Lean to Advice!

last year

Hi,

Im looking for some advice. We currently have sun room/lean to/utility at the back of the house. You have to pass through it in order to get to the back garden, it has no insulation and it borders the neighbours garden. I would love to just get rid of it, but I’m worried it will devalue the house if we’re not creating another space in place of it. Or do you think it’s not adding any value to the house and just get rid of it? I’d love to know peoples opinions on it.

Many thanks

get rid

keep

Featured Answer

Jonathan

last year

I say keep it until you can afford to do it properly. If you pull this down then you will have lots of cost in making good, you will need an electrician, likely you will end up rendering where it was attached to the house and it’s likely sat on a concrete slab and then there is the worry about what you do with that. So I say eventually replace it with an extension when you can afford that because the cost of removal now is uneconomic

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (8)

Daisy England
last year
People do love a garden room/sun room. l have one and we use it for at least 6 months of the year but it’s different to yours.

lf you can’t use it effectively and it hinders your garden access l don’t think it will detract from the value of your house.
chloeloves
last year
If you are talking about the white structure attached to the brick extension in my opinion it looks more like a pimped up shed than a living space - I would get rid if it’s stopping your enjoyment of the house
Related Discussions
Advice on industrial/retro look
Q
Comments (12)
Hi Layla! You've got a very interesting project! It sounds like you have a right idea what to do. To be honest, this style industrial and especially in mix with retro can be hard to recreate not being professional. But the best advice I can give you - try to keep it simple, don't try to mix too many shades and colour tones. Add more textures and details in accessories! Than more colours you have to mix than harder it will be to balance all together. Blue is gorgeous but still too many colours around - cream, grey, white, brown wood, blue, copper...surely i missed something! If you like to highlight your breakfast bar by making it blue, may be at least to use similar worktop as in the kitchen? What finishing do you plan to use for walls? Industrial loves brick, concrete, bare pipes, wires. Retro - clutter free space, funky colours, old look furniture and appliances. How much if each style would you like to bring in? which style is dominant?
...See More
Kitchen lean to extension, interior walls removed, outside WC convert
Q
Comments (43)
I can imagine you must be demoralised because you can’t afford what you were dreaming of but I have got to say I get excited about this kind of house, it’s amazing high ceilings and finding one at an end so the garden is not shaded is brilliant. I think you could have a beautiful space if you put bifold doors between the kitchen and the lean to, raise the floor in the lean to so it’s the same height as the kitchen and have the same flooring for a feeling of continuity. The bifolds satisfy building regs as you don’t need to rebuild the lean to, you have a dining space for all but the coldest days and when it is cold you just close the bifold doors.
...See More
Side return extension/house renovation advice please!
Q
Comments (7)
Hi Tanya! You really need more information about where the drains currently run, what rights you have as well as those of your neighbours, if you are a leaseholder then there are likely to be additional restrictions in your leasehold contract to check out. It's quite unusual for planning permisison to be granted for a rear first floor balcony but your neighbours having one may help with there being a precedent established. There are lots of options as others have suggested - switching around the use of rooms at first floor, making the ground floor the kitchen, etc... so you're not short of possibilities. The key at this point is that you really need to dig a bit deeper into what you'll be allowed to do and what might limit you. Obviously budget can be a factor too, as well as figuring out what is going to be worth doing for you. Best wishes with your home redesign! Jane chartered architect, eco-home and conservation area specialist www.i-architect.co.uk Join Jane live on facebook for home design tips and expert Q&A. Midday Mondays: https://fb.me/e/fXBDxgZ3x
...See More
Replacing 40+ year old lean to conservatory, advice?
Q
Comments (11)
I can see that you want something that looks nice and that has good insulation, and using it as a playroom for the little ones is a great idea. Once they are adults then you may be able to reclaim the area as a relaxing garden room. Have you contacted any companies for a quote? The company that supplied our windows do conservatories and are a lovely family run business. They have offices in Beds/Herts and London. If you want their details then please ask. Here’s a conservatory they refurbished with a new roof and window frames.
...See More
PRO
i-architect
last year
Hi! Are you planning to live there for a long time or are you planning to sell soon?

If you're planning to stay there for a good while and you don't like it, if it stops you enjoying your home and doesn't add anything useful to you, then no need to keep it.

It looks like any potential for it to add value to a resale in future could be easily outweighed by the value to you of not having it for the time you live there.

If you are really stuck on making your decision then ask a local estate agent what they think - they'll be best placed to give you a professional opinion.
PRO
Caldicot Kitchen & Bathroom Centre
last year
Tricky one! An estate agent can probably advise on what (if any) value the space adds to the total value of the house. If there is value in it, I'd probably keep it for now if you aren't planning on replacing it outright, and maybe think how you might change it to make it a more useful space for you. It may not take much to add some insulation to walls, though the roof will still leak a lot of heat. Some tweaking might help repurpose the space to be more useful for more of the year, but any space that is cold for 6 months of the year and hot for 6 months has its drawbacks! But for growing seedlings & veg in summer & storing root veg in the cooler months, I know it is a space I personally would be delighted to have...
Eileen Nixon
last year
Ask yourself if all the ‘stuff’ you have in there at the moment is important and if so where would you put it if you removed the structure? If you are happy to get rid of it then weigh up the cost involved in demolition and the cost of making good the area after removal. Should give you the answer.
PRO
Resi Design Ltd.
last year
Hi there @Emily Haycocks

I spoke with one of our design managers here at Resi and they came back to me with a few pointers for you to consider, to hopefully help you in your decision making.

One of the main questions to ask is whether the overall house provides enough storage. If not removing this would reduce some needed storage - which is a consideration for the value and desirability of a property.

By rebuilding it and configuring the space to be more efficient and comfortable this would add value if done right, whilst controlling costs. We would not recommend trying to upgrade this space because cost and difficulty would make it relatively costly for essentially a store room. We would expect an estate agent to push this to be included within the internal floor area, however, it is not habitable as far as modern building regulations is concerned so they could argue it is very much storage only, and does not contribute to the overall SQM. We recommend asking a few local estate agents for their opinions and from there you can make a judgement call.

We hope that is helpful but if you have any other questions or concerns about renovating your space, do not hesitate to get in touch with us here at RESI. Our architectural, planning and Building Regulation Teams would be more than happy to help you.

Have a lovely afternoon.

Kindest regards,

Brid and The Resi Team.
Becci C
last year
is it possible to add a door in the main house where that small window is?? and close up the door to the lean to.
then the lean might become a more usable outdoor room for storage or seating rather than a walk through??

Lean to Advice!

Jonathan

Comments (8)

Daisy England

chloeloves

Related Discussions

i-architect

Caldicot Kitchen & Bathroom Centre

Eileen Nixon

Resi Design Ltd.

Becci C

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US