Help with layout for extension please

8 years ago

Just looking for some advice on the layout for our new house. We plan to remove the old conservatory and extend the full width of the property by 6m, to create an open plan room with kitchen, dining area and living room. My husband thinks we should have one big open plan room (with a utility and a cloakroom in the bottom left corner). I think an 11mx7m room might be a bit too big and we should section off an area 2.5m wide on the left side to create a larger utility (where the kitchen is now) and one or two small rooms behind that which could be a playroom/guestroom. This still leaves a space 4.5m wide x11m long. Any suggestions regarding either layout (or something totally different!) would be welcome.

Featured Answer

titiankim

8 years ago

I would chose a larger utility, especially with kids. Think about what you might need it for - washing machine, dryer, freezer, sink for cleaning laundry, muddy veg, sports kit; airers for hanging laundry; craft supplies; pets; shoe and coat storage; or hiding junk from the open plan space when you have guests! Plan space for whatever you need for your lifestyle. Having said that, if I've understood your description right, the utility would be on the side where all the windows and your open plan space potentially might feel a bit narrow dark at the end in the original house. Sorry it's difficult to tell without a layout drawing. Also is it worth considering putting a shower in your downstairs cloakroom - may be useful if you have muddy kids or you have a downstairs guestroom

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Comments (12)

PRO
OnePlan
8 years ago
Getting deja vu with this one ... Did you post before ? I looked but couldn't see it under this name ?!
basmatietsy
Original Author
8 years ago
Haha no..it was on Mumsnet and you helped me with it :) but had some more ideas since then and thought I might post here too.
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Thanks both, I agree with the kitchen being split not being ideal jonathandb1972, we will be going to kitchen designers as soon as we have this sorted :) I guess with both opinions differing it just proves that both are probably fine...just one last option is that if the WC and utility are both along the internal wall, the external wall on the right could be kitchen units where the window is...but the kitchen would be spread out maybe too much and the walk through would go through it..! I think there are compromises with all of them and I guess we just have to decide which one we would prefer to live with...
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I agree with Hugh re supervision plus by the time the extension is built your son will be nearing an age where he understands a little more. You may also want him in there to cook with you soon. I'm sure the kitchen can be designed from a safety aspect too if that's the only thing holding you back. I think the advantage of using OnePlan is that Karen can look at the whole house spatially etc and you're not tied to a particular kitchen company (I'm not on commission!). Click on her profile for reviews etc. I second Hugh's comments re karndean too! I like the heringbone parquet! If you did want to hire an interior designer (designers tend to be qualified in planning too I think as opposed to an interior decorator although many of those could be qualified by experience) then you could find you save as much as you spend. Some of them will offer you their trade discount which if doing the whole house could add up to an awful lot. They may also make you save from any mistakes and I've made a few of those! I'd go on houzz and search for pros and look at their reviews and previous work. I think you need to meet people yourself though as it's important to have a good working relationship and make sure they understand you
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Hi! If you still need advice feel free to message me! I know this was posted a few weeks ago!
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Hello and thanks for your prompt reply. The drawings provided show that the support beams are 203mm depth and therefore they will be too big to sit inside the ceiling void. As the weight per linear m is 23Kg as detailed on the drawings it may be worth asking the engineer to reduce the depth and and increase the weight so the beam can be inserted into the ceiling void. I note that there is also a couple of posts in the stud wall and these could be upgraded if necessary. I do not make these suggestions lightly. The main benefit of inserting the beam inside the ceiling is the removal of the shadow cast on the ceiling. The return nibs on either end could be cut back and if needed posts could be fixed direct to the brickwork to provide vertical support. There may need to be a spreader plate welded to the bottom of the post in order to mitigate the point load on the foundation. Obviously this is more of a structural design issue. Is there a good reason for not centring the bifold doors to the external wall? You have so much height on the flat roof why not put a warm deck roof on instead of a cold deck with in cross ventilation? Can I also suggest a warm pitched roof too. You may find Web Dynamics TLX Goldto be a very useful form of insulation as you will only need about 75mm of PIR insulation in between the rafters. I've never been fortunate enough to meet a building control officer willing to accept a heavy duty Catnic lintel over a 4M bifold door. I thought the under stairs might be the position of the meters. I would consider relocating these to an outside wall. Then turn the WC through 90 degrees and design it under the stairs. If I was planning a kitchen diner extension with a beautiful bi-fold door looking out into the rear garden would try and create a direct flow from front of house to the back. I would move the utility room into the middle of the house to provide a direct line of sight from the front door to the rear garden. GD3 would provide access into the utility room. I'd consider moving the door along the living room wall so it could open into the hallway. This would allow a 950mm wide fully glazed door to be placed between the hallway and the kitchen diner. With regard to the position of the new extension wall which is adjacent to your adjoining neighbour I suggest that you look up the party wall act 1996 booklet online here - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/523010/Party_Wall_etc__Act_1996_-_Explanatory_Booklet.pdf The part that is of interest is "Line of junction - building astride the boundary". If you build across the boundary you should gain at least 150mm of additional internal floor space along the length of the outside wall. Also if in the future your neighbour decides to build an extension they can utilise your wall for if they pay half of the cost of its construction. I'm sure you know that you are responsible for paying all of the costs from all sides relating to the party wall agreement. If the neighbour on the other side is within 3/6m then you will need an agreement with them as well. The architects drawing indicates that the drain is not adopted or shared and therefore you will not require a build over agreement with the water authority. Best wishes Andrew
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PRO
OnePlan
8 years ago
Ah !!! The mystery is solved !!! ;-)
karenharper1982
8 years ago
Tell me more about the extension. Where are the windows, doors, rooflights etc? A sketch would be useful.
titiankim
8 years ago
That's a large extension. Won't you end up with a very "bottom heavy" house, with lots of living space but only three bedrooms. Or do you need all that space for a reason (e.g. home office). There will be a ceiling price for a three bedroom house in your area - will the cost of the extension plus what you paid for the house take you over that? How big is the garden, will losing six metres put off potential future buyers? This isn't necessarily a problem if you can afford it and don't plan to sell for a long time, but it's useful to think consider these things
Jonathan
8 years ago
Is the plot wide? Can you extend sideways to the left of the kitchen?
basmatietsy
Original Author
8 years ago
The extension doesn't exist yet :) we are really looking for design ideas. I have bookmarked some extension ideas in an Ideabook, but its essentially the typical layout with bifold doors out to the garden. I'd like there to be lots of light, so probably a vaulted ceiling with skylights.

