If you are adding a bright space on the back of the house, a glass room and a conservatory can look alike in a photograph. They do not feel alike once you are in them, and they are not the same kind of project to build.
This page is from Open Space Concepts. We design and fit glass rooms, glass verandas and Louvre Pods. We do not build traditional conservatories. Where a conservatory would suit you better, we will say so.
Choose a glass room if you want a modern aluminium and glass room, a slimmer frame, and a structure typically installed 12 to 14 weeks from order, either on the house or freestanding.
Choose a conservatory if you specifically want a traditional glazed extension, with a heavier frame and a pitched or lantern roof, built as part of the house.
If you are not sure, the useful question is how enclosed you need the space to be. A glass room is enclosed. A glass veranda is a roof you can enclose later. A Louvre Pod has a roof you can open.
A glass room is a made to measure outdoor room. The frame is aluminium. The walls are glass. The roof is glass too, either with a flat look and the pitch hidden inside the frame, or with a pitch you can see.
At Open Space Concepts the three glass rooms are Vue Pod, Vue Grande and Ambient. Vue Pod and Vue Grande are the flat roof look. Ambient is pitched. You can put any of them against the house or further into the garden. Doors, heating, lighting and blinds can wait until later if you do not want them on day one.
Prices start at £14,300, including installation and VAT. That buys the glass room, made to your sizes and fitted. It is not a budget for a new base, for electrics, or for furniture. From order to installation is typically 12 to 14 weeks.
The model range is here: https://www.openspaceconcepts.co.uk/glass-rooms/
A conservatory is a glazed extension. For a long time it was the default way to add a bright room to a British house. You will usually see a pitched roof, a lantern, or a similar roof shape, and more frame than on a modern glass room.
A conservatory can still be the right room. It suits a house where that traditional shape is what you want, and where you are happy to run it as an extension rather than as outdoor living space. The complaints we hear, when people come to us after living with one, are heat in summer, cold in winter, and a look that has dated faster than the rest of the house.
We are not a conservatory company. We will not quote you for one, and we will not invent a conservatory price to "win" the comparison.
The differences that matter are the frame, the comfort, the time on site, and whether you are building an outdoor room or an extension.
| Glass room from Open Space Concepts | Traditional conservatory | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | An aluminium and glass outdoor room. On the house, or freestanding. | A glazed extension, usually built as part of the house. |
| How it looks | Slim frame. Flat roof look (Vue Pod, Vue Grande) or a visible pitch (Ambient). | More frame. Pitched roof or lantern roof in most traditional designs. |
| Comfort | Still a glazed room, so the sun warms it. Glazing choice, blinds, screens and heating are how you extend the season. | Older ones are often hot in summer and cold in winter unless they have been upgraded. |
| Time | Typically 12 to 14 weeks from order. | Usually a longer on-site build. We do not quote a conservatory programme. |
| Planning | Unlikely on a typical house. Usually needed for flats, listed buildings and conservation areas. Fee generally £272 in England to the council if you need an application. | Depends on the house and the design. We do not advise on a conservatory we are not drawing. |
| Cost | Starts at £14,300 including installation and VAT. Size, model and extras change the figure. | Varies by builder and specification. Compare the specification, not a headline. |
| Best if | You want a modern room, a clear view, and the option to enclose a veranda later instead. | You want that traditional conservatory look and you are happy with the roof and the frame. |
Both give you a covered space. A glass room is planned as outdoor living you can close up: glass sides, a proper roof, and the option of heating when the evenings drop. It is not a heated indoor room in the way a brick extension is, and we should not describe it as one.
If the conservatory you have now is only pleasant in a narrow band of weather, a glass room is the comparison worth making. Bring the orientation of the garden with you. A south-facing run of glass needs a plan for shade, whichever structure you choose. We fit remote blinds and drop down screens for that reason.
Glass rooms use a thinner frame, so you see more of the garden and less of the structure. A lean-to is fixed with an aluminium wall plate into the existing wall, then sealed along the top. A freestanding room does not touch the house at all.
Conservatories often read as a separate addition, with the roof geometry doing a lot of the looking. If you want the outdoor space to feel like the same design as the house, a glass room is usually the closer match. If you want the room to look like a conservatory, do not ask a glass room to pretend.
Most glass rooms we fit do not need a planning application. Flats, maisonettes, listed buildings and conservation areas usually do. The fee, if you need the application, is generally £272 in England to the local authority. We will tell you which side of that line you are on when we see the house, and we can help with drawings. The longer note is here: https://www.openspaceconcepts.co.uk/do-glass-verandas-require-planning-permission/
The base is a separate question from planning. Glass rooms normally need a sound concrete base, because they weigh more than a veranda or a Louvre Pod. The survey confirms it. Do not pour a base before we have agreed the size.
Our glass rooms start at £14,300, including installation and VAT. A small, simple room sits nearer that figure. Width, projection, double glazing, heating, lighting and sliding doors take it up. We will give you an indicative quote from sizes, by phone or email, before anyone visits. There is no obligation.
A conservatory might be quoted lower or higher than that, depending on who is building it and what glass, roof and base they have included. We will not put a competitor's price on this page, and we will not call our room "cheaper" without knowing the other specification. The honest line is: ask what the price includes, then compare.
