28 | APRIL 2020
Outdoor Living
A ROOF FOR ALL SEASONS
Adding an extra room to the home for some much needed
space and to ‘bring the outdoors in’ is hardly a new notion,
but keeping the outdoors out in the cooler months and
being able to enjoy the extra room in the summer without
over heating is an age old problem for homeowners.
In the past, conservatories,
orangeries, and sunrooms (plus
all the other names they have
been given) have been a fantastic
idea to start with, but the reality
has been very different. And,
the fantasy of having a place to
read, relax, have friends over to
entertain, and enjoy and evolve
as a family; would often become
nothing more than wasted space,
a collection of storage items,
and an area that was always ‘too’
something to use – too hot, too
cold, too bright, too dark… you
get the picture.
The resurgence of ‘loving in-
stead of leaving’ when it comes to
homes however meant that home-
owners needed a new, improved
product that would give them a
space to succeed; all year around;
a simple specification that includ-
ed innovative design features,
easy to install, worth the money,
and most importantly, something
that enhanced their current living
space from an aesthetic point of
view and through its usability.
Someone who understands this
better than most is Dave Jackson,
MD of Icotherm. With almost
two decades in the conservato-
ry industry, including stints at
Quantal, Synseal, and K2; Dave
spotted a gap in the market for a
roof system that was thermally ef-
ficient, easy to install and a ‘solid’
solution for old and underused
conservatories. An answer to the
problem of anyone who had a
conservatory that didn’t previous-
ly live up to their expectations,
or anyone who wanted to add a
conservatory to their home but
was put off by their past reputa-
tion.
Rob Exley, Pro Installer’s own
publisher, from Darfield, was
exactly one of those customers.
When renovating his house over
the summer and autumn months
of 2019, he and his wife wanted a
conservatory to connect the main
home and the newly-landscaped
garden seamlessly. Imagining a
room that could be used all-year
round however, was a pipe dream
as Rob never thought there
would be a solution that would
allow a large floor space to be
usable – and comfortable – every
day of the year, after past stories
from friends and family.
After some careful research,
the Exleys decided to take the
plunge, plumping for an Ed-
wardian style Icoroof; Icotherm’s
standard pitched roof, with Tapco
slate tiles to crown their new
conservatory, and haven’t looked
back since.
Rob commented: “We want-
ed the new conservatory to
be the crowning glory of our
house renovations and were not
disappointed. We spent months
choosing the correct doors and
windows, and re-designing the
garden – we’d even had a new
state-of-the-art bathroom fitted so
this had to live up to all the other
improvements we were so happy
with.
“After speaking to the team
at Icotherm, all our previous
conservatory concerns were put
aside. The thought of having
such a large room that we
wouldn’t be able to use in the
winter was a major worry, I’ll be
honest. But looking at the spec-
ification guide of the Icoroof,
we were confident that the roof
would provide all the insulation
we needed to enjoy the room
no matter what the weather was
like outside.
“Speaking of weather though,
our second worry was would the
rain hold off long enough to get
the roof up and watertight, and
fast. We couldn’t believe how
fast it was fitted, and even the
installer was amazed at the ease
and speed of the entire process.
All in all, we’re over the moon
and, seeing as it was completed
six months ago, and we’re in the
North of England, as you can
imagine we’ve already had every
type of weather imaginable and
I can proudly say it’s passed the
test with flying colours!”