Would we be mad to buy a home and knock down a perfectly functional extension?

[WaryRaven]

i have found a house I absolutely adore. It is a period home and absolutely stunning…from the front. Unfortunately there is a well built but rather awkward “garden room” extension I just don’t like. It’s the shape I have a problem with. Aesthetically it’s fine. Floors and walls are nice enough. I would just want to get rid of the whole thing. But would I be mad for doing so? Dh thinks I’m nuts but I assure him many people would also consider the garden room an eye sore and maybe build an orangery type thing to the west of the kitchen in a few years down the line. I hate how the original external windows have just had the glass removed so there are just big square holes between the kitchen and garden room.

It really is quite gorgeous from the front. Would I not just be knocking thousands off the value?

I think the problem you have is that the house is grade 2 listed and this is why they have done the extension this way. They wouldn’t have been allowed to alter the original fabric of the building so they have added to it instead. I am very suspicious as to why there are no exterior shots of the extension on the estate agents particulars. Does it actually match what they were given permission to build? If you check on Cheshire’s planning portal you can see for yourself. It is definitely worth investigating as the rules on listed buildings are very strict and when you purchase you become responsible for the things previous owners have done and putting them right if necessary. I doubt if they will let you knock down existing walls but you could try talking to the conservation officer to see whether they would allow a more sympathetic extension and then maybe use the current kitchen as a utility. This is what we have done in our listed house. It took 18 months to get permission though and the trend nowadays is to insist on a modern design to separate it from the original rather than a pastiche, so may depend what you want.

Yes, it would be ridiculous. The extension would look completely different if you rejigged furniture and had lots of large plants. But if you really hate it, this is not the house for you.

You can add your own furniture and decor to make it less ‘sparse’.
I think it’s a lovely house and you’d be mad to devalue it by losing a significant amount of its square footage. Maybe go back to the drawing board.

I agree with everyone, madness, time, stress and money wise.
If the location is perfect etc, would it be worth a consultation with an interior architect, to get advice on some options?
It is a very cold area so could definitely do with restyling to warm up.
Nothing inviting and cosy about it.
But I love my comforts.

I really like it - but then I also put a modern extension on our period house so I clearly have no taste 😉

If it's the windows in the kitchen that bothers you, could you move the kitchen to a part of the extension with windows and make the existing kitchen something else, like a dining room or utility or something?

It would be expensive but so would knocking it down and making good

You'd be much better off paying to move the kitchen into the "garden room" and, potentially, knocking through some more of the walls between them if possible to make a giant kitchen/ dining area than demolishing a huge chunk of your downstairs space (which, yes, is utterly mad!) Have a word with an architect before abandoning the house entirely to see what's possible to address your concerns.

The extension would certainly put me off the house, partly because of the wrap-aroubd design but mostly because it's ugly and out of keeping with the rest IMO. There is a problem though, that without an extension the downstairs space is small for the number of bedrooms. It might be possible to divide the extension and break the wrap, by extending the original back wall parallel to the front, to incorporate the French doors into the kitchen. But that might be tricky if you are messing with the original structural walls.
One reason why, for me, the extension is ugly is that it lacks any attempt at a period aesthetic. To some extent you could soften that, by plastering over the brickwork, replacing single-paned windows with paned casements and putting in proper skirting etc. That would still look new but a bit more sympathetic.

If it's the house pictured on p2, that's G2 listed so you would have to get planning permission. Crazy as it sounds, anything in situ at the time of listing is included, irrespective of age or virtue. You could ask when the extension was built relative to the listing.
I hear that you love the rest of the house, but honestly it's not unique enough to justify financially crazy decisions. It would cost £££ to remove and replace. I would put that spare money into finding a house that doesn't have these issues- or refurbing an old house to your own taste and spec.

Not mad to want to change it - you’d need to do it properly though with an architect/ building regs and just open it all up to make it one big room / open plan kitchen, lounge, diner with lots of glass / bi folds on the back to the garden.
Not an issue to do that but you’d prob need to live with it as is until you get all of the plans etc in place and a builder to do the work.

edit: to add that we put a large side/ rear extension onto a period house and it significantly increased the value of it.

We did just that but then added a larger and better one which inturn added to the value of the house.
If you can afford to rebuild then do it, but make sure you get good architectural advice.

I’d get rid of the extension. It spoils the shape and sight lines of that part of the house.

There are exterior shots of the extension if you click on the Particulars in the list of options in the listing. It doesn't actually look that bad. I would assume because of the listing there amwas a requirement for there to be a lean to pitched roof. We had this requirement when we extended a period property.

I agree with others I would switch the kitchen into the extension and make the current kitchen a cosy dining room.

Plus, you'll immediately piss your new neighbours off, doing major renovations straight away. Especially as they probably had to endure it being built, not that many years ago.

But the OP isn't asking about the bathroom or your opinion on the style of the house, is she? She's asking about the extension!

Oh wow it looks gorgeous. I thought the extension looked a bit meh from the floorplan but it is actually adding so much to the place. Beautiful property.

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/68857203/

There are some more exterior images on this link, including the [unbeautiful] wraparound extension and the [stunningly beautiful!] grounds and outbuildings incl stables?

Oh OP, I can see why you are so torn! Such lovely bones. The kitchen, as they say, is the heart of the house and yet it is being choked. I do wonder whether with some cunning planting (beautiful mature wisteria...) and rearranging the interior to make the flow better - having units in the godawful bit so you can see out, turning the closed off part into a winter snug or the dining room?...you could make it work. It's been on the market a fair while. Getting in a great designer would be cheaper than ripping it down and rebuilding by a couple of hundred thousand...

Looks like the only thing that’s still ‘Georgian farmhouse’ about this is the front elevation! If that’s what you want, find one that’s not been so comprehensively mucked about with

@SarahMused nailed it - it’s grade 2
listed.
I’d also check the extension versus plans carefully.

Sorry I missed those exterior shots. But now I can see why the OP wants to change it and I’m really surprised if this is what the listed buildings consent allowed them to do. There are some easy ways to improve it if that is what was granted so I would have a chat with the conservation officer if you are still wanting to purchase. Nowadays you’ll probably have to pay for this but might be worth it to avoid purchasing a house you can’t make work for you.

You say it’s aesthetically fine, but also that it’s an eyesore? It can’t be both surely?

It’s listed so I guess knocking walls out is probably off the table.

It's a weird layout as it stands. Instead of knocking down, I'd be tempted to spend the money on getting rid of the old back wall of the house and then reconfiguring the huge open space that would result. You could end up with a beautiful huge kitchen with dining /living all decorated and styled to fit with the original house.

This post makes me uncomfortable.

Are we really OK with outing the OP's location without asking them if it was ok?

If the OP wanted opinions on the house surely she would have shared the link herself?

Wouldn't it be better to say "OP, I think I've found the link, is it ok to share"?

I'm asking in general terms, not just for this OP as I've seen this a few times on the property board.

There are many reasons people are anonymous here, including escaping DV. Isn't it pretty irresponsible to effectively out other posters like this without asking?

(Pretty house though!)

I can see why you don’t like the extension but yes, you’d be nuts to knock it down! Do you have any idea of the permissions and rigmarole required to get planning on a listed building? Let alone the increased cost of building due to material requirements? If you require a mortgage then you will substantially decrease the property’s value which will affect your rates remortgaging etc. It really concerns me that you say period farmhouses are your thing but you don’t know any of this?….

Politely, you’d be out of your fucking mind to do this.