Hup! your game

Ultraframe marketing director, Alex Hewitt, speaks to Glass Times about the huge potential of the conservatory transformations market and how Ultraframe has a roof – and walls! – for every project.

Since 1994, around 3 million conservatories have been built in the UK.

The early ones offered the promise of a space to enjoy the garden but as the years have gone by, the outdated technology has meant that many of them have become unused, dated spaces that are begging to be brought back to life. We believe there are currently around 1.5 million conservatories that are available to be transformed today, with the remainder either having been demolished or already transformed.

Previously, the only option has been to replace the roof on a conservatory – with a new solid or glass roof – and upgrade the windows and doors if needed/required. It has not been possible to change the main structure and walls of an old conservatory as the base could not be strong enough to take the additional weight.

Until now that is…..

Now, for the first time, you can re-build the entire conservatory and transform it into a new energy-efficient home extension with the revolutionary hup! building system. Due to the lightweight nature of hup! you can use the existing base, and because hup! walls are so slim, up to 10-15% more floor space can be gained with hup! vs the old structure. With Building Regulation beating thermal performance, creating highly desirable open-plan spaces is possible and energy bills will be lower than the rest of the house – a huge sell to homeowners during the energy crisis.

The speed at which installers can complete a hup! transformation is quite incredible as building with hup! is five times faster than building with bricks and mortar.

A ‘typical’ 3m² or 4m² conservatory can be transformed into a watertight new extension complete with walls, doors/windows, and roof in just three days, meaning the complete project including plastering, electrics, and external finish is usually completed in just two weeks.

Homeowners have ultimate flexibility to choose exactly where walls, windows, and doors are placed in their new space, opening up the opportunity to change the use of the space completely. hup! walls can be paired with any style of Ultraframe roof to create a multitude of different looks – from orangeries to flat roof extensions, to contemporary lean-to’s and more.

Dependent on the look required, homeowners can choose from the glass roof (can be used to create an orangery look when combined with hup!), flat roof (pair with our flat skylights or lanterns to create a beautiful orangery or flat roof extension), Ultraroof (tiled roof that can be used for lean-to’s and a range of other styles) or Livinroof (hybrid solution offering shaped glazing and huge style flexibility).

The uses for these various roof types and the spaces they create are endless and homeowners can really use their imagination to create the exact space that they dream of.

We really do believe that hup! offers a tremendous opportunity to our customers, not only in terms of the huge conservatory transformations market but also new build extensions which are becoming more and more popular with our customers today.

With over 200,000 extensions being built each year with an average order value of £35,000, the simple and rapid hup! building system also unlocks this market opportunity, worth up to £6.3 billion every year for conservatory companies across the UK.