Orangery Cost UK (2026): Prices, Sizes & Lantern Roofs

How much does an orangery cost in 2026?

An orangery sits between a conservatory and a brick extension. It has brick or rendered piers rather than a full-height glazed wall, and a flat roof perimeter with a glass roof lantern in the middle, so you get a plastered ceiling, space for downlights and much better insulation than a conservatory, with plenty of daylight. That extra structure is what you pay for.

Published 2026 prices agree on the shape of the market, if not the exact numbers. Checkatrade puts the average 16m² orangery at about £32,500. Less.co.uk gives a typical range of £20,000–£55,000 with the same £32,500 average. BestBuilders, looking at orangery extensions built by general builders, quotes £30,000–£75,000+ excluding VAT. The difference is mostly specification: a supplier’s standard uPVC orangery is at the bottom of the range, while a bespoke aluminium or timber orangery with bifolds, underfloor heating and an open-plan kitchen link is at the top.

Orangery cost by size

Size	Floor area	Typical price range	Mid-point
3m × 3m (small)	9m²	£20,000 – £30,000	£25,000
4m × 3m (medium)	12m²	£25,000 – £40,000	£32,500
4m × 4m	16m²	£30,000 – £45,000	about £35,000
5m × 4m (large)	20m²	£35,000 – £60,000	£45,000
6m × 4m (extra large)	24m²	£45,000 – £70,000	£57,500
30m² and over	30m²+	£75,000 – £90,000+	–

Orangery cost per m²

BestBuilders quotes £2,500–£3,500 per m² for a standard orangery extension and £4,000+ per m² with premium glazing, structural openings and high-end finishes, excluding VAT. Dividing Less.co.uk’s installed prices by floor area gives a lower £1,750–£3,300 per m². Smaller orangeries cost more per m² because the lantern, doors and fixed costs are spread over less floor area. For comparison, our single storey extension rates are £1,800–£3,500 per m² before VAT, so a high-spec orangery can cost as much per m² as a well-specified brick extension.

Orangery prices by specification and materials

Specification	Typical 4m × 4m price	What you get
Standard uPVC	£28,000 – £35,000	uPVC frames, uPVC or aluminium lantern, brick piers, French doors
Mid-range aluminium	£35,000 – £45,000	Slim aluminium frames and lantern, bifold doors, plastered pelmet with downlights
Bespoke timber or hardwood	£45,000 – £60,000+	Hardwood joinery, bespoke lantern, often for period or listed homes
Orangery kitchen extension	Add £15,000 – £30,000	Knock-through, steel, and a mid-range kitchen fit-out

Lantern roof costs

The roof lantern is the signature feature of an orangery. Less.co.uk puts a lantern for a medium orangery at £3,000–£6,000, with aluminium costing 20–30% more than uPVC. BestBuilders’ breakdown for a 4m × 4m orangery allows about £6,200 for the flat roof and lantern together. A larger or bespoke lantern adds several thousand pounds more. Choosing solar-control, self-cleaning glass in the lantern is worth the extra; it is the part of the orangery most exposed to the sun.

Brick piers and walls

Brickwork and piers typically cost £4,000–£8,000 for a medium orangery (Less.co.uk), and BestBuilders allows about £6,800 for a 4m × 4m. Matching reclaimed or handmade bricks to an older house costs more; rendered blockwork is cheaper. More brick and less glass also makes it easier to meet the energy rules described below.

