As you can imagine there are quite literally dozens of component parts that go in to the construction of a conservatory.

Below is a list of parts that go in to creating glass roof, solid roof or orangery style conservatories.

Adhesive: used to fix floor tiles to the ground

Air brick: a type of brick with small holes in it that allows ventilation under the floor of buildings

Astragal bar: vertical and horizontal bars on the outside of a sealed unit, to give a period look

Baseworks: the ‘catch all’ term for the foundations and brickwork construction of a conservatory

Beading: a plastic strip on a window frame that holds the glass in place

Bi-fold door: doors that concertina to one side allowing conservatory to be opened up to the garden

Box gutter adapter: attaches the box gutter to the guttering

Box gutter: sealed guttering between a conservatory and the house

Builder: the tradesperson who digs the foundations and erects the walls

Building control: Building Control is needed for all Livin Roof/Ultra-tile 380 jobs (we use JHAI)

Cat flap: can be added into a panel or glass pane to provide access for your furry friend

Cavity closures: part of a cavity wall where windows/doors are fitted, aims to protect from damp etc

Cavity trays: a damp proof course across the cavity of a cavity wall, aiming to prevent internal damp

Celotex: a type of insulation board, typically used in floor and ceiling

Cill: plastic ‘lip’ on which the frames/windows sit

Combination French door: French doors with a full height glass pane either side

Cornice: decorative edging around edge of roof

Cresting: decorative details that run along the ridge of the roof

Damp proof membrane: a completely water-tight foil that prevents damp penetration

Decstone: the stone affect alternative to standard windowboard

DGCOS: Double Glazing & Conservatory Ombudsman Scheme, which Cousins are members of

Dog bolt: a fixture fitted into the hinge side of a door leaf providing extra security against break-ins

Downpipe: a pipe to carry rainwater from the gutter to the ground

Dwarf wall: a lower level wall, typically 600mm high

Eaves lighting pelmet: perimeter ceiling, which can be plastered/painted and have lights put in

Edwardian: a square/rectangular shaped conservatory

Electrician: the tradesperson who adds sockets, spotlights, lighting etc to the build

Energy Rated Glass: a scale of energy efficiency for glass going from E – A++

Finial: pointed decorative feature at the front of the apex

Fitter: the tradesperson who fits the frames, glass and roof of the conservatory

Flashing: lead flashing joins/seals the conservatory roof to the house wall

Foiled: the term for when standard PVCu is made into a colour, such as grey or rosewood.

Foundations: standard 1m metre dig depth, filled in with ballast & cement.

French door: double opening doors

Gable end: style of conservatory with a triangular portion at the end

Gallows bracket: shaped steel structure used to support a box gutter where needed

Gasket: seal installed around the perimeter of the door opening

Georgian bar: vertical and horizontal bars on the inside of a sealed unit, to give a period look

Grout: used for bonding and sealing between floor tiles

Gutter (brackets): gutter and brackets run around the roof of the conservatory to catch rainwater

Handles: found on windows and doors and can come in white, chrome, gold etc

Heating: electric plug-in heaters or plumbed in central heating are both options for conservatories

Hedgehog: a length of bristles that sits in the gutter to allow water through whilst catching leaves

High wall: a higher wall, typically 1650mm high, with small fixed glass panes or openers above

Hipped sunlounge: a sunlounge that slopes down to the sides, without the ‘cheese section’ of glass

Insulation: various insulation products are used in the walls, floors and ceilings

Jablite: expanded polystyrene insulation product typically used in the cavity wall

Keyed Alike: refers to when one key fits all locks

Knock-through: when a section of the back wall of the house is removed to open up to conservatory

Lighting: lighting can be provided with ceiling or wall lights or power points installed for a lamp

Livin Roof: aluminium and insulated composite panel roof with a plastered finish inside

Livin Room: a conservatory with a glass roof and an eaves lighting pelmet

Loggia column: insulated columns that can be placed on the corners of a conservatory

Low threshold: lower lip on a door, particularly helpful where mobility may be an issue

Mullion: the vertical beam that divides a window into two smaller glass sections

Muntin bar: joining strip between two pieces of glass that are too large to be manufactured as one

Neutral Glass: an alternative shade of the standard Pilkington blue glass

Obscure glass: patterned glass typically used in bathrooms etc or to create privacy near a boundary

Orangery: typically refers to a box gutter Edwardian with a large eaves lighting pelmet

Panel: a plastic insulated section that can be used in place of a wall or in a door

Piling: specialist foundations driven deeper than is typical (carried out by external companies)

Pilkington Activ glass: our modern, thermally efficient, self-cleaning roof glass

Pitch: the slope of the roof

Planning permission: needed for jobs that aren’t covered by permitted development rights

Plasterboard: panel used to create interior walls and ceilings

Plasterer: the tradesperson who plasters the walls and (where applicable) roof of the conservatory

Plumber: the tradesperson who would move any taps/pipes that may be in the way

Polycarbonate: a lightweight, plastic material that can be a more budget friendly roof option

Project Manager: the person who managers the project and all the tradespeople and suppliers

PVCu: lightweight, robust plastic used for conservatory and window frames

Qlon Gasket: a type of rubber door seal ideal for aluminium, with excellent compression recovery

Reinforcing: strengthening often put in cills to make them stronger

Ridge: horizontal line running the length of the roof

Roof replacement: the term for when an existing conservatory roof is removed and replaced

Roof vents: openers in the glass roof of a conservatory

Sack bolt: extra security feature in the opening window

SAPs: Standard Assessment Procedure, the governments way of calculating energy performance

Sash (dummy): a glass pane that does not open but is made to look like an opening sash, to match.

Sash (opening): the technical term for a window that opens

Screed: a smoother version of concrete, used as a top layer or finish

Shoot bolt: a window locking mechanism that extends outwards from the top & bottom

Side hung window: a window that hinges on/opens from, the side

Single door: a single opening panel that fills the doorway and can be glass or PVCu

Sliding door: a fixed glass section with a moving section that slides next to it

Snappercatch: the part that keeps the top and bottom of a stable door locked together

Spacer bar: metal or plastic strip that help seal gasses in to a sealed glass unit

Spotlights: small, circular lights, typically put into an eaves lighting pelmet

Stable door: a door with a top and bottom section that can be opener independently

Sunlounge: a traditional lean-to style conservatory

Super duty eaves ringbeam: structural beam used to support wider openings for bi-folding doors

Survey: our surveyor does an initial survey followed by a more in depth one by the manufacturer

Surveyor: the person who attends the property prior to building to take measurements, images etc

Tie bars: horizontal rods across a conservatory roof sometimes needed to prevent bowing

Tiler: the tradesperson who lays the tiles

Tilt and turn windows: windows that open on two axes, from the side and from the top

Top hung window: a window that hinges on/opens from, the top

Toughened glass: also known as ‘tempered’ glass is a safer glass that is up to five times stronger

Transom: the horizontal beam that divides a window into two smaller glass sections

Trickle vents: very small opening in a window frame to allow a small amount of ventilation

Ultra-tile 380: a tile effect finish roof option with a vaulted, plastered ceiling on the inside

Vector: the CAD design system we use to generate design ideas

Ventilated eaves: allows ventilation when required by opening/closing the latch

Victorian: a conservatory style that has bays at the front, typically three or five.

Warranty: an agreement to insure the materials/work of a job

Weathering hub: inserted where all roof bars meet to join and protect from water ingress

Windowboard: standard MDF based, white board for the inside cill of the conservatory

X: The opening leaf of a patio door

Y Branch: joins two different gutters to one downpipe

Zipper: window zipper cuts though dried paint and other material that binds sash windows