skip to main content

Renovating Design Dilemma Kitchens

Help with ground floor renovation/extension

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Boy, do I have a problem or what :)

We bought a house (late 50s semi-detached), which already has been extended in 1981. They extended front and back of the house. The back extension is tiny, and was supposed to (I think) make the original kitchen bigger. It is slightly bigger but completely difficult to ergonomise. SO we are considering side and back extension.

The trouble is in the early 80s they also put a double garage at the back of the house (with no proper driveway to it - the side of the house it too narrow to drive even a tiny car there!). That garage is making the potential extension I was thinking of (to the left on the existing extension) a bit tricky (impossible?). The gap between the house wall (extended part) and garage is 1,40m. On the side we have 2,35m gap between our house and neighbor's fence. Oh, and there is manhole on the side in front of the garage as well. Also inside, the position of stairs is not ideal to extended it.

For the extension use, I was hoping to get better layout of the kitchen (ideally with an iland) and utility room.

So, I guess what I'm asking is, do you have any ideas on how you would deal with this difficult layout (on the side we have.

Many thanks in advance for any ideas!

Sort by:Oldest

Comment (1)

PRO
i-architect
3 years ago
Hi!

There are plenty of options for you. There are a lot of things it is worth you considering in more depth.

Are you wanting to keep the garage? If you could remove it then you'll be a lot more free in what you can do to the back.

The relatively small extension to the side will need quite a lot of structural work to open it to the rest of the house. This might not be worth it when you take into account how little the space is that you're adding. There are plenty of other approaches you can take though.

I'd love to help you out with this. I offer an online Home Design Workshop that will help you. It includes a visioning process that I guide you through so you can get really clear about what you want and need. Then together we explore your options in a design session, and I'm sure we could come up with some great solutions for you.

If you're interested it would be great to have a chat so I can find out more about your project and you can ask me any questions about the workshop to check it's right for you. You can book a call with me here: https://calendly.com/iarchitect/20minchat

I hope this helps,

Jane, i-architect.co.uk
Related Discussions
Help needed with ground floor flat extension
Q
Comments (2)
Hi there Will, This is a great project. I love the transformation of flats into open plan living/connecting to the garden. Your floor plan is huge and the final product would be fantastic. I have worked on over 600 residential developments and these are still my favourite. The extension costs will be in the region of £45-60k + VAT and generally clients would spend in the region of £100k + VAT on the redesigned space once they have purchased a kitchen and glazing products etc. At this stage it is almost impossible to determine a more accurate figure without a design being produced/specification finalised and further investigation works being carried out, hence the range. A few questions/pointers. Do you own the share of freehold or are you a leaseholder? When designing this, consider a small courtyard outside of the bedrooms to enable you to retain daylight filtration/ventilation. Have you analysed the market to see what the value of a 3 bedroom flat would be? Might be worth considering this as part of the design to maximise value, if you are interested in this. Note that the extension may need to be bigger, however if you end up spending an extra say £15-20k increasing the SQFT/gaining a bedroom, then this could be a sound investment. Happy to assist if you have any further questions. Nick
...See More
HELP AND IDEAS! Two bed ground floor flat side return/extension
Q
Comments (4)
Hi Saskia, Depending on your budget & site conditions you could build a very small light weight extention to serve as main entrance lobby. This will create a separate entrance without shrinking the existing reception. Regarding the glass to the other bedroom it all makes sense. Your utility cupboard could stay against the wall, flush with your new kitchen, which would move where the small bedroom is (I assume this is your plan for now). We've designed something very similar not long ago, please see link below. The project is currently under construction and will be finished at the end of June. https://www.houzz.co.uk/hznb/projects/victorian-house-rear-and-loft-extension-pj-vj~6159497 We would be happy to assist further with the design, please don't hesitate to contact us. Thanks Andrei Kay Moden
...See More
reconfigure ground & first floor extension ideas
Q
Comments (4)
Hi Alison, I think with such a large project you should definitely be looking for someone to help with the planning phase. A concept planner or interior designer is probably the cheapest way - obviously, I can't talk about everyone's rates. My clients usually then find they have an idea of what they want and what's achievable, from a variety of options - which can then be taken to an architect. This generally cuts the costs of redo's down (and the package you need from an architect). There are a few tweaks I would make to Jonathans but this is definitely a great design to look at in more detail. I especially love upstairs and everything he has managed to get in as well as taking the garage to add a utility room and the office which is a really practical use of the space if you are converting. I am imagining the step-in at the back is a little like the garage and is there due to the boundary lines - so can't be changed. This means that the extension would be going across the existing back of the house. Maybe it is worth looking at if you can add a porch to the front too.
...See More
looking for renovation/floor plan ideas for awkward ground floor
Q
Comments (12)
If you made outer wall then its okay to build window on the side, your neighbor privacy will be maintained and you can get the sunlight needed, I would advise to move the garage to the front so it can be accessible for a car from the main road, you can still have direct path to the garden from the front if you move the enterance to the right and just put a fence, if it were me here's the layout i will do, it'll give more space for closet, bigger bath, utility room, and additional storage unit, so basically move the wall to the left and focus buildng that side, the previous garage will become the new master bedroom with en-suite
...See More

Sponsored

More Discussions

Wall covering in our new home for the kitchen dining lounge.

16

Proposed floor plan help please

35

How to decorate window on landing

10

Advice re updating a tiredbedroom please

6

Kitchen diner garage access help

3

United Kingdom

Tailor my experience with cookies

Houzz uses cookies and similar technologies to personalise my experience, serve me relevant content, and improve Houzz products and services. By clicking ‘Accept’ I agree to this, as further described in the Houzz Cookie Policy. I can reject non-essential cookies by clicking ‘Manage Preferences’.