The cost guide is here: https://www.openspaceconcepts.co.uk/glass-rooms/glass-room-cost/
Choose a glass room if you want to sit in the garden in more weather, you prefer a slim frame, and you are happy with a structure that is manufactured to size and fitted in a short visit.
Choose a conservatory if the traditional roof and the look of a glazed extension are the point. We would rather lose that enquiry than sell you the wrong room.
Many of the people we speak to started with conservatories. They moved on when they wanted something calmer on the back of the house, or when the conservatory they had was no longer pleasant to sit in. That is usually the moment a glass room, a glass veranda or a Louvre Pod enters the conversation. Which of the three depends on whether you need sides now, and whether you want the roof to open.
You do not have to keep using a room that is too hot or too cold. People replace them, and they also build a glass room in a different part of the garden and leave the old structure until they are ready to take it down.
We need a look at the existing base before anyone promises it can be reused. A glass room is particular about levels and fixing points. Send us a photograph and the rough size if you want a first view, then we will say whether a survey is worth it.
Then a glass room is probably the wrong first product.
A glass veranda is a glass roof on posts. You get the shelter, and you can add glass sides later if you decide you want a room. That route suits people who are not ready to enclose the patio. The veranda range is here: https://www.openspaceconcepts.co.uk/glass-verandas/
A Louvre Pod is the one to look at if the roof itself should open, with louvres or a retractable canopy. It is a different product from a glass room, which has a fixed glass roof. The Louvre Pod is here: https://www.openspaceconcepts.co.uk/louvre-pod/
Our insulated garden rooms are different again. They are not the structures on this page: https://www.openspaceconcepts.co.uk/garden-rooms/
A photograph will not settle this. You can stand in the structures at our showroom, Unit B1, Sneyd Trading Estate, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 2EB. Weekdays are 9am to 5pm. Saturday and Sunday visits are by appointment.
Book here: https://www.openspaceconcepts.co.uk/showroom/
Or call 0808 168 0043, tell us the rough size and the town, and we will tell you whether a glass room is even the right conversation. If it is, we will follow up with an indicative quote. A survey is the point where sizes, the base and planning get confirmed. Not this page.
An Open Space Concepts glass room starts at £14,300, including installation and VAT. The final figure depends on the model, the size, the glazing and the extras. Traditional conservatory prices vary widely by builder, size and specification, and we do not publish one, because we do not build traditional conservatories. Compare what is included, not just the first number. Our price includes manufacture and installation of the glass room. It does not automatically include a new base, furniture or electrical work.
The comment we hear most often about older conservatories is that they run hot in summer and cold in winter, unless they have been upgraded. A glass room is still a glazed structure, so the sun will warm it. The difference is how you specify it. Ventilation, a choice of single or double glazing on some models, blinds, drop down screens and infrared heating are there so you can use the room in more months of the year. We will talk about aspect and shading on the survey, rather than promise a fixed indoor temperature.
For our glass rooms, planning permission is unlikely on a typical house. It is usually needed for a flat, a maisonette, a listed building, or a home in a conservation area. If an application is required, the fee is generally £272 in England and it is paid to the local authority. Conservatories have their own planning and building-regulations patterns, and they depend on the house. We check the glass room on survey. We do not give a planning verdict on a conservatory we are not designing.
Once you have ordered a glass room from us, installation is typically 12 to 14 weeks later. A traditional conservatory is a different kind of building project and often takes longer on site. We would rather you plan around our lead time than be surprised by it.
Often, yes, that is why people call us. If the old conservatory is too hot, too cold, or no longer suits the house, a glass room can take the same kind of place on the back of the property, with a slimmer frame. It is not automatic. We need to see the base, the wall we would fix to, and what you want to do in the space. Sometimes a glass veranda, which you can enclose later, is the better first step.
No. If you want a roof and an open side, look at a glass veranda. Many of our verandas can be enclosed later with glass sides or sliding doors, which turns them into a glass room. If you want to open the roof to the sky, look at a Louvre Pod instead. The comparison on this page is between a glass room and a traditional conservatory, not between every structure we fit.
We do not promise a rise in the value of your house. People choose a glass room because it adds useful space and a finish that suits the house they have now. Some buyers say they would rather not take on a tired conservatory. That is a fair reason to compare the two. It is not a valuation, and anyone who guarantees an uplift is guessing.
Stand in the garden at the time of day you would actually use the room. Note where the sun sits, where the rain drives in, and whether you want a dining table, a sofa, or a desk. Then decide if you need glass sides now or only a roof. Bring those notes to the showroom, or send us the rough width and projection. We would rather narrow it down in one conversation than send you a brochure and hope.
Yes. Photos make a glass room and a conservatory look closer than they feel. The showroom is Unit B1, Sneyd Trading Estate, Stoke-on-Trent, ST6 2EB. Weekdays are 9am to 5pm. Saturday and Sunday are by appointment. Call 0808 168 0043 or book here: https://www.openspaceconcepts.co.uk/showroom/
If you want the models, sizes and a quote, start here: https://www.openspaceconcepts.co.uk/glass-rooms/ If you want the price explained, use https://www.openspaceconcepts.co.uk/glass-rooms/glass-room-cost/ If planning is the worry, use https://www.openspaceconcepts.co.uk/do-glass-verandas-require-planning-permission/ If you already know a glass room is right, call 0808 168 0043 and ask for an indicative quote. There is no obligation.