Followers of fashion

With the rise in number and popularity of lifestyle magazine such as Grand Designs, Home Style, Space (in Guardian Weekend) and Inside Out, another rise in demand has occurred. A demand for modern glass extensions.

Some forward-thinking glass companies have recognised this and have developed businesses to cater for it.

Glass extensions might be either completely glass structures or structures with a high ratio of glass façade to opaque materials. From a consumer’s point of view, it is any glass structure that adds value and style to a property.

One company, notable for its fresh designs and a favourite of the main stream press, is GlasSpace.

The Wimbledon-based business has been featured in Guardian Weekend, Living Magazine and Grand Designs Magazine. It has not had to advertise because word of mouth brings in business. So what makes its product so attractive?

Live the dream

Consumer magazines sell an idealised lifestyle and a conservatory or extension made of glass fits into this. What makes the product really saleable is that it can be an inexpensive alternative to brick extensions and can be as elaborate or simple as required, making it fit the consumer’s pocket. Cost was key to the development of the company’s modular system as well as offering bespoke designs.

A GlasSpace structure is made from toughened IG units, which are strong enough to walk on and exceed heat efficiency regulations by using low E thermal coating and argon filled glass. Customers can also choose from solar control glass, self-cleaning glass and a laminated blind system. Photovoltaic glass is available if required.

The structures do not have PVC-U or aluminium frames as the designs use glass columns and beams. The frameless sheets of glass are bonded together using two-part silicon sealants.

Founder and architect Andy Ramus says: ‘[I chose to work on glass extensions] because it was exciting aesthetically and as an architect I wanted to produce beautiful structures.’

The idea for GlasSpace was conceived when co-founder Simon Nelson wanted a glass extension for his home but had difficulty finding someone to do it. Andy Ramus is a friend of Simon’s, so he designed the glass structure for him. A demand for similar work grew from there.

The GlasSpace team is made up of seven staff, who work with 16 architectural glazing sub contractors, including Eagle Structural Glazing, specialists in two-part silicon sealing. Eagle Structural Glazing also works with other architects on these kinds of projects and has worked on hotels in Abu Dabi as well as maintaining the London Eye’s glass pods. Tony De Witt Company Secretary and Director at Eagle Structural Glazing has noticed an increase in the demand for this type of work.

Money in modules

Ideally, GlasSpace makes 20-25 per cent profit on an average project, however, glass breakages on-site can be a cost problem. For GlasSpace its modular system is the cash cow as it is cheaper for clients to buy and opens the market up to people who wouldn’t be interested otherwise. It is also more profitable to produce.

Recent projects include a living room style extension in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, which cost the client £55,000.

Another company making the most of this market is, G06 Best Glass Company of the Year Award winner, Glass UK.

Appeal to the senses

Glass UK calls its glass extensions ‘Sensoriums’, and its range includes bespoke designs as well as repeatable modules.

The Contempo module range, launched in 2006, was designed to appeal to mid-range homeowners’ desire for contemporary extensions.

Glass UK installs Contempo itself as well as selling the system to trade installers. The installers need to have experience of silicon sealing and cranage to manage the projects. The modules can be erected in two days and do not have the over head costs that a bespoke build does.

The more profitable side of the business involves work on high-end properties. Some of these projects cost in excess of £100,000 and can include all the extras on offer. A fully equipped Sensorium includes glass hi-fi speakers and a smell diffuser. Another extra is Blink, a glass that switches from translucent to opaque for privacy or to act as a television screen.

There was a ‘yawning gap’ in the market for a company that could manufacture cast laminated glass and oversize double glazed units for glass extensions

Practical options include a plenum box that controls interior temperature and airflow, and solar controlled glass or solar film.

The company, set up by its parent the LMC Group, evolved from a successful curtain wall installation division. Glass UK became a company in its own right in 2001.

The team that became Glass UK believed there was a ‘yawning gap’ in the market for a company that could manufacture cast laminated glass and oversize double glazed units for glass extensions. The huge sections are all doubled glazed.

It is a small to medium business, with a turnover of approximately £4.5 million, and it works on a lot of one-off bespoke glass structures.

Projects recently completed include a prison in Oxford, which was converted into a social space, and a structure for Nottingham Media Centre Ltd, using triple-glazed blue-tinted glass.

Slender frames

From a fabrication perspective, MPS Glass Ltd has enjoyed acclaim with its glass pavilion extension to a cottage at Medland Manor, Devon. This project and a project called Palm Beach, also in Devon, featured on Channel 4’s Grand Designs programme.

The pavilion structure’s large panes of glass were held in slender Comar framing, to give open views of the walled garden. It was important to ensure the design was sympathetic to the cottage.

The Palm Beach project, an extension with huge expanses of glass, used large sliding doors measuring 3100 x 22000 mm. Again, the MPS team used Comar Systems and curtain walling to give panaoramic views of the sea. Bio Clean Planitherm FN Safety Glass, from Saint-Gobain, was specified to protect against sea salt corrosion.

A traditional beginning

With origins in a conservatory company, Apropos focuses on bespoke glass extension designs.

It was originally introduced as part of the Hartley Botanic brand, which produces single glazed greenhouses. Apropos then evolved as a separate company to meet the demand for fully glazed structures.

The structures use argon gas-filled units and slim frame aluminium extrusions that are thermally broken to ensure compliance with building regulations.

The company has its own extrusion suite, which is fundamental to its designs, so it can make windows and doors to order.

Apropos is based in Ashton-Under-Lyne and employs 80 staff. Its glazing system was developed by in-house designers and technicians and development continues under the guidance of Ian Briscall, Head of its Technical Department, and Craig O’Connell, Technical Manager, with a team of design draftsmen.

A two-storey structure was recently designed and built for two newly built homes, owned by the same family, in Leicestershire. Also, a glazed classroom was designed and built for a Telford and Wrekin school.

Wooden frames

A company with a different take on glass extensions is Marston and Langinger, a traditional conservatory supplier. It has produced a new brochure, called Glass Buildings. Perhaps this is an indication of the move in thought towards this modern way of thinking about property extensions.

However, this definition applies to glazed buildings with hardwood timber frames. Its designs are contemporary but an entirely glass design is not possible with its wooden frame construction.

Specialist skills and knowledge are required to competently design and install completely glass structures, so only confident companies can consider this type of work.

The demand is out there and with consumer spending feeling the pinch, more affordable trendy options may fill the gap between desire and affordability.