Advise on a newly built home please
Chris Osullivan
5 years ago
Good morning all,
I have just moved in to our new family home and am looking for some advice on the best way to make the most of our ground floor space.
This is a first for us so any advise would be greatly appreciated.
We would like a kitchen diner across the back of of our house. We don't have a large garden so could we just knock through and build a wall to separate the through lounge?
As the back of the house isn't flush would it be worth it/ cost effective to bring it flush so we could have bi folds?
With the wall that may separate the lounge, should we put double doors in or cut off the lounge completely meaning we would enter the lounge via a single door from the hallway?
Lastly are there any reasonable ways of having multiple drawings done before we decide without paying a lot of money as we are on a budget.
As I said I would really appreciate any advise however small.
Thanks
I have just moved in to our new family home and am looking for some advice on the best way to make the most of our ground floor space.
This is a first for us so any advise would be greatly appreciated.
We would like a kitchen diner across the back of of our house. We don't have a large garden so could we just knock through and build a wall to separate the through lounge?
As the back of the house isn't flush would it be worth it/ cost effective to bring it flush so we could have bi folds?
With the wall that may separate the lounge, should we put double doors in or cut off the lounge completely meaning we would enter the lounge via a single door from the hallway?
Lastly are there any reasonable ways of having multiple drawings done before we decide without paying a lot of money as we are on a budget.
As I said I would really appreciate any advise however small.
Thanks
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Comments (9)
PROUser
5 years agoHi Chris, being cost effective depends entirely on your budget. If you want to go flush then you'll need two lots of steel work instead of one. Both walls are external and load bearing.
I'd approach a Concept planner who would be happy to give you different ideas and the associated drawings. Karen at OnePlan on here comes very highly recommended.
Just a couple of other things to consider. Do you have front to back access? If not, then you may like to incorporate this in a new plan by re-jigging the internals and utility / garage area, plus i would advise adding a downstairs toilet too.
I'd personally be wary of doors right the way across the back, the kitchen is quite small and I don't think you'd have enough internal wall space left for a good kitchen layout.
Chris Osullivan
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Please help with my Mum's dream home! Thank you.
Comments (18)Hi rinq. Thanks so much for all the thought you've put into this, it's so helpful. You're right re bedroom...it pretty much isn't needed now (Mum still pretty young and fit), but she does want to future proof it such that one day she can be on ground floor permanently. Re joists, she is starting to get builders in just to talk through the job. But will likely need an architect too I guess re joists and plans? I think the reason we were automatically thinking ground floor extension originally is that we want that expansive kitchen, dining, family room, but also a separate formal sitting room...not sure we have the sitting room capacity even with the reconfiguring that you've shown? I do like the idea of bathroom and laundry at the front where views aren't needed....See MoreHome in need of a complete refurbishment, advise please
Comments (6)Many thanks to Becci and Ricky, This is my first house and on top of that have to do a complete refurbishment. So your advise is worth its weight in gold. As per the building survey, these are the jobs that need doing. Besides this, as mentioned in my OP, there will be other jobs as flagged up in the building survey. Cut and pasted it below. I guess all of these will be done by the builder? 1)There is a subsidiary roof serving the conservatory to the rear and this is finished in Georgian wired glass panels however, at least three of the panels are damaged and we recommend these are renewed. Upgrading the roof completely should be a consideration. Cost £400.00 £2,000.00 3 2) The chimney is suffering from some mortar displacement and we recommend this is accessed and re-pointed and this should include repointing the flashing detail. Cost £800.00 2 3) Some of the corner trims fitted to the fascia are dislodged, namely, the front left and right-hand. You may wish to have these repositioned. Also, 1 of the soffit vents to the rear left-hand corner is dislodged, we recommend this re-positioned to maintain the soffit detail in good order. Cost £120 2 4) There are two small parapets above the conservatory both left and right. These are both finished with concrete capping stones however, the concrete capping stones are dislodging from their position, namely the right-hand side, and we recommend these are checked and re-laid, if necessary. Cost £180.00 2 5) The front elevation has a concrete tile detail and this appears generally complete with no major defects, although there is one tile missing on the right-hand side of the left bedroom window, we recommend this is replaced to maintain the detail in good order. Cost £80.00 2 6) The single course brickwork above the conservatory windows is leaning forward slightly and has cracked in several places to the mortar joints. We recommend the brickwork is rebuilt, this is 1 course of brickwork and is approximately 5m in length. Cost 350£ 2 7) There is a concrete wall separating the sections of the rear garden. However, the wall is suffering from mortar displacement and is loose in multiple areas. We recommend this is removed or renewed. Advisory 2 8 The roof void is accessed via a hatch on the landing ceiling, however, there is no option to install a pull-down ladder in this area as it is very close to the pitch of the roof. You may wish to install a further loft hatch in the front right-hand bedroom which would provide easier access and the ability to fit a pull-down ladder in this area. Cost £600.00 2 9 The walls to the kitchen are primarily clad in timber and again, we recommend all cladding is removed and re-plastering should be expected. The walls to the hall, stairs and landing are also clad in timber. We recommend this is removed and some re-plastering is to be expected. Advisory Predicted plastering costs throughout the property £2,000.00+ 10)There are cracks in the plaster finishes inside the built-in wardrobe to the rear right-hand bedroom to both left and right of the cupboard. These have opened up approximately 3-4mm in places but look slightly worse because the plaster has debonded and slipped. We recommend the cracks should be dealt with by way of breaking