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Original poster

Extend Victorian house or are we being greedy?

54 replies

mistressploppy · 06/08/2012 10:21

I can't decide...

House is a very pretty Victorian semi. We want to knock the two back rooms together to make a big kitchen/living/dining area, but can't decide whether or not to extend as well.

Extending would mean we could fit in a utility room, get more space generally. BUT the back of the house is lovely - I feel bad about ruining it, and it would be very expensive.

We don't desperately need the space (there is also a separate living room and a dining room downstairs) but a utility would be nice. And more space is always good (we have baby and toddler DSs). And we can afford it.

WWYD?
Argh.

OP posts:
RCheshire · 06/08/2012 13:51

There are plenty of Victorian/Edwardian houses I've 'clicked on' in Rightmove, only to dismiss once I see a monstrosity of a rear end! Having said that, all extensions aren't equally dire...

LittleMilla · 06/08/2012 14:18

We're hoping to do the same to ours. We have an almost derelict lean to/former kitchen on one side which will make an extension more natural IYSWIM.

mistress have you seen any good well done on rightmove recently?

Similarly cheshire I'd be interested in seeing what you consider to be a monstrosity!

Ours is a complete un-usable waste of space right now

greyvix · 06/08/2012 17:24

As long as the extension was in keeping, there shouldn't be a problem. You would need to do a lot of research to match bricks etc. We extended ours and, while we are really pleased with it, matching period details like specially made bricks proved expensive.

Original poster
mistressploppy · 06/08/2012 20:05

I haven't really seen anything that I'm that enamoured with, this is the problem. Greyvix - I don't suppose you have a pic of your extension? Or the name of your architect/builder?

The handful of architects I've spoken to seem to think that you can try very hard to match period detail and still not quite manage - better to go entirely the other way and go ultra-modern; to contrast rather than try to match and fail.

OP posts:
RCheshire · 06/08/2012 20:30

This is what I mean. Fine from the front, decor very much not to my taste, but the back...

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37839164.html

It's easier to do something attractive if you're only extending the ground floor. In which case I've seen various glass & wood framed extensions which have been fine (for me!)

LittleMilla · 06/08/2012 20:55

Agreed, cheshire, that is hideous!

I'd like something like this for ours (single story): www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-33716944.html

Actually went to look at that house but it was too narrow. Had a builder over tonight and he seems to think that we'll still be able to pitch the back, even though our lean-to means we're attached to our neighbour.

Miss hope you don't mind me jumping on your thread?

LittleMilla · 06/08/2012 20:56

Sorry www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-33716944.html

RCheshire · 06/08/2012 21:12

Yes LittleMilla, that's exactly the kind of thing that I think can work well/not look hideous, but I assume that was a single-storey extension? I've not seen an attractive two storey extension on a Victorian or Edwardian house yet.

Original poster
mistressploppy · 06/08/2012 22:14

No worries, LittleMilla.

Might do some research on Rightmove then...

OP posts:
tricot39 · 06/08/2012 22:28

Keep talking to architects. I think ultra modern can be a mistake depending on how it is done (ie the first rightmove example above). The second example is a very standard way of extending a terraced house with an original rear projection - ie filling in the side lightwell and adding on to the rear.

Trouble is that sort of work requires a LOT of structure which will destroy the decor upstairs with the temporary supports. The 2nd example also probably needed a box frame in the main rear wall and another in the end of the rear projection plus big beams to remove the rear projection side wall. So not for the faint hearted!

PigletJohn · 06/08/2012 22:45

I reckon it is always preferable to find a house that was designed and built as size 'X' than to buy a house that was smaller, and stick bits onto it.

Original poster
mistressploppy · 06/08/2012 22:58

I'm leaning that way, tbh Pigletjohn

OP posts:
Schoolworries · 06/08/2012 23:56

That house in Bristol is just lovely!

Please dont do modern extensions onto a beautiful period property. I know its very trendy but they are horrid and will date quickly.

QuintessentialShadows · 06/08/2012 23:58

Extend down for your utility room?

TellyBug · 07/08/2012 00:13

Sorry, not done very well with my links there!

