Glazing configuration for 8m rear extension opening

26 days ago

last modified: 26 days ago

Hi,

I would welcome some perspectives based on experience for how best to plan glazing the opening(s) in the rear wall of my extension. I am thinking of black 20mm profile sliding doors but not sure on the configuration, considering wow factor, practicality and cost (of product and structure).

I had originally planned to just extend the kitchen out by 3m (primary purpose to give room for an island as part of the kitchen refurb), which would have left a patio to the right of the extension and in front of the lounge (out the existing french doors). However, going to this effort, it seemed better to extend the entire rear to get some additional room as a snug or nook.

It will have a flat roof and skylights. The doors drawn in on the centre wall are there today (black crittal style indoor aluminium) and its to be confirmed whether they stay as a statement piece or are removed for open plan flow (the doorway they are in will remain either way to keep structutal cost down and avoid disrupting the renovated bathroom above as the side walls have pipes and a soil stack).

The rear door and window design on the current plan does not work as the left window does not allow for a run of tall kitchen units along to the end of the left wall. And the right window may not give the lounge the light and garden view it gets today out of the french doors and surround.

The options I can think of are:

1. As is, but move the windows more inwards and reduce the door size

2. Just the door - is this costlier from both a product and beam requirements perspective?

3. No windows, and two doors - bigger one on left for kitchen area and smaller one on right for "snug/nook" area? Is this avoiding costly structure work?

Thoughts on these or an alternative?

Featured Answer

CWD

26 days ago

I think you should reconsider the full-width extension - it's creating an awkward middle space which is going to be darker than it is now, despite the rooflights. The pillar/doors/structure separating the old and new in the 'snug' area are going to make it feel a little disjointed and potentially difficult to arrange furniture, quite possibly ending up with the middle space functioning as a corridor. Think about ceiling height too - is the extension going to be lower ceiling than existing rooms?

It doesn't make sense to keep those internal doors if the whole house is extended, unless you treat them like an internal window, but I don't think it will feel intentional and you're just creaing a space with a pillar in the middle - which isn't bad if it provides the space you need. But do you really need the space?

I agree the door/window placement at the back is awful - doesn't look good and doesn't work well, difficult to see why anyone would have designed it like that. The main thing I would ensure having is a view from front door all the way through to garden - so glazing (window or door) in the middle of the extension wall. The bigger the opening, the bigger the steel and the more the glazing product will cost. Positioning of glazing should also be considered in regard to the direction it faces and what the views are. Adding a full wall of glazing to a south-facing room is different to a north-facing room. I think people get overly fixated on having full sliding doors across the back of an extension but then perhap regret it when they realise the impact on furniture placement and heat/light control. Especially when those big doors aren't fully opened that often. Perhaps simpler hinged patio doors would be just as effective, easier to use, cheaper to buy and install and easier to maintain.

I think you're doing the right thing in questioning this, but you need to think about how you will live in the space, how much glazing you need to enjoy your home and where doors would be best for your lifestyle.

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Comments (6)

katlucy
25 days ago
The kitchen is wasting a lot of useable space to the right of the island, would this room work better as a sitting room/diner and turn your sitting room into a kitchen with island and snug in the old dining room area. leading to the dining table . The island could have a breakfast table at one end perhaps.

