Extension Natural Lighting Problem
8 years ago
I am having an extension built at the rear of my house. The first picture shows what the house currently looks like. The second is an idea put together with the architect.
It is a listed terrace property with permission to build a one storey extension at the rear.
The rear entrance is used as the main entrance as we park the cars at the back. From the extension plans we will be using the utility room as the main entrance as we don’t want to be trudging into the kitchen with dirty boots.
I am worried about the level of natural light the middle two rooms will get. At the moment one of them has been left open to allow light through. However the library/office will only have glass doors to allow light through. I want to keep the library office as it is, as it has beautiful wooden panelling all around. However, this could change depending on what advice I get.
Unfortunately can’t find the architect plans at the moment. I would really appreciate your feedback as I’ve been racking my brains out on this for ages.
I’ve been reading other floor plan ideas and the Houzz community seems to be really helpful and awesome. Usually notice a lot of good ideas from Johnathan, so would love to hear from you too.
Thanks
It is a listed terrace property with permission to build a one storey extension at the rear.
The rear entrance is used as the main entrance as we park the cars at the back. From the extension plans we will be using the utility room as the main entrance as we don’t want to be trudging into the kitchen with dirty boots.
I am worried about the level of natural light the middle two rooms will get. At the moment one of them has been left open to allow light through. However the library/office will only have glass doors to allow light through. I want to keep the library office as it is, as it has beautiful wooden panelling all around. However, this could change depending on what advice I get.
Unfortunately can’t find the architect plans at the moment. I would really appreciate your feedback as I’ve been racking my brains out on this for ages.
I’ve been reading other floor plan ideas and the Houzz community seems to be really helpful and awesome. Usually notice a lot of good ideas from Johnathan, so would love to hear from you too.
Thanks
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Comments (19)
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoI think the new floor plan works quite well, although personally, I would skip the pantry and have a large utility.
We had a similar problem with the amount of light our middle rooms would get after extending. You could have skylights placed above the entryways to the middle rooms, or even a long section of glass, against the (now) back of the house.
Chigford Contemporary Large Garden · More Info
Contemporary Family Living · More InfoAs for the middle room in our house, we decided to keep the office separate with no access to the kitchen through it and have an internal window to allow natural light.
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Comments (16)Sorry to say this but I feel part of living in a city is being aware and respectful of neighbours. Good on you for at least consulting them first. We are currently going though a very stressful similar situation but our neighbours are building. They did not give us the courtesy of even telling us and are selling one of the duplexes they are building, which happens to be the biggest and most imposing one & on our side. It is totally taking away our privacy, looking into our kitchen & living area and whole backyard. Plus the only outdoor eating area is only 1mtre from our deck off our kitchen. It is horrible, stressful and we feel we will be forced to sell our lovely home we have been in for 20 years. My advice is move - buy a house which suits your needs as your neighbour will hate you forever and object to everything they can. Not sure where you live but in Australia you have to get an architect/drafts person to draw up overshadowing plans. Please be nice to them, it is stressful and could cause them to become very ill....See MoreExtension needed for a new kitchen but light an issue
Comments (28)Thanks for the compliment. I am not a professional but have modernised and rearranged many homes and been very successful at adding value. Everything is possible in building terms but lots of things are uneconomic. I suspect that the walls between the front bedroom and shower room and the other wall between bed 2 and the kitchen are holding up walls in the flat above. You can knock doorways in them but removing them altogether is more expensive. You should also bear in mind that as a resident you are likely not the freeholder (which means you are responsible for the whole building) but a part owner of the freehold meaning that you still need permission to make internal alterations. Do you have much budget beyond the purchase to build and renovate?...See MoreIndoor lighting problem - very low natural light
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Comments (20)You can add skylights to the sloped roof sections on each side without taking down the entire ceiling. You will need your builders to create a deep plasterboarded reveal (like a tapered tunnel) leading from each skylight to the ceiling. Like this This is likely to be a lot cheaper and easier than removing the entire ceiling - plus there are almost certainly structural roof supports running across above the ceiling that will be exposed if you remove the ceiling. I would also definitely get your husband to reconsider the outdoor covered structure if you can as it’s not helping! What does he love about it? Perhaps there is something less light obstructing it could be replaced with? An awning or a shade sail that comes down in the winter?...See More
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PRO8 years ago- 8 years ago
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Love to see some pics of the rear of the house. Was just wondering what type of roof you are going for? Also wondering, whether as well as having skylights, roof windows or a roof lantern, the latter of which would look particularly nice on a listed building or one in a conservation area, that maybe a light tunnel could be installed to go directly in to the library.
roof lantern:-
Sky or Light tunnel:-
Sun tunnels can go in roof spaces, but I have also seen them at source from an outside wall, going through the joist spaces in the ceiling above and coming out in the middle of the ceilings as above.
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- 8 years agoI no longer live in that house and the only picture I have is one of the mirror so I'm afraid it doesn't show the sun tunnel. I will try to attach it anyway so you can see the daylight achieved by the sun tunnel - to compare, just think without it, the shower room was just like for example, an under stair cupboard.
- 8 years ago
chapss89Original Author