Another extension thread

[PinkiPhone]

Hi all,

Can anyone recommend who/what I need to start? I am thinking of extending my back living room (currently 6m wide x 4m deep). Am thinking of pushing out the back wall and extending by 3m - so room becomes 6m wide by 7m deep. By extending 3m only (we're semi-d) then the back room is then inline with pre-existing kitchen extension (previous owners). OH thinks we should make the room even bigger (extend 6m, room becomes 6m x 10m) and I think it's crazy!

Should I be looking for an architect or something like a building company? Can anyone personally recommend someone who covers north london/herts area? I know I'll need drawings and building regs.

I'll do a floorplan if I can figure out how!

TIA

I found a builder first who recommended his architect. It only cost me £400 for the architect as I had already drawn the plans up. (I'm ooop Norf so can't help on the recommendation front)

For plan drawing I use 1cm on paper = 20cm in real life, so 5cm = 1m.

The massive thing to consider with building out further than that 3m is the roof, you possibly couldn't have a pitched roof because depending on the roof tile it may well be too shallow to drain. I went out by just over 3m and the new roof tucks under the upstairs window if I had gone out further (detached so was allowed up to 4m) I would have had to put the roof line higher than the window.

How proportional would the living room in relation to every other room? I had a teeny kitchen measuring 2.8 x 2.5m, my lounge is 4.6 x 4.3m, I have a dining room and I converted the integral double garage into a playroom for the children. So we extended the kitchen because there was no worktop space and no way to re-jig the layout.

Best way to see how big that room would be is to mark it out, so get some tent pegs or just lay down string and mark out the new extension outside. And imagine where your furniture would be (and heating the space)

Hi,

It's quite difficult to make suggestions on how to extend your house without knowing more about your house, particularly the layout of course, but also the council you are in and whether or not you have any permitted development rights.

In terms of permitted development, you would normally be limited to a 3m extension, but there is time limited legislation that may allow you to go up to 6m. Even under planning most councils have a mental cut off at 3m, but your specific building type, site location and neighbouring buildings can lead to approval for longer extensions. Some councils are more communicative than others during a planning application, and in those cases it is often an idea to ask for more and amend drawings back if the planning officer takes issue.

With my recent projects I am finding that clients are finding it much more useful to have some more intimate spaces rather than massive open plan rooms... However, every family is different and its important to consider how you and your family use your house (and to what extent that is down to the current layout rather than how you would like to live!) Some families revolve around the kitchen, others around the living areas. Some are always together whilst others prefer to have more personal space...

I would always recommend against a "design and build" company, because you lose the competitive pricing element when it comes to builders. Also, they will often give you "cut and paste" design, or design extensions that simply make their life easy (rather than yours!). Many of them offer "free design", but you always pay for this in one way or another so don't be duped.

You could use an Architect, or an Architectural Designer or a Technician. The first will often be much more expensive for you but all three could offer you the same services.

PS: I'm an architectural designer covering London and Herts, feel free to get in touch if you want more focussed advice.