Room rearranging/repositioning staircase/floorplans included

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Below is a link to my house floorplan.

We want a kitchen/diner with doors onto back garden (basically doors will be along back of kitchen where hob is in the pic)

Makes sense we knock through wall between dining room and kitchen and open up into the 'storage' cupboard too. Would this give us enough room?

Only thing is....... the staircase to get up to the bedrooms. The stairs are in the dining room...... the bottom of stair starts at the bottom right corner of the dining room, top of stairs being directly above door into dining room.

Ideally I would want my stairs blocked off and not lead directly into my kitchen/diner but don't think there are many options..... my hallway above the stairs is pretty much just 1 square metre of floor with 3 doorways off - the smallest hall you can probably get!

I would be up for reconfiguring downstairs and would do so to reposition stairs. I cant see how it can be done without losing that small bedroom 5.

The 2 downstairs bedrooms are currently not used, just spare rooms.

The floorplans may be a bit misleading - when you arrive at top of the stairs you have the Bed 1 (master bed)on your left hand side.

We have an architect coming to visit next week, hope start the ball rolling but just thought I would put on here for any suggestions.

Many thanks!

http://media.rightmove.co.uk/60k/59084/27985005/59084_212433_FLP_00_0000_max_600x600.jpg

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PRO

Phipps Building Ltd

7 years ago

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Comments (19)

Ellie
Original Author
7 years ago
Anyone?
Jonathan
7 years ago
For clarity could you please confirm-
Does the main bedroom window face the same side of the house as the front door?
Is the best garden viewed from the dining room bay or from the bathroom window?
Upstairs I assume the windows are in a dormer- is there a pitched roof all the way around or is there a gable at each end that could have a window added?
Lastly do you need 5 bedrooms? It strikes me that if you are not using all the rooms they could be put to better use.
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Hi Lisamarie. Do you have the measurements? It may hopefully encourage people to help rather than guesstimating based on the doors and kitchen cabinets. How will the internal corridor work in the garage? Will there just be a door knocked through from the drive? Is extending the flat roof extension an option although you may need to do something with the pitch of the roof? Have you had a quote for moving the boiler and electrics? How much storage do you need left in the garage? Can the stairs be moved?
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thanks everyone for your comments. apologies for the delay in response, i was having technical difficulties which seem to have resolved. i see your point about play area being large- but this is actually where we live most of the time (1 baby and 1 toddler have free reign here!!) and it's perfect for us, being easily accessible from (but not inside) the kitchen. i would call it a family room/ play room, whereas the other living room is the "adults only" chill out zone. the layout with the utility at the entry of the kitchen is appealing - thank you for this. however we were hoping to save costs and keep our current kitchen units and worktop which are adequate. maybe changing the doors of the units to give it a fresh look. we will be relaying a new floor with underfloor heating to match the existing and extended parts of the kitchen. i am sad about losing that window though, with the "best view in the house". i also use that window a lot to dissipate cooking smells etc, and the view to my lovely garden will be missed if we do it this way. however it does mean that the utility can be used as a mudroom for leaving dirty boots, pushchair, bringing groceries in etc. any further thoughts on this appreciated.
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@ManAboutTheHouse Thanks got the comment. I agree about moving the staircase, that would complicate things. There isn't standing height under the current (stupid) staircase, so I don't think we could put a toilet under there as it is. We're pretty sure the drain runs from the back of the house down the porch side, but obviously we need to confirm this. Current porch extends out 1.02m, wouldn't want an extension to come out any further than this because we'd like to keep the 80cm side access to the garden. It's 2.36m wide and we could go up to another 2m either way, giving us at least 6m, if we wanted. I'll attach a google earth image, so you can see the house in its surroundings. The deeds say we have to maintain the green landscaping to the front, so that's a no go area. Back garden is tiny, so also a no go area.
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Hi Mark, You've asked for two things - 1. The key to a new shower room is proximity to drainage. Have you considered partitioning off the left of the rear extension and connecting though to the waste in the kitchen? You could narrow the open doorway from kitchen to rear room to give you around a metre width. You'll need extraction to go outside as well, but perhaps this is easy through the side wall, depending on if it is a detached house or not. 2, Open plan could be done either by removing and putting steel beams in place of the wall between living and back room, or alternatively removing the wall between back room and kitchen and reconfiguring the kitchen to an open plan design. You will know better how you use the space, but having the kitchen open to the dining or living space is really popular and "party friendly"! I hope this helps! Alexander Build
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Ellie
Original Author
7 years ago
Hi there. Thanks for your response.

