Adding a conservatory to a house is one of the most popular home-improvement projects, but those wishing to extend their homes in this way have found it difficult to obtain practical, well-informed and independent advice. This invaluable book addresses this problem and provides a comprehensive step-by-step guide. Discusses the myths, advantages and drawbacks and helps you decide whether a conservatory is really what you require. * Examines how to make the right choices, how to obtain value for money and how to avoid the many possible pitfalls from the start of the project through to completion. * Considers how to draw up a brief with checklists and questions. * Explains how to liaise with your local authority, what regulations are involved and how to make applications concerning planning and building regulations. * Describes how to design a conservatory that will suit your requirements and blend in with your property. * Covers how to seek professional advice, budgetary planning and obtaining quotations, procurement routes, suppliers, construction materials, the building process, interior furnishings & much more. AUTHOR: Julian Owen, who is an active member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, is an architect with a wide experience of the design and construction of houses. His practice, based in Nottingham, has helped many hundreds of families to build, alter, extend and convert their homes. Together with Adrian Spawforth, he founded Associated Self-Build Architects [ASBA], the UK chartered architect's network, and in 2003 Julian was awarded an MBE for services to architecture.Resident: Nottingham colour throughout