Reconfiguration - confused on who does what!
Hi
I live in a 3 bed mansion block flat and want to switch the kitchen and bathroom round. Essentially the old kitchen will be split into a small ensuite shower room, small bathroom and utility cupboard with washing machine in it. The old bathroom and separate loo will be opened up into the corridor (i.e. removing the relevant walls) to incorporate the kitchen with the entrance to the living room slightly widened.
So far i have been working with an interior designer to come up with the layout. I have a structural surveyors report confirming none of the walls being removed are structural and the management company is in the process of giving me a licence to alter. How do I get to the next steps? The interior designer says she should write a spec of works to get builders quotes but I don't think she is experienced enough in this type of thing (based on various comments on the current plans from the structural surveyor, a kitchen/bathroom specialist and a plumber re wall widths, siting of loos, direction of shower...) plus it is quite expensive to end up with something that's not right.
Can the builders give a reliable quote based on a layout then help work up the plans in full detail? The management company surveyor suggested a surveyor could do the detailed plans. Or I could use the bathroom and kitchen design specialists who someone recommended? I'm getting very confused and don't want to sink a load of cost not getting to the right answer before the work really starts. I also need to rewire the whole flat and work out where sockets and lighting should be etc. can this work be split so I can get on with the bedrooms or best done as part of the whole project? Presumably location of plugs/lighting would be more in my designer's comfort zone?
I'm sure I have a million other queries but some guidance on who should be doing what would be very much appreciated.
Thanks
Comments (6)
Jonathan
8 years ago
PROOnePlan
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Reconfigure Layout
Comments (34)Nicely drawn bookworm and Jonathan, very nice! I like the idea of less rooms and division. If there is room spatially your plan could be nice, as a consideration re the ratio of beds to loo/bath/shower rooms could indeed increase. With the idea of two more rooms upstairs and another bathroom. Possibly keeping the downstairs as a closet/shower/loo. I also like your walk in utility which would be gr8 as a larder with ff next to it at the start of the galley run.. Gr8 ideas Jonathan and Bookworm which of course takes in to account what I said about planning the whole project so it's done once, even phased works are planned as a complete job. Given the awkward proximity of current bathroom, it's probably inevitable that it would have to move. It's not impossible but if it allows for optimum design spatially then it's worth doing and relocation can be duplicated on the floor above to benefit. :))...See MoreHow to reconfigure my kitchen
Comments (21)I’m not sure which walls are structural yet. The walls all extend upstairs so the footprint for upstairs is exactly the same. Ideally I wanted to keep cost down and use the space we had available as we don’t use the existing dining room or living room. The easiest idea to me was to knock the utility walls down and open the kitchen into the dining room. However my partner thinks they may be load bearing and therefore it will be less expensive to move the kitchen to the living room. I worry that this means we have a dark kitchen and didn’t know what to then do with the old kitchen and dining room....See MoreBuilding/Design process....confused!
Comments (11)Hi Clara, you will definitely need planning permission to do any building work be it minor alterations or major renovations. Depending on the position and conditions of the site and the structural changes you plan on making you might need a structural engineers approval on the plans. However this is wholly depending on the extent of the structural changes so I will need a little more information. As for the planning stages, your builder will need a plan from which to quote and build so you could have him on stand by so that he knows to allow for your work in his diary while the plans are being drawn up. If you use a qualified interior designer they can also draw plans to a certain size and most architects also do interior design as a add on to their service so it is completely up to you and your preferences, you could make use of one or both. Your project stages would be as follows: 1- Meeting with designer / architect to discuss your needs, the builder can be present here. 2- They will present you with a concept design based on this meeting 3- Once the concept has been approved they will prepare a set of plans for planning permission and construction. 4- Plans submission for approval and issue to the builder for costing as well as the engineer if needed. 5- Upon approval of the plans site work can commence and the designer / architect will do periodic site visits to ensure all work gets carried out to plan. (This service is normally optional so you could choose to manage the building work yourself) 6- Prior to final hand over the designer will come in and prepare a snag list to eliminate any minor mistakes (If you manage the building work yourself this won't be done by the architect or designer) 7- Completion and move in. As confusing as the whole process is, I hope I've shed some light on your questions. If you need any further advice - check out the BetterSpace site (betterspace.co) - we'd love to assist you further with your project....See MoreCan anyone help me with reconfiguring my home /kitchen layout please!!
Comments (13)Whilst I understand the constraints of budget I think you are approaching the planning wrong. I think the way to do this is to decide on the layout that works best and then work out what you can afford to do now- perhaps you can make economies on purchases such as the kitchen cabinets to get a better Gliw in your home. An architectural designer or a concept planner are worth considering to help with this- they would also help you visualise the finished space too. If this were my house I would be thinking the entrance wasn’t big enough for the size of house and I would be concerned about privacy of the bedrooms at the front, I also don’t like the current kitchen being some distance from a window and being a heavy traffic area. Although I can’t see the layout properly I think I have got the sizes about right to show how I would do it. I have moved the front door to the middle of the house, shown a vaulted hall with stairs to two big upstairs spaces, shown the living space as completely open plan but with the option of using one of the downstairs bedrooms or one of the upstairs rooms as an extra living room. In my opinion there are often houses with long narrow extensions across the back that should have been better considered as invariably people need bigger spaces rather than more small rooms and retrospectively opening up the original house into this space is more difficult that building in the steels originally. So my plan doesn’t change any of the external walls of the original property but a couple of internal brick walls have been removed. I have just shown what is commercial and probably wouldn’t cost the earth but a designer would spend time trying to better understand your needs....See MoreJC
8 years ago
PROVC Design Architectural Services
8 years agoJC
8 years ago
VC Design Architectural Services