MissPollysTrolleyed · 07/08/2012 08:17

We had the same dilemma with our house although the back of our house is not so beautiful so we weren't worried about ruining it. The architect did plans for us and we were finding it really hard to decide so asked his personal rather than professional opinion and he said that he thought that extensions on the rear of Victorian houses that break the general building line for those kinds of houses can feel a little startling.

If you like the back of your house as it is and don't really need the extra space, I don't think you should bother - the additional structural work will add lots of time and hassle to your project, not to mention expense.

Firebird20 · 07/08/2012 08:43

Well it sounds as if you have plenty of space downstairs with the extra living and dining rooms. Could you not make a small utility room out of a bit of the two rooms that you are knocking into one?

Brugmansia · 07/08/2012 09:03

I really like some of the modern extensions if they're done well but we're going for very traditional for our 2 storey extension as something more modern would jar with what else is around.

We're part of a terrace so all the neighbouring houses are close and a modern extension would probably feel overbearing for them. There are other houses with similar traditional extensions around. Also, our house and neighbours would originally have had back extension parts that were destroyed by bomb damage so most of the extensions are basically slight variations on what was there originally.

If we had a big garden and were detached or semi-d then I'd probably be braver.

Original poster
mistressploppy · 07/08/2012 09:45

Firebird - yes, that's what I'm thinking.

I wondering if the best thing would be to not do an extension but use the money we save to get a really good architect to look at the space we have and work out a clever solution to fitting in what we want.

I'm not a modern fan really and I fear Schoolworries is right - however wonderful we feel the design is now.....

OP posts:
PigletJohn · 07/08/2012 10:05

when you come to sell it, the potential buyer will also prefer a larger house to a small one with bits tacked on.

Firebird20 · 07/08/2012 10:23

Clever architect sounds like a plan to me!

LemonEmmaPippedAtThePost · 07/08/2012 10:38

We have a similar dilemma - we have already got good downstairs space, but our kitchen is not a particularly good size, and is tucked away at the back of the house, so I feel disconnected from the family when I'm in there. We would like to extend across the back of our house, extending the current kitchen and running across to link it with the current dining room, making a large L-shaped kitchen/living/dining space at the back of the house. Our inspiration came from this as our house looks quite similar from the back. Trouble is it will cost a small fortune to build, our neighbours are not happy with the proposal, and, like you, I worry that we'll spoil the back of the house. For now we are proceeding until we've got a better idea of the practicalities, costs and so on.

LittleMilla · 07/08/2012 11:44

We're also getting an architect to come in. Our floorplan is currently something like this but we aren't as wide as this house and the kitchen finishes at the same level as the dining room. The back bit of our house is a shed/outbuiding with washing machine and crud.

My ideal is to extend to half the length of the back bit to create a large open plan living/kitchen, with a natural utility in the remaining outbuilding.

We're going to borrow money from DFIL to do project and DH is wondering if we just save pennies and knock through to have this. I HATE corridor kitchens though.

WWYD? I've already been told by a local agent that we'd easily get our money back (and some) if we went for the big project. We've only just bought this house and found that nearly all the houses in Bristol (bar the beautiful one I posted) don't do the wide, open plan kitchen.

Apologies again to misstress for hijack!

libelulle · 07/08/2012 13:23

We've just done this to our victorian terraace, and it certainly doesn't look like the monstrosity mentioned by Cheshire! We knocked down the whole back bit of the house - old kitchen, downstairs bathroom, hideous pvc lean-to, and upstairs bedroom 3 - then extended out 2m into the garden to make a new upstairs bathroom and bedroom and massive downstairs kitchen-diner and new loo. When we bought the house we'd intended to stay within its existing footprint, but I'm really really glad we extended instead.

Admittedly we do have a big set of folding-sliding doors giving onto the garden, which hardly look very victorian, but other than the builders managed to entirely recycle the old bricks, so it's nearly impossible to tell where old wall ends and 'new' wall begins. We still have wooden sash windows upstairs and the architect matched the rooflines up to our neighbours' ones. It looked a real mess before with a load of crappy 1970s additions and a ridiculous internal layout; I like to think we've both cleaned it up a bit and made the house way more liveable for a family in 2012.

So personally if I were you and could afford it, I'd go for the extension:)