Orangery costs by region

An orangery involves more on-site building than a conservatory, so regional labour rates matter more. Here is a 20m² mid-range orangery by region:

Region	Typical 20m² orangery	Regional adjustment
London	£44,000 – £69,000	+25%
South East	£39,000 – £61,500	+12%
South West & East of England	£36,500 – £57,000	+4%
Midlands	£34,500 – £54,000	−2%
North of England & Wales	£32,000 – £50,500	−8%
Scotland & Northern Ireland	£33,500 – £53,000	−4%

Orangery cost breakdown

Specialist orangery companies usually include design and installation in one price, while a builder-led orangery extension separates these out. Either way, these are the costs to budget for:

Cost item	Typical cost	Notes
Groundworks and base	£3,000 – £8,000	More for drains, slopes or poor access
Brick piers and walls	£4,000 – £8,000	Depends on brick choice and number of piers
Frames, glazing and doors	£8,000 – £15,000+	Bifolds add £2,500–£4,500
Flat roof, insulated pelmet and lantern	£5,000 – £10,000	Aluminium lantern costs more
Electrics, plastering, flooring and heating	£2,500 – £6,000	Underfloor heating at the top end
Design and drawings	4 – 7% of build cost	Often included by specialist suppliers
Structural engineer	£500 – £2,500	Needed for a knock-through or steel beams
Building control	£600 – £1,200	Local authority or approved inspector
Lawful development certificate	£274	Recommended if built under permitted development
Householder planning application	£548	Only if it exceeds permitted development
Party wall surveyor	£1,000 – £3,000 per neighbour	Only if building on or near a shared boundary and neighbours dissent
VAT	20%	Usually included in supplier quotes; check builder quotes
Contingency	10%	Ground conditions and hidden problems

Orangery vs conservatory vs extension cost

This is the comparison most people are really making. BestBuilders’ 2026 comparison, for a footprint of roughly 14m² including VAT, is a useful starting point:

Factor	Conservatory	Orangery	Single storey extension
Typical total cost (about 14m²)	£13,000 – £22,000	£22,000 – £32,000	£35,000 – £60,000
Time on site	1 – 2 weeks	3 – 6 weeks	10 – 18 weeks
Building regulations	Often exempt	Usually required	Required
Year-round comfort	Poor to fair	Good	Very good
Typical value added	Break-even to +£5,000	+£12,000 – £25,000	+£25,000 – £80,000

Less.co.uk’s figures tell a similar story: an orangery costs roughly 40–60% more than an equivalent conservatory and 20–30% less than a full extension. Our calculator puts a 16m² standard single storey extension at £44,500–£59,000 all-in in the Midlands. So at the top end of the orangery range, the gap to a proper extension can be small. If you want the room to feel fully part of the house, it is worth pricing both. See our conservatory cost guide and house extension cost guide.

Conservatory to orangery conversion cost

If you already have a conservatory with a sound base and frames, you can often convert it into something close to an orangery by replacing the roof with a solid insulated roof with a central lantern or glazed panels and an internal plastered pelmet, and sometimes by replacing dwarf walls or corner posts with insulated piers.

• Solid roof conversion: BestBuilders quotes £5,500–£11,500, and £6,000–£15,000+ for a new tiled roof depending on size.
• Frame or base strengthening: £800–£2,500 if needed.
• Building control: £400–£1,200, as a solid roof normally ends the conservatory exemption.

Putting those together, our estimate for a typical 12–16m² conservatory to orangery conversion is around £8,000–£20,000, depending on the roof system, whether a lantern is included and whether the walls are rebuilt. Published data on full conversions is limited, so treat this as a guide and get a survey of your existing base and frames first. If the base is poor or the frames are more than 15–20 years old, replacing the whole structure is often better value.

What affects the cost of an orangery?

Glass versus brick ratio

More glazing means more expensive frames and a harder job meeting the energy rules. More brick costs less per square metre and insulates better.

Opening up to the house

Removing part of the back wall needs steel, a structural engineer and building control, and often moves radiators, drains or the kitchen layout too.

Groundworks

BestBuilders estimates £3,000–£8,000 for groundworks, depending on access, drain runs and how level the site is.

Doors, lantern and heating

Bifold or sliding doors, a large aluminium lantern and underfloor heating are the three upgrades that move an orangery from the bottom of the range to the top.

Planning permission and building regulations

Do you need planning permission for an orangery?