Yes, the main bedroom is at the front of the house, it is above the front door/lounge/Bed3.

The best view of the garden is the back south facing window of the kitchen.

Upstairs bedrooms are dormer windows, ensuites are velux.

Not sure about the roof, there is dormer front and back. It is a bungalow.

5 bedrooms? We have considered losing bed5 if it means the staircase could be moved out the dining room. It is a possibility. We have 2 children and do think that when they get older we will move downstairs into Bed3 and give them whole upstairs so that they can have an ensuite room each. Bed 5 if it still existed would become a study.

Thanks again!
PRO
Phipps Building Ltd
7 years ago
Hi Mr Mr

I think you're right.

Stairs on the left wall as you walk in to dining room with turn at the top that gives you a nice big landing. Build wall down the side of new stairs. Remove kitchen wall to this position. so you wont lose any space to Dining room but you gain the corridor that you had to access the stairs previously then just build door to dining room just after bottoms of stairs!!! May not be much help for alternative ideas but it might help you to clarify what you were thinking in the first place.

Terry
Ellie
Original Author
7 years ago
Phipps... think you have misread me.... the floorplans are the current floorplans. My stairs start on the faraway wall in the dining room, starting just near the window. It is a straight stair with no turn. It arrives at a tiny 1 square metre landing off which is 3 doors to the 3 bedrooms. If the stairs started on the left wall at the dining room entrance then I wouldn't be able to turn at the top as I would turn into my ensuite.
Jonathan
7 years ago
Alternative idea
Jonathan
7 years ago
Alternative idea
Ellie thanked Jonathan
Ellie
Original Author
7 years ago
Definitely do not want to lose my lounge, would never go open plan with kitchen/diner/lounge.

Seems you have rearranged my whole house. I woudn't be prepared to go that far. If it was the only option to get the stairs out of the dining room then the stairs would stay where they are!
PRO
OnePlan
7 years ago
Ouch !
Ellie
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Sorry, was that a bit harsh and ungrateful.

I would be happy to perhaps rearrange the layout of maybe a few rooms if it meant I could get the stairs out into the hallway but I would not rearrange the whole house to do so.

Here are a couple pics of the current dining room (from the estate agents brochure so not our choice of decor, we have been in our new home a year now!)

The doorway under the stairs is the doorway into this dining room. The doorway is from the hall, where I would love the stairs to be. If I could just switch them to go the other way that would be perfect but the roof is not as high on that side of the house.

Thanks for looking and I do appreciate any help, although it might not have seemed that!
PRO
Phipps Building Ltd
7 years ago
My idea was to move stairs to other wall if you said bed 1 was on your left up stairs then you would turn into bed five, is bed 1 over lounge ?
Ellie thanked Phipps Building Ltd
Ellie
Original Author
7 years ago
Thanks. Yes, bed 1 is above the lounge. You suggest moving stairs to the wall that is through from the hall cupboard? The stairs were originally, at one point a long time ago, the cupboard was a staircase going up to just 1 room upstairs. However the cupboard is only 80cm wide so not wide enough for a new staircase (in Scotland) We would lose Bed5 but have stairs in a better position and a nice hall landing upstairs. Definitely one of our options.
PRO
Equilibrando... Space Planning with Feng Shui
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Hi there, 3D rendering would be very helpful in making your new layout. If you are interested I could help you with that. Just drop me a line info@londonfengshui.net /Marcin
Kerry Donnelly
7 years ago
Id put the stairs back in the cupboard and just steal the extra needed from the dining room ( think it's 870mm overall for Scotland)
Ellie
Original Author
7 years ago
Yeh, thanks Kerry, thats what I was thinking.

