Extension Ideas and Approx Costs please

[Sunny777]

Hi folks,
i was looking at a house and will be viewing it soon.
but the layout baffled me completely and i am unable to visualize how to get around it.

Its the weird shaped kitchen which is troubling me.

Please share your wisdom and suggest what can be done and approx costs involved, so that i can make up my mind.

I am attaching a pic of the layout.

many thanks in advance.

[wowfudge]

Long, thin galley kitchen. Extend across the back squaring off the back of the house. Reinstate (probably) the wall between the living and dining rooms and have a decent sized separate room at the front of the house. Then knock through from dining room to kitchen which is now a large square room giving a kitchen diner . I would partition off a corner as a utility room so you don't have the washing machine and laundry in the kitchen.

[Sunny777]

Thats a very sensible plan. thanks Wowfudge
Do you have any idea regarding the costs. We are a FTB and no skills in DIY too.
so dont want to struck in an endless pit.

Thanks once again

[wowfudge]

I don't know what the costs would be - sorry. Any supporting wall you remove has to be replaced with an RSJ to support the building above. There is a calculation of £X per square metre for extensions and then you've got any planning application to factor in (it might not be necessary under permitted development) and building regs costs. On top of that you'll then need to cost for new kitchen units and any other work required.

One thing I didn't suggest, but which would be a compromise without the same costs as extending would be to separate the living room off then knock through between the kitchen and dining room. Put the utility area in the rear of the current kitchen perhaps? If you did that, it would be worth seeing whether you could put a window in the kitchen as the floor plan only shows one at the end. Kitchen diners are more attractive to a lot of buyers than a living room diner these days.

I suggest you view the house and see whether you like it and feel it really has potential. Then decide whether you can live with the current layout and do work to it gradually as funds allow - separating the living and dining rooms shouldn't be very expensive if you were to do that first, for example.

Or is it more a case of you wouldn't want to live there unless you could extend and make changes? If that's the case then you'll need at least a ball park figure from a builder before you can decide whether it's worth proceeding.

If you are not planning on being in the house for more than a few years you may not recoup the costs of making structural changes and/or extending. To work that out, have a look at sold prices in the area and see how much more extended houses with a better layout sell for. If it isn't much more then it might not be worth doing the work.

[bulldogmum]

Suggestion by wowfudge is exactly what I'd go with.

Things to look at on your viewings is if any neighbours have done similar. If planning permission is required then it's in your favour if others have extended and you can also get ideas. Most council websites you can search any planning requests by postcode and look at other peoples plans. Alternatively may fall under permitted development.

You could take a builder to a second viewing for a rough quote too.

We're in the middle of a similar ish extension but going further out as well as across, and lowering floors so not really like for like and the house is old and needs more than most. Ours is approx £70k but factors that affect price will be: what kitchen you choose, what flooring, if new pipe work/boiler needed to support extension (as ours did so hikes up cost), type of heating (underfloor heating is pricier), etc.

Other costs if you need planning permission are architect or structural engineer to do drawings, if you have close next door neighbours (terraced or semi detached) then you will need party wall contracts in place which you have to pay for too.

Best thing to do is find a builder to take on a viewing to give a quote then when it comes to the works tender to a group of builders to get competitive quotes...if you go for the house.

Building work can be stressful but to be able to put your own stamp on your home is awesome and long term will increase the value of the house.

[Sunny777]

Thanks Bulldogmum and wowfudge

I feel more confident now and will view the property and decide if i get the feeling. and after your suggestions i can at least visualize what to look for.

Thanks

[wowfudge]

You may find that the estate agent or the vendor has already put some thought into what could be done with the house. If they mention this ask them for examples.

[Sunny777]

sure, gud idea.
thanks

[namechangedtoday15]

Our house is a similar-ish layout although our lounge and dining room were already separate. Agree with wowfudge and others.

I'd knock down the wall between the dining room and kitchen - we did this (ours included a large chimey breast) and it was about £3k just for that part of the works (but it'll be probably £2k more perhaps if its a supporting wall and you need a steel putting in). Factor in new flooring for the new room, new kitchen (how long is a piece of string?) and general decorating. You can do that quite cheaply if you bargain hunt! You don't need planning permission for that, but will need building regs sign off. I'd say it would be maybe £6-800 to put the wall back in between the lounge and dining room, plus decoration costs.

We're just about to start on an extension to square off the back of the house going slightly beyond the end of the kitchen but we're going double storey. Its working out about £1500 per square metre, plus VAT, for the basic shell to plaster finish (including doors, windows - structural stuff). The cost of fittings (kitchen / bathroom etc) is on top of that. Planning and drawings have been about £2k to date on top too. Have a look at "permitted development" online - if you just want to go single storey, it will probably be permitted development in which case you don't need planning permission.

[Sunny777]

thanks namechangedtoday, very informative regarding costs.
appreciate it

[Marmitelover55]

I would do similar to above but slightly differently:

Put the wall back in between the two reception rooms and take out the wall between the reception room and kitchen. I would keep the kitchen where it is but have a peninsular separating the kitchen and reception room/now diner. I would put the utility at the other end of the kitchen by the stairs so you don't loose the view of the garden. I would also put bifolds at the end of the diner onto the garden.

This is sort of what we did. Except we knocked down a conservatory and old single skin extension to do it, then built a new L shaped extension, so ours was more work and more expense.

[Marmitelover55]

This is our plans if you are interested. We actually took a wall out as we wanted to incorporate the reception room into the new space, as we have another reception room at the front.

[Marmitelover55]

This is what it looked like when finished to give you an idea of how the peninsular/breakfast bar separating kitchen and diner looks.

www.houzz.co.uk/projects/787449/open-plan-extension-with-office-corner

[Sunny777]

Well done Marmitelover55, This looks absolutely fabulous.

any ideas about the costs, if you dont mind sharing.

thanks

[Marmitelover55]

The demolishing and rebuilding was about £50k including plumbing, electrics, new boiler etc. Kitchen was £15k, flooring £3k, bifolds/Windows £5k I think. Here is the outside before and after:

[Sunny777]

Thank you so much

[Ragusa]

Worth bearing in mind that building costs will depend hugely on where in the uk you are. We're doing an extension of about 42m2 at the moment, in greater london, and this is about 95k ex-kitchen and flooring but including a large area of decking plus some landscaping.

I think you would need at least one RSJ in there.

What state is the rest of the house in? Does it need rewiring/ new boiler/ rads/ replumbing/ roof doing etc?

It looks like a long narrow victorian house....in which case you might need lots of glazing in the extension as otherwise it could be dark.

[Sunny777]

You are spot on Ragusa. Costs do vary as per area.
Its zone 6 London so I guess building costs will be on higher side.
So just trying to understand as to will it be worth paying and then rebuilding costs etc.

Pardon my ignorance but what is RSJ..

Thanks

[Marmitelover55]

RSJ = Rolled Steel Joist (I think) - our builder called them steels. We aren't London, so our costs probably s but cheaper.

[IShouldBeSoLurky]

I thought RSJ = rigid steel joist? But may well be wrong.

[Ragusa]

Yep, we are also zone 6, so prices may well be comparable.

[Sunny777]

Thanks everyone.