An orangery is treated as a single storey extension. Under permitted development in England you can typically build up to 3m beyond the original rear wall of a semi-detached or terraced house and 4m for a detached house (6m and 8m under prior approval, fee £249), with a maximum height of 4m, eaves no higher than 3m within 2m of a boundary, and no more than half the land around the original house covered. Side orangeries must be single storey and no wider than half the original house. Flats, listed buildings and many designated areas need full planning permission (£548). We recommend a lawful development certificate (£274) for proof when you sell. Read our extension planning permission guide for details.

Do orangeries need building regulations approval?

Usually, yes. Conservatories can be exempt from building regulations if they are under 30m², separated from the house by external doors and independently heated (Planning Portal). But building control bodies generally only treat a structure as a conservatory if about half of the new wall area and three-quarters of the roof are glazed or translucent (Ultraframe). An orangery’s solid flat roof perimeter and brick piers usually take it below those thresholds, so it is treated as an extension and needs full approval.

That has an energy consequence. Under Approved Document L, glazing in an extension (windows, doors and rooflights) should normally be limited to 25% of the extension’s floor area, plus any openings it covers up. Most orangeries exceed this, so you will usually need an SAP calculation or an area-weighted U-value calculation showing the extra heat loss is offset elsewhere, for example by better insulation or a more efficient boiler. Budget a few hundred pounds for this, and expect a good specialist to deal with it for you.

How long does an orangery take?

1. Survey and design: 2–4 weeks
2. Lawful development certificate or planning: up to 8 weeks; prior approval up to 42 days
3. Manufacture of frames and lantern: several weeks, running in parallel with approvals
4. Build on site: 3–6 weeks according to BestBuilders, or 6–10 weeks according to Less.co.uk for more complex builds with a knock-through

How to save money on an orangery

• Keep the footprint simple. A rectangle with a single lantern is far cheaper than a bespoke shape.
• Use French doors instead of bifolds: uPVC French doors cost about £800–£1,500 against £2,500–£4,500 for aluminium bifolds (Less.co.uk).
• Keep the existing opening rather than widening the back wall, if you are happy with the layout.
• Stay within permitted development and get a lawful development certificate instead of a planning application.
• Compare specialists with local builders. Specialist firms offer design and guarantees; a builder with a good fabricator can be cheaper for a simple design.
• Hold a 10% contingency for drains, foundations and the energy compliance work.

Does an orangery add value?

An orangery generally adds more value than a conservatory because it is usable all year and feels like part of the house. Less.co.uk suggests 5–7% for an orangery against 3–5% for a conservatory, and BestBuilders estimates a mid-range uplift of £12,000–£25,000, recovering about 50–80% of the cost. A well-specified single storey extension or kitchen extension typically recovers more, so the orangery’s main appeal is light and style rather than return on investment.

Frequently asked questions

Is an orangery cheaper than an extension?

Usually, yes. BestBuilders’ 2026 comparison puts a roughly 14m² orangery at £22,000–£32,000 against £35,000–£60,000 for a brick extension. But a large, high-spec orangery with a knock-through can cost almost as much as a standard extension, so compare both.

How much is a 4m × 4m orangery?

Checkatrade puts the average 16m² orangery at about £32,500. Depending on frames, doors, lantern and whether you open up the back wall, most will cost £30,000–£45,000.

What is the difference between an orangery and a conservatory?

An orangery has more solid structure: brick piers, a flat roof perimeter with an internal plastered pelmet, and a glass lantern in the middle. A conservatory is mostly glazed, with a fully glazed, polycarbonate or tiled roof. Orangeries are warmer, quieter and usually need building regulations approval.

Do you need planning permission for an orangery?

Not usually, if it meets permitted development limits for single storey extensions. You will need planning permission for flats, listed buildings, many designated areas, or if it exceeds the size and height limits.

Can you convert a conservatory into an orangery?

Often, yes, by fitting a solid insulated roof with a lantern and internal pelmet. Expect around £8,000–£20,000 depending on size and system, plus building control. Get the base and frames checked first.

How long does an orangery last?

A well-built orangery is a permanent extension and should last as long as the house, with frames and sealed glazing units typically needing replacement after a few decades.

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