Sorry to resurrect an old thread that I totally forgot to check. Thanks both for suggestions :-). We did eventually put a door from hall into garage to get things moving in the right direction but life gets in the way. We now want to extend the kitchen into the passage that runs down the side of the kitchen, which is just part of the garage so we can create a U shape kitchen with breakfast bar. The kitchen had already been extended into the garage by 1.5m when we moved in, so the wall we want to knock down is non supporting. The extension would only be 1 x 3m into the garage, we'd brick up on both sides to block from garage and the bit that juts out onto the patio. Would need pipes & electrical cables re-routing and all the works associated with making it into a liveable area. It would also mean we'd need to knock through to the patio from the kitchen, the existing window is 1.2m wide and 2.05m from floor to lintel, figured we wouldn't have too much trouble replacing this with a door? Looking for an idea of cost really if anyone has any idea? We are Midlands based. Any advice much appreciated :-)

Hi, The extension over the garage should be relatively straightforward in terms of layout but you would have to apply for planning permission. You would also need a structural engineer to check that the existing structure of the garage is sufficiently strong, or could be strengthened to support the new first floor. The first-floor layout I have shown mirrors the top of the stairs so that there are another 2 steps so that the first floor is all the same level. this has to be a small landing at the top of the stairs so i have used this area as a new bathroom and then the front makes the 3rd bedroom significantly bigger. the existing bathroom could be turned into a decent-sized bedroom by taking some of the room from bedroom 2. At the ground floor, the shower could be removed to leave just a W/C and allow easy access from the kitchen to the utility. I would also block up the door in the kitchen to give more space for units and worktops and possibly enlarge the island. Please let me know what you think? And I wish you all the best with your project!! Phill

Hi , There are so many ways you could redesign this layout. I suggest you start with creating a vision for your home. I have a free Design Your Home Vision Checklist that you can get here: https://www.i-architect.co.uk/dyhvchecklist.html You maybe also be interested in the Renovation Roadmap Workshop that I'm running next week on Friday. It will help you plan your renovations so you can control the time, cost and quality or your build. You can find out more and save your space here: https://iarchitectlimited.vipmembervault.com/products/courses/view/1145853 Best wishes with your home redesign! Jane award winning chartered architect eco-home and conservation area specialist www.i-architect.co.uk For helpful videos watch my YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@iarchitect

Hi Jonathan! Wow! Thanks for taking the time, this is so helpful, especially the upstairs visual that I hadn’t considered. So considerate of you. The garden is east facing but with no house to the South side, so my only concern about extending the full depth to the right side of the house is it would mean the patio would be in shadow once the sun passes round it after morning. I guess if we have to knock down the garage space to redo the foundations, it might make sense to just build the extension on the left hand side and create a patio on the right hand side instead. Then window then wouldn’t look onto the cars. Or perhaps by the time we do foundations again for garage it isn’t much more squaremeters/ cost to do the side extension, perhaps 3m out so the shape of the house is less peculiar. I really appreciate you taking the time to respond so we don’t invest anymore time looking into something that isn’t feasible for the space.