Advice re 4th bedroom extension and side return? But garage in the way
newton81
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Hi
Our house comes with planning permission to extend to the side (see picture). As you can see from the pictures we have a beautiful and light extension on the back already. The previous owners didn't extend the whole width of the house as the detached garage slightly overlaps. They also have planning permission to change the garage into a habitable room. Ideally I would love to create a massive kitchen diner on the back by knocking through the middle room and kitchen, extending to the side. However as you can see perhaps from plan and pictures there is a little toilet (very handy with little people!). We are also considering a 4th bedroom! I could really do with some advice on:
1) how do I achieve the open kitchen diner/playroom with the current limitations of the garage?
2) how would I stop it getting gloomy if we made a 4th bedroom on top of the existing extension or the side extension? The dorma windows are vital for some light.
3) what do we do with the garage? Incorporate it into the extension somehow??
Help!
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Comments (16)
newton81
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Small bedrooms dilemma
Comments (15)Just a couple of different tweaks. As you are lucky enough to have drains on a few sides, ie kitchen / Utility and then again en-suite bed by the porch area. Here I changed the bathroom for two of the beds to the middle and made the rooms larger, tweaked the cloak room and coat closet:- Then I had something else in mind. Entering............where to put coats initially...........First and foremost getting the daily cloakroom accessible from the main hallway and not just from the bedroom area ( I thought this was absolutely necessary ). I also thought about the initial tweak of the three small beds and changed my mind, not from making them in to two beds, which I thought gave you better rooms, but the placement of them and the bathroom that they would use in relation to the Utility room. I decided therefore, to put the bathroom next to the Utility and move the bedrooms back down the Hallway away from it. Thus if you had machines going in the Utility at night they would not disturb anyone in the bedrooms as the bathroom was immediately adjacent. Thus I came up with this one and preferred it:- You also get another storage cupboard between the bathrooms for towels etc....See MoreExtension advice needed!
Comments (9)Wow thanks, that's a great idea! Our neighbours on either side have double storey extensions above the garage and the length of the house so hopefully we'll be ok with planning permission. We do use garage for storage but the path way between that and the house is very narrow. We were thinking to demolish it for the extension and build an outhouse in the garden but that's obviously very costly....See MoreRemodel, Extension plans approved but quotes are way above budget-HELP
Comments (23)The biggest issue you have is timing. Anyone trying to build/remodel/extend is finding that prices are through the roof right now. Your situation is tough and no option is going to be what you originally wanted - the planned remodelling at £150k. So you’ve got to choose the next best solution or least worst option. In your shoes I would get the house habitable and move in. Yes it will cost money to do that but you’re throwing rent money away & have been for quite a while. Live in the house, get a feel for it & you might find your thoughts on the remodelling evolve. You may need to wait for a year or two for prices to steady/come down to get close to your budget or your budget might also be able to move upwards. Given the difference between your budget & the quotes (and it’s almost inevitable you’ll spend more anyway) - smallish tweaks aren’t going to bridge the gap. Why is selling not an option? It’s extreme but maybe cutting your losses may be one way out of this....See MoreAdvice - Integrated Garage Conversion, Rear Extension Fire Safety
Comments (12)There are some really valid points made here so far and some thought-provoking space planning ideas so thanks so much for those. I wasn’t sure if people were interpreting the drawing lines near the dining table as a wall but they are in fact the outlines of where the RSJ structure would need to go. Also, the existing patio doors are drawn in but to tell you the truth I would remove those once I have building control sign off. Too many doors would be impractical and each one would need to have a door closer on it! But a necessary evil for fire reasons. I think the sprinkler systems are around £10K so I would rather not thanks. I see one design shows the living room open on the 1st floor but from what I understand that would not be allowed as there needs to be a safe protected means of escape from the bedrooms right down to the ground floor. The stairs need to be in an enclosure but correct me if I’m wrong. Using the garden doors as safe means of escape is a possibility and we have a side alley/access so a door could be added. On one design there is a utility which I am trying to fit in rather than just using the under stairs space for the washing machine etc. I don’t like the idea of walking through the kitchen instead of a hallway but I can see the point about that they wasted space. Although corridors are good place to hang art work and paintings! Also people might get in the way of the cook! One question which I’m finding hard to phrase…. At what stage in a property renovation does building control become applicable or more specifically when do the fire regs start to make an appearance? Is it because I’m adding a potential fire source to the garage? The neighbours opened up the existing kitchen on the 1st floor (see estate agent drawing) and combined the dining space with the kitchen. But there is no record of them consulting with the council but they did have to get building control for the garage conversion. Seems odd. But I just wander will the inspector be looking at the entire house (such as if toughened glass on patio doors) or just look at the conversion work in the garage? If I have to pass though the living room to get to the other staircase will this be an issue for example? I feel that I need to get a clearer ideal of what is really necessary and strip everything down to the essentials. I wish to spend a lot of time with an Architect but their time is expensive so I guess I’m trying to work out the best way to proceed in terms of the layout and design. The architect costs £80 per hour and he studied at a well-recognised University. He didn’t really listen or interview us but did one plan on top of my drawing and said shall we go with that then? He also said that access and egress is taking a lot of space which others are saying on Houzz. In one design I have opened up the whole ground floor space and changed the stairs to the front in a design but at what cost? At the same time I think I need to be quite pragmatic and too much structural changes are going to cost. The budget is not going to be huge for this house. Its not worth spending say £100K on this house as its next to a busy road and the property could end up being a real money pit. I was hoping for £50k finished but that’s with me laying the floor, decorating and making my own kitchen. Possibly being a laborer and doing the project timeline charts and ordering materials. Essentially, we need a family sized kitchen and since I have built a studio in the garden and park on the driveway it makes sense to convert the garage. The garage is long and narrow and more space I think is needed for a kitchen diner/family room. I am hesitant in placing loads of expensive RSJ’s everywhere and having sprinkler systems installed. Also, I don’t really want building control legislation to have to come into force on the whole house top to bottom. Maybe I’m being over fearful of Building Control! We had done drawings for a whole house recon fig including the top floor bedroom and where going to put two new staircases in. Building work got really expensive (Covid/cost of living etc) I got Nervous of increased materials costs too, builder so decided to scale back original plans and be a bit more pragmatic. We may have placed some constrains on the overall ‘ultimate’ layout design. But making use of the spare time available during the Covid restrictions was essential when it came to renovating the top floor bathroom. The top floor bedrooms work quite well as they are so I didn’t see much point in re-configuring everything. But I do get the message and it does make sense to have holistic approach in an ideal World. For me to take up the decking ready for the extension and cover up the astro turf is no real concern. I really wanted a home studio workshop and as the garage is going it gives more storage etc....See Morenewton81
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoA B
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6 years agonewton81
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6 years agonewton81
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6 years agoYes I was meaning this layout you posted. More difficult to decide when the house comes with planning already
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6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoFWIW- I would not extend further. I would open up the kitchen, dining room and extension (structural issues allowing). I would add a utility room around the WC area so the toilet doesn't come directly off a living space. I would convert all/half the garage to a home office. I also prefer having access to the back garden though.
Referring to this plan (minus side return)
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