We do want to add more bedrooms by extending into the loft but I think funds will not allow for that just at the moment. Essentially we would like a front reception and library/study room, then a utility and WC and coat/bootroom area, and open plan kitchen reception. An extra room as a guest bedroom/craft room would be helpful.

We will mostly likely turn the ensuite back into a small bedroom (which I suspect it was originally) and with the loft extension the house would be worth a lot more than we paid. The garden is 90' plus and we'd only be adding about 2m once the conservatory is gone so that is not a concern. We don't intend to sell for 20 years until the chidren have left home!

The neighbours (other side of the semi) have extended sideways, to the rear and into the loft so it is possible to do a side extension, but wouldn't be within permitted development.
tcmoules
8 years ago
What about removing the conservatory and then re working the layout of the ground floor to suit your needs. I see so many people adding extensions that don't solve the issues with their house. It seems you already have a good amount of ground floor space it's just how it is all organised that doesn't work.
PRO
Renaissance Interiors, Hartley Wintney
8 years ago
What an exciting project to undertake. My advice would be twofold. I love the idea of the open plan with the bifold opening to the garden, but I would section of the utility area and wc and definitely add a shower/wet room in to your plans. Although the rest of your space is planned as open, I would suggest being clever with a bit of zoning.

With open plan living there is a risk of it being noisy to live in as they invariably include the kitchen (all hard surfaces) and generally have a tiled or wooden floor throughout (more hard surfaces). With all these hard surfaces the noise of general family life reverberates off every hard surface and can become quite overwhelming.

Also, with your main living room planned for this space, with open plan you can't get cosy as there's so much space to fill.

Zoning and partitioning in a clever way can be the solution. Obviously you won't be putting solid walls around each space as this defeats your aims, but by creating 'rooms' with glass walls or open double sided shelving or using your furniture helps to designate a space. These methods still allows the light to move throughout the entire space but helps to create different areas.

To resolve the noise reverberation you need to add soft absorbing surfaces, such as sofas, curtains, rugs etc. These are items that you will typically be using in the living room area but you may need to consider them in the kitchen end too. It is important to remember that as a family this space will be used by all of you at the same time, potentially in different areas and you don't want one person's activity to intrude on someone else's.

It sounds like an amazing project. I hope it all goes well.
PRO
User
8 years ago
Good Afternoon,

Would you be interested in receiving a quotation for your bi-folding doors?

Thanks, Matthew.
ingabrereton
8 years ago
The house has poor flow through the ground floor, every room is a corridor. I would consider demolishing the garage to create access to the long garden and building a house better suited to your husband's taste at the bottom of the plot. You could then fence off the house at the front and let it, and use the income to pay most of the mortgage on your house which would be have the benefit of being sheltered from traffic passing and could make better use of the aspect than the current house.

Help with layout for extension please

titiankim

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Help with layout for extension please

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