Conservatories in the North West

The Manchester and Liverpool terraces are dense and solid-walled, and a small lean-to is usually the only conservatory that fits the yard. Cheshire, the Fylde and the suburbs have more space, and Victorian and Edwardian conservatories look right on the interwar semis there.

The wet climate puts a premium on frames that do not need constant repainting, so uPVC and aluminium are popular. Timber looks right on the stone houses of Cumbria and the Lake District, where the National Park controls external materials, but it needs more upkeep in the rain.

This is the wettest English region, and rain noise on polycarbonate is a common complaint. A glass roof is quieter and a solid roof quieter still. Ask the installer about the gutter and the drainage on a conservatory roof, because heavy rain finds any weakness in the detailing.

A wet climate makes the garden usable for fewer days, so people want a room that opens onto it when the weather allows. Sliding and French doors are the cheaper choices. Bifold doors need good seals and a drained threshold in this rainfall, so check the specification before you pay extra.

The Manchester and Liverpool conurbations hold one of the densest concentrations of Victorian and Edwardian terraced housing in the country, much of it solid-walled and much of it now privately rented or owner-occupied after clearance and refurbishment. Cheshire and the Fylde are more suburban and more recent. Cumbria is stone and slate, with a high proportion of pre-1919 property.

The Lake District is a National Park and a World Heritage Site, with tight control over materials and external change. The mill towns and the Liverpool and Manchester cores have extensive conservation areas, and Article 4 directions are common in terraced streets that have been the subject of regeneration schemes.

The wettest English region by a distance. The Lake District records up to 2,000mm a year and the western Pennine slopes are not far behind, against a UK average nearer 1,150mm. That volume of driving rain puts a premium on anything that keeps water out, and it shortens the life of anything installed badly. Solid-wall terraces facing west are particularly prone to penetrating damp.