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Property/DIY

Can you change the position of your front door?

3 replies

Http · 08/11/2015 00:01

My front door is on a sticking out porch type thing which opens straight into the living room. I hate it. Why people build homes without hallway entrances is beyond me . it is on the right of the house.

Anyway my back door opens into a hallway so I do have one but not where it ought to be!

So I was wondering if I moved the front door to the left of the house I could have a passage going straight from the front door to the back. It would eat into the current living room space which I could get back by making a small extension at the front.

Is this possible?
Can you change the position of your front door?

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FishWithABicycle · 08/11/2015 04:06

Doors have lintels above them which are load-bearing beams. If you cut a new front door it will need an adequate lintel so you would need a structural engineer's assistance.

I think it will be trickier getting a frontwards extension approved. Small extensions to the side and rear count as "permitted development" and only need building regs approval not planning permission, but iirc an extension to the front elevation of the house needs full permission.

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SocksRock · 08/11/2015 05:56

We moved our front door from the front of the house to the side when we built an extension, and rearranged the living space downstairs. The physical move is easy enough, a decent builder can deal with it and put a lintel in, with the advice of a structural engineer.

Extending out the front might be a bit more awkward from a PP point of view.

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Http · 08/11/2015 07:33

Oh great so it can be possible. It would be a small front extension. I would need planning permission but think it would be ok because where I live, people have gone extension crazy and have had all sorts approved including front extensions like mine.

Changing the position of the front door is the only way I could get a entrance hallway.

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