at costs for a new replacement roof, but it was important to him and his family that the new space was well insulated throughout, and as the structure of the old conservatory had so many problems, he worried that simply replacing the roof would not be enough to keep it warm during the colder months of the year. Then Vernon came across hup! on Facebook and right away thought this is just what we’re looking for – well insulated roof and walls as well as being fast to build.
After speaking with their local hup! builder, Fortress Windows & Conservatories, Vernon decided that hup! was the ideal solution. Explaining more about their hup! project, Vernon said: “We found out about hup! in October and really wanted it done before winter set in, and with the speed of the system, it seemed the ideal solution.
“One of the big concerns was that we didn’t want another room that was just added on – we really wanted this new space to be a part of the house. We have a living room on the front of the house but all the best parts of our home are at the back – our lovely garden, big patio area, fantastic pond etc – and so it was important for our hup! to allow us to shift our living area from the front to the back of the house where we could enjoy everything.”
Working together with Fortress Windows & Conservatories, Vernon and his wife created the design for their new extension and due to the lightness of hup! walls, they were able to reuse the base from their old conservatory. In place of the old dwarf walls and French doors, they opted for a stunning new extension design featuring a cathedral window on the gable end, bi-fold doors, and a full height wall. A tiled roof features full length glazed panels to add a stunning feature from the inside, as well as flooding the new room with natural light. By removing the doors that separated the old conservatory from their home, the new extension gave the family the open plan living space that they so wanted.
Explaining about the speed of the build, Vernon said: “We couldn’t believe how quickly the system went up, it was just amazing! Within two days the main structure was in place and by day four everything was glazed and we could see what we were getting. So week one the extension was built, and week two the plastering and electrics were done and it was all ready for us to put the flooring down and move in – it was incredibly fast.
“We had the hup built in October and so we were able to use the new space for Christmas – it was fantastic having all the family in a space together with plenty of room to get everyone seated and it was really warm, really well insulated.
“With the old conservatory, as soon as it started raining we had to go into the house to continue talking as it was too noisy whereas now we can actually sit in here with the rain pouring down and enjoy watching thunderstorms, it’s fantastic. It’s also beautiful watching the moon and stars shining down through the cathedral window. It’s an amazing room and we really really love it. We had initially set off with a design with a large window and another triangular window on top but then it was suggested that as hup! is so flexible, we could actually have this huge cathedral window. It’s so big that even if you’re in the adjoining room it’s like you’re a part of the garden – it’s wonderful. We really appreciate that the hup! team came back with this suggestion to make our window even better.
“We’re big fans of Grand Designs and when we started looking at replacing the old conservatory we wondered why you couldn’t use a system with panels and then we found hup!. With bricks and mortar it would have taken a lot longer to do, plus we did our project in October and so we didn’t want the house exposed to the weather for long and hup! was the perfect solution.
“We now have this fantastic living space that’s great for when our family comes round. Every opportunity we’re out here now with the family, with the doors open onto the garden, it’s totally changed our home!”
