If you’re weighing up a hup! conservatory against a hup! extension or orangery, you’re in the right place! hup! is one of the fastest-growing building systems in the UK, and for good reason; it lets you extend, convert or completely transform your home in days rather than months. As an approved hup! builder covering Horsham and West Sussex, we get asked most days what hup! actually is and which of its options suits a particular home. This guide covers all four.
What Is the Hup! Building System?
Hup! is a prefabricated building system manufactured by Ultraframe, built around lightweight, highly insulated wall panels that click together on site. Because the panels are made off-site in a BBA-approved factory to exact measurements, there’s very little cutting, mess or waste at your home, and none of the weather delays that hold up traditional brick builds. Most hup! projects go from foundation to weathertight shell in a matter of days.
There are four main ways to use it: home extensions, conservatories, orangeries, and conservatory conversions. All four use the same core wall and roof technology, just applied differently depending on what you’re starting with and what look you’re after.
Hup! Home Extensions
A hup! extension is the standard route if you’re adding entirely new space to your home: a kitchen extension, a family room, a garden room. The headline benefit is speed: a typical hup! extension (around 3-4m on each face) can go from foundation to weathertight, ready for its internal and external finish, in around four days. Compare that to the many weeks a traditional brick extension takes once you account for foundations, block-and-brick walls, and roofing.
What you get with a hup! extension:
Full design freedom on layout, windows, doors and walls can go wherever suits your space, and you can choose from vaulted, sloped or flat ceilings.
A choice of external finishes including brick, render or cedar cladding, so it can be matched to the rest of your house rather than looking like an obvious add-on.
Strong thermal performance, hup! walls are built to a U-value of 0.17 W/m²K, which comfortably exceeds current Building Regulations and helps keep the new space (and the rooms next to it) warmer for less.
One team managing the whole project, including the structural calculations that would normally need a separate architect or structural engineer.
Hup! Conservatories
A hup! conservatory takes the same fast-build, energy-efficient approach and applies it to a traditional conservatory build. The difference from an older-style conservatory is mainly in the glass and wall performance; high-performance glazing and insulated wall panels mean you can have as much glass as you want in the design without the space turning into a greenhouse in summer or a fridge in winter.
Options include a choice of classic or contemporary styles, insulated pelmets and cornices for a more finished look, full-height walls where you want privacy, and a choice of bi-fold, French or sliding doors. Like the other hup! applications, it’s built in days rather than weeks.
Hup! Orangeries
An orangery sits between an extension and a conservatory, more glass and light than a brick extension, but with more solid wall and roof structure than a conservatory, giving that classic “orangery” look with a flat roof, lantern or skylights. Hup! Orangeries pair insulated wall panels with super-insulated columns to keep the traditional orangery aesthetic while performing far better thermally than an older-style structure. Roof options include lantern roofs for maximum light or an insulated glazed roof with a pelmet.
Hup! Conservatory Conversions
This is the one most homeowners haven’t heard of yet, and it’s often the best option if you already have a tired, too-hot-in-summer, too-cold-in-winter conservatory you don’t use.
Traditionally, converting an old conservatory meant replacing the roof and, at best, ending up with a slightly better version of what you already had. With a hup! conversion, because the system is so lightweight, your existing conservatory base can usually be reused, with no digging new foundations, which saves both time and cost. But rather than a like-for-like swap, you can redesign the whole space: move the walls, windows and doors wherever you want, choose from five roof options including a flat roof, and pick any external wall finish. Because hup! walls are slimmer than a typical conservatory frame, you also typically gain 10-15% more usable floor space in the process.
The result reads as a proper extension rather than “a conservatory with a new roof,” and like the other hup! options, it’s usually completed in under a week.
What All Four Have in Common
Whichever application you’re looking at, the underlying hup! technology is the same:
Roughly five times faster to build than the equivalent traditional construction.
Around five times more energy-efficient than the average UK home, which shows up as lower heating bills in the finished space.
Manufactured off-site to your exact measurements, so there’s minimal on-site cutting, mess or waste, and no weather delays.
Managed by one team from design through to completion, with pricing agreed upfront rather than the “final cost creep” that traditional builds are known for.
Which Hup! Option Is Right for You?
If you’re adding space where there’s currently none, a hup! extension is the standard choice. If you want a bright, glass-heavy garden room, look at a conservatory or orangery depending on how much solid wall and roof you want versus glazing. And if you already have an underused conservatory, a conversion is usually the quickest way to turn it into a room you’ll actually use, often without the cost of a full new foundation.
As your local hup! installer in Horsham and the surrounding West Sussex area, we can talk you through which option fits your home, your budget and your timeline. Get in touch for a free quote and design consultation
FAQ
What’s the difference between a hup! extension and a hup! conservatory conversion? An extension adds entirely new space and typically needs new foundations. A conservatory conversion reuses your existing conservatory base wherever possible, so it’s usually quicker and can work out more cost-effective — but the finished redesign can look just as different from the original as a new extension would.
Can I redesign the whole layout with a conservatory conversion, or just replace the roof? With hup!, you’re not limited to a like-for-like roof swap. Walls, windows and doors can be repositioned, and you can choose from several roof styles including a flat roof — so the finished space can be a genuinely different layout, not just an upgraded version of what you had.
How long does a hup! project usually take? Most hup! builds, extensions, conservatories, orangeries and conversions — reach a weathertight shell within a matter of days, largely because the components are manufactured off-site to measure and simply click together on site.
Do I need an architect for a hup! project? No. The hup! design and structural calculations are handled as part of the project, so a separate architect typically isn’t needed.