Dismantling a conservatory

[ayashasky]

Hi, I was hoping someone could help....On the back of our house we have a hideous modern conservatory that we want to get rid of. My brother has said that he would like it, but we are not sure how it is put together. We want to keep it unbroken as far as possible. Obviously the roof comes of first but does any one know how to diassemble the windows?
Personally I would like to take a digger to it and smash it up, but if anyone has any tips I would be very grateful. Thank you in advance. Ayashasky

 

[middi]

A digger is too big and waste of energy.

A pair of glasses, gloves and a sledge hammer, much more fun.

 

[Mark]

have a look around the windows, there should be a bead on one side. how the bead is removed will depend on the mfr. I would try putting a strong thin blade (scraper?) between the frame and the bead and try to lever it off.

start with an edge that will be unobtrusive when it is reassembled. you mighgt make a mess of the first one, but once a bit is off you will be able to see the best way to remove them without damage.

 

[mark_j_k]

When I need to remove DG glass from windows I usually use a blunt wood chisel and a mallet to prise off the plastic beads.

As for the frame itself, I've found that they are usually bolted together, some of the plastic trim has to be prised off to reveal the nuts.

 

[Gervase]

If you're lucky it will be screwed or bolted together. Sadly a lot of such things (both wood and plastic) are put together with annular shank nails - which grip like hell and are b*ggers to remove without knackering the stuff they're in.

 

[Penners]

The first thing to ask is - what is the conservatory made of? Is it timber or uPVC?

 

[ayashasky]

Hi Penner, the conservatory is white plastic and sits on a 2' dwarf wall.
Ayashasky

 

[Penners]

I have no experience whatsoever of plastic conservatories (thank goodness!) but if I wanted to dismantle one as undamaged as possible, I think I would be looking carefully to try and see how it's put together.

The ones I have seen appear to have all kinds of cover caps and clips and suchlike. That's where I would start my investigations - trying to take off cover caps, clips and so on to try and find bolts, screws, etc.

The dwarf wall will not, of course, be dismantlable without damage, although with care you may be able to conserve the bricks.

 

[middi]

Most of these plastic conservatory trap the glass in the frame by an inner and outer bead. On assembly the outer bead is fitted in position the glass fitted from the inside and finally the inner bead is snapped in to its final position, This process locks the outer bead in the chanels.

They are usually reasonably easy to dismantle by reversing the process.

Remove the inner bead first with a flat chisel or screwdriver and it will pull out. DO NOT START IN THE CORNERS, START IN THE CENTRE , LIFT IT OUT AND PULL AWAY. Repeat the process wiyh all beads.

The screws holding the main frame in position should then be accessible and easy to see.

.........( I still think you should have fun with a sledge hammer ).........

 

[Moo]

Print off all the good advice in this thread, hand it to your brother-in-law, and go on holiday for a week. Tell him you will be coming back with a quaint sledge-hammer you picked up on your travels.

 

[Penners]

I think Moo's come up with the best possible plan, there.

Except that I don't recollect ever seeing a "quaint" sledge-hammer. It sounds a similar concept to a dainty bulldozer.

 

[Moo]

I agree about 'dainty' as applied to bulldozers, Penners. But if it was tastefully decorated with local peasant motifs, might it not be classed as 'quaint'?

 

[Penners]

Moo, I naturally defer to your judgement in matters of style and taste.