out the debonded plaster and renewing the plaster finishes however, if the cracks stem into the brickwork we recommend the installation of an EML style galvanized mesh and fixings to bridge the defects in the brickwork before the plaster finishes are re-applied. This is on both sides of the cupboard and is approximately 2m on either side. Cost £300.00 2 11) The doors to the rear and right-hand front bedrooms require adjusting to the doors to ensure they are fully operational. The handles to the kitchen door are also loose and require tightening. The downstairs WC door is also binding and we recommend this is eased. Cost £150.00 2 12) There appears to be a minimal amount of storage and cooking space available in the kitchen and we recommend a kitchen upgrade Advisory 2 should be a consideration, also increasing the unit capacity and the functionality of the kitchen. The kitchen has 35mm chipboard worktops finished in laminate which are also very dated, the worktops have also dropped 2mm in places and require the silicone seals renewed to ensure no water ingress to the worktops. £5000.00 basic Kitchen upgrade £60.00 13) There are smoke alarms fitted at the property however, these do not appear to be operational. We recommend the smoke alarms are renewed on both floors. Advisory 3 14) Heating at the property is provided by an ageing floor-standing heating system. This was in working order at the time of survey with hot water available at the taps however, the heating system is very old and we recommend upgrading it for a combination boiler system should be a consideration which would be much more energy-efficient. Cost £4,000.00 2 15 The garage roof has some pooling water present, we recommend you have these areas self-leveled to prevent this kind of settling water. Cost £200.00...See MoreAdvise on property: Article 4 of the of the Town 7 Country Planning
Comments (20)Hi everyone, Long time no see, hope all is well. Sorry was busy with work and stuff Just an update, wrt the above topic, I wrote to the Building Regulations, for the Birmingham Council. Which I believe is being handled by Acivicogroup As you know I wish to refurbish the house. Takedown the wall between the dining room and the kitchen (non-weight bearing wall) and insert an RSJ there. Also change the Georgian glass roof of the conservatory, to an all year roof. Besides a complete re-wire, new central heating and a combi-boiler This was the response from Acivicogroup, which is cut and pasted below --You will only need Building Regulations for the roof to ensure the right insulation is used. There is no need for Building Regs for a non-load-bearing wall and you will only need Building regs for the boiler and rewire if a non registered person is undertaking the work. So as long as you have someone who is Gas and Electric registered then just their certificates will cover the work. You can apply for a Building Notice for the conservatory roof via the link below. - https://acivicogroup.co.uk/services/building-regulations/ Kind regards Mel ps as Jonathan had advised, I will still take reg permission wrt the wall...See MoreFull refurbishment advise please
Comments (10)Hi Jonathan, Thanks for all your advise, as usual , worth it's weight in gold I am usually at home only on the weekend and as my day job is rather hectic, combined with an L5 slipped disc, will restrict what I could do physically to help out. I would rather divide the refurbishment jobs into those which are like A) ‘destruction’ or just ripping things out. Versus those which need B) re-construction or as you mentioned, the finishes. I would also divide the available tradesmen into A) Those with no reviews, who can start work at a short notice and are cheaper and B) Those who are expensive, have a web presence/reviews and would take 1-2 months to start a job Using your timeline which you gave me in August, I would list the jobs in the following chronological order Jobs A) to be done by a builder who has no reviews and can be available at a short notice 1) Strip out the house. I would strip out carpets, skirting boards, wall cladding, partition by the stairs, kitchen, unwanted curtains, internal doors and architrave, the fire hearth, I will need a gas engineer too to disconnect the fire and hob. 2)-- Dispose of all the stuff, using 6/7 skips. 3)General builder to take down the wall between the dining room and kitchen. As it’s a non-weight wearing wall, I would persist with my cheaper builder A? 4) My dining room and kitchen ceilings will probably come down at this stage?? Again, persist with my cheaper builder A?. 5) heating engineer and electrician to start rewiring and central heating. —I have shortlisted a couple of electricians, who have excellent reviews and could start work in 2-4 weeks. 6)Consider TV/broadband/alarm at this time for a tidier result—Will have to contact Sky 7) replacement windows and internal doors, will give this to the established builder B- Hopefully by this time, it will be like 4 weeks down the line and he should be available to start work 8) external repairs such as roof tiles and gutters- Again builder B. 9)/ additional insulation to the loft- Builder B 10/ plaster boarding where necessary, coving, plastering. - ** Here I have a query, do I give this job to the good builder? Or try and outsource it to another plasterer? Is plastering more difficult or important than painting? 12/electrician - ceiling lights, second fix sockets. 13/ joiner- new doors, architrave, bannisters, skirtings. If wood floor skirting to be fitted after. 14/ decorator - emulsion ceilings and walls, woodwork primed and finished with eggshell, external decorating as necessary. My tradesmen would do this 15/ floors fitted, radiators hung 16/ kitchen installation Plan to get the raw materials/ design from Wren and then get an independent kitchen fitter to fit it. Unless the independent kitchen comes up with a better alternative. Have emailed a couple Builder B, or the established one, to do all the works as mentioned in the survey, plus the RSJ on the padstone and the conservatory, along with a new roof. I probably leave the plastering to him, including the doors, carpets and new floors Does this sound like a plan? to recap It would leave at least 20-30K worth of jobs to be done by the main builder B I could get some no- interest loan from Wren for their kitchen Use the builder A for stripping and ripping things out, Tradesmen such as electrician and heating to do individual jobs Any advise would be much appreciated Regards Mel ps regarding the conservatory roof, switching over from a glass to an all year round. Do I have to get building reg permission prior to starting work? How long does it usually take? Also, if the original roof is removed, would it not leave the building exposed to rain etc, until the new roof is installed?...See More
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