Architecturally, the ceiling of the new sitting room would have to be clean IMO to look like it was always intended as the main reception so long steels and hidden beams where possible , then two sets of doors would make sense
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J S thanked katlucy
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There are some really valid points made here so far and some thought-provoking space planning ideas so thanks so much for those. I wasn’t sure if people were interpreting the drawing lines near the dining table as a wall but they are in fact the outlines of where the RSJ structure would need to go. Also, the existing patio doors are drawn in but to tell you the truth I would remove those once I have building control sign off. Too many doors would be impractical and each one would need to have a door closer on it! But a necessary evil for fire reasons. I think the sprinkler systems are around £10K so I would rather not thanks. I see one design shows the living room open on the 1st floor but from what I understand that would not be allowed as there needs to be a safe protected means of escape from the bedrooms right down to the ground floor. The stairs need to be in an enclosure but correct me if I’m wrong. Using the garden doors as safe means of escape is a possibility and we have a side alley/access so a door could be added. On one design there is a utility which I am trying to fit in rather than just using the under stairs space for the washing machine etc. I don’t like the idea of walking through the kitchen instead of a hallway but I can see the point about that they wasted space. Although corridors are good place to hang art work and paintings! Also people might get in the way of the cook! One question which I’m finding hard to phrase…. At what stage in a property renovation does building control become applicable or more specifically when do the fire regs start to make an appearance? Is it because I’m adding a potential fire source to the garage? The neighbours opened up the existing kitchen on the 1st floor (see estate agent drawing) and combined the dining space with the kitchen. But there is no record of them consulting with the council but they did have to get building control for the garage conversion. Seems odd. But I just wander will the inspector be looking at the entire house (such as if toughened glass on patio doors) or just look at the conversion work in the garage? If I have to pass though the living room to get to the other staircase will this be an issue for example? I feel that I need to get a clearer ideal of what is really necessary and strip everything down to the essentials. I wish to spend a lot of time with an Architect but their time is expensive so I guess I’m trying to work out the best way to proceed in terms of the layout and design. The architect costs £80 per hour and he studied at a well-recognised University. He didn’t really listen or interview us but did one plan on top of my drawing and said shall we go with that then? He also said that access and egress is taking a lot of space which others are saying on Houzz. In one design I have opened up the whole ground floor space and changed the stairs to the front in a design but at what cost? At the same time I think I need to be quite pragmatic and too much structural changes are going to cost. The budget is not going to be huge for this house. Its not worth spending say £100K on this house as its next to a busy road and the property could end up being a real money pit. I was hoping for £50k finished but that’s with me laying the floor, decorating and making my own kitchen. Possibly being a laborer and doing the project timeline charts and ordering materials. Essentially, we need a family sized kitchen and since I have built a studio in the garden and park on the driveway it makes sense to convert the garage. The garage is long and narrow and more space I think is needed for a kitchen diner/family room. I am hesitant in placing loads of expensive RSJ’s everywhere and having sprinkler systems installed. Also, I don’t really want building control legislation to have to come into force on the whole house top to bottom. Maybe I’m being over fearful of Building Control! We had done drawings for a whole house recon fig including the top floor bedroom and where going to put two new staircases in. Building work got really expensive (Covid/cost of living etc) I got Nervous of increased materials costs too, builder so decided to scale back original plans and be a bit more pragmatic. We may have placed some constrains on the overall ‘ultimate’ layout design. But making use of the spare time available during the Covid restrictions was essential when it came to renovating the top floor bathroom. The top floor bedrooms work quite well as they are so I didn’t see much point in re-configuring everything. But I do get the message and it does make sense to have holistic approach in an ideal World. For me to take up the decking ready for the extension and cover up the astro turf is no real concern. I really wanted a home studio workshop and as the garage is going it gives more storage etc.
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J S
Original Author
25 days ago
Hi. Thanks for the comments.

@katlucy which sitting room did you mean sorry? The one currently labelled as the living room? I would not want the kitchen at the front of the house and also everthing is fairly recently renovated aside from thr current kitchen.

The plan is for the ceiling to be the same height, especially with the flat roof. Is that not usually the case if having sky lights?
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PRO
Bespoke Glazing Design
22 days ago
Hey J.S.

We’d love to offer you a complimentary glazing consultation with our design team. Just send us a direct message anytime! We really think a quick chat could be super helpful for your project.

Looking forward to hearing from you!
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J S
Original Author
11 days ago
last modified: 11 days ago
@CWD the two side windows were proposed as one is on the kitchen side for ventelation and then the other side for symmetry. Why did you think it looked awful? Would a wider door the full width be better?

What about the wide door in the kitchen area on the left then a large fixed picture window on the right in line with the living room opening?

I am not keen to have the kitchen on the right as those existing doorways/pillars will be too dusruptive. And I cannot remove them without significant cost and disruption so need to avoid this.
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CWD
11 days ago
The small windows at the sides are too small compared to the large sliding doors, just looks really unbalanced. Having the sliding doors the full width wouldbe more typical, but again I question this since it'll be expensive and you might have issues with heat/light control depending on which aspect the room has. It also impacts on furniture placement.

I'd consider having a bigger (openable) window that is as wide as the walkway between kitchen and island - and positioned to line up with that walkway. A large picture window at the seating side of the room - to get the views from that area - window as wide as the opening between the extension and the original house. This could be a fixed picture window or a set of patio doors if you think you'd have them open for access to garden.

And I'd make sure the view from front door was through to the garden via patio doors of some sort - the size of those should be considered with the rest of the glazing to make sure it all looks proportional and balanced and also functionally - does it provide access out to garden where you need it to?

But, again, I'd be reconsidering the need for the full-width extension as it's creating a difficult space to furnish and possibly creating some dead zones in the original house which might be unnecessary.
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Glazing configuration for 8m rear extension opening

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katlucy

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Glazing configuration for 8m rear extension opening

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katlucy

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