Do you think we need an architect for this?
Ellie
Original Author
7 years ago
We are in Scotland. Anyone have a rough idea how much it might be to knock down 2 walls (probably all load-bearing) and move 1 by about 1ft, and put stairs in the cupboard? I have no idea!!!! Is 10k being unrealistic + all the making do of all the damage on top.
PRO
Phipps Building Ltd
7 years ago
Domestic - Private Stairs
As a general rule you will need a staircase with a clear tread width of 600mm to access one room and / or a bathroom – for example an attic conversion. This translates in to a staircase with a diameter of 1,420mm which is the minimum diameter to achieve the 600mm width. You will also find some of our staircases come in different diameters slightly bigger than this depending on the style and construction of the staircase.

To access more than one room and / or bathroom – for example the main staircase in a house - you will need a staircase with a clear width of 900mm. This translates in to a diameter of 2,020mm which is the minimum diameter to achieve the 900mm width. Again you will find staircases with slightly bigger diameters depending on the style and construction of the staircase. The following are the regulations with dimensions and explanation:-

The Building Standards (Scotland) 2013 – 4.3 – domestic/safety/stairs and ramps

• 4.3.10 Flights consisting wholly of tapered treads and with BS 5395 Pt.ll – Category “A” – Small Private Staircase or Category “B” – Private Staircase

And with “account taken” of the following guidance clauses:

• 4.3.2 – minimum rise 180mm & maximum rise 220mm
• 4,3,3 – effective minimum width:- Small Private Stair - 600mm - serving one room and or sanitary accommodation (toilet/bathroom/shower room) or Private Stair - 900mm – serving more than one room

as this is an existing property and you would technically be putting the stairs back where they were originally they might be lenient and let you have a staircase that is 800mm wide. unless you personally like it to be wider as the 900mm may only apply to new build. phone building control ask for a visit and find out before you go to the expense of removing a wall. if it is a load bearing wall it will need a new footing ?
Kerry Donnelly
7 years ago
The diameter will only apply if your putting in a spiral, which I'm guessing your not.

As said above, building regs say 900mm for accessible stairs, This is for the allowance of a stairlift should one be required in future. But since yours is a conversion, if you have step up to your property or doorways that aren't wide enough for wheelchair access, your house won't have to meet requirements for accessible stairs and you have some give or take, but your stairs can't be narrower than what's already in place. For example, if your stairs are 850mm just now, you have to be 850mm or over for the new stairs.

If it was me I would contact somebody who sells stairs and ask them as they will deal with this every day so will be more knowledgable in this. I'm guessing a standard stair of 900 will be less expensive than a stair that's been made to fit the space.

Cost will depend on if it's load baring walls that have to be moved. But I wouldn't underestimate the use of an architect/ technologist as they may see issues that we haven't picked up on, have a better idea for the use of space and how to comply with building regs, It can work out cheaper for these reasons too as sometimes we overcomplicate things we don't fully understand. They will also be able to give you a cost for the work and tell you if it's going to be worth doing it, remember the consultation won't cost you anything but will allow you to get a better understanding of what amount of work is going to be required.

Where abouts in Scotland are you? I'm in Glasgow and know a few technologists in the west/ east of Scotland if you would want their contact details. You can also look on CIAT (chartered institute of architectural technology) website for technologists/ technicians in your area or RIAS ( royal incorporation of architects in Scotland) for an architect. If you have a builder in mind who will be carrying out the work then they may also have an in house design team who can help you out.

Room rearranging/repositioning staircase/floorplans included

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