Enlarging windows in an old cottage - doable?

[notacake]

We have recently considered buying a lovely small 17th century cottage that has come up on the market in town we have wanted to relocate to.
It is not a listed property.

The cottage is beautiful but has very small windows and really thick walls which doesn't allow much light into some of the main living areas. Daylight is a major factor for us and we would not be purchasing if it's not something that can be changed. The cottage it is attached to has larger windows but I am unsure of wether they were done at the time of the conversion or recently.

I've not been able to find much online - could anyone advise if it's possible (structurally safe and so on) to enlarge Windows in external walls that are at least around half a metre thick?
And if so what are the potential costs of that?

We would be looking to double the size of a couple of the Windows which are currently about half a metre by about 60-70 cm with a stone pillar/ divider around 3inches thick in the middle of each window which also takes away a lot of light.

I think the house is not for you, I would hope it's not possible as the essence of the cottage would be lost. Maybe find one that has already got some lighter rooms. Even if you did put in new windows the depth of the wall would list the increased light and the context would be lost.

Is it listed or in a conservation area?

But I agree with the pp in that it's not for you. Windows are the eyes of a building and changing them to make them bigger will mess with the proportions of it. If the walls are really thick there are likely to be big structural implications too.

Don't buy a 17th century cottage if you don't like such a big element of it.

Ps, likely to be hugely expensive too! And if you are removing mullions, that's a big change to the character. You could devalue it hugely.

Love it for how it is or walk away...

It’s likely possible with some steels to support. But it will fundamentally change the character of the property (particularly externally). I would anticipate it being expensive to do and it will devalue the property anyway.

I imagine you’d be better to look elsewhere.

Oops, cross posted!

Thanks for the input.

It has been on the market for a very long time and not gained any interest at all due to a few impracticalities and due to a few factors we would be able to purchase it for a very good price as it is - we would plan to sympathetically renovate it inside but the small windows make it very dark and depressing in the kitchen and lounge. We would look into making sure the windows aren't too modern in style to try and compliment it.

As I mentioned the same property next door has larger windows - looking at the images they are not the original Windows and it hasn't compromised the character or value of the property - it actually sold for significantly more than the one we are looking at within the last few years.

One of the rooms we would like to put some already has an original larger window if it matters and the property has a standard conservatory to the side completely not in keeping with the character of the house so I can't imagine larger Windows would impact it.

I might be wrong though, I'm in love with the house and I could imagine it being our forever home but I have lived in a dark property similar to this before and the lack of natural light impacted me quite a lot as I WFH.

Anything is possible if you have enough money.

Cottages are beautiful. They come with small windows. Thick walls made from who knows what. Weird internal layouts. Low ceilings and doors. Damp. it's called character.

It sounds like you would be happier with a light and airy modern property.

What's been done next door isn't the deciding factor, as the work was done some time ago. Is the cottage in a conservation area? That is important, even if it isn't separately listed, as designations change over time.

It sounds possible, but it will be expensive. Get 3 quotes done before you commit further. Given the age of the building and the thickness of the walls, I would stick to builders with a good track record who really understand buildings. This is not a job for the slapdash!

We sold our beautiful cottage last year. We spent a fortune getting light into our property - it cost £11k just to remove an awkwardly placed chimney breast and replace it with double glazed french doors. Then there were the veluxes in the kitchen ceiling and throughout the upstairs and replacing all the front windows. But despite all of this, we never enlarged the one in our sitting room, again really thick stone walls, so the room was dark. But honestly you get used to it. The rest of the house was really light and there were other sitting areas in the back of the house and conservatory as well as a study upstairs. On a winter's day and winter's evening it was so lovely to be cosy with the woodburner going.

Doing that type of work is challenging. For our chimney breast removal we needed structural engineers, more steels than our experienced builder had anticipated and then all inspected for building regs. If we hadn't done all that it would have been difficult to sell.

Yesterday, sitting in our new-ish light large sitting room, looking at the gas fire, I said to my husband what about a Swedish woodburner? !!!
We loved our cottage, accepting most of its quirks and drawbacks. The lovely Home Counties couple who bought it said they'd always wanted a cottage (it also had a huge garden) so they readily accepted all its issues and didn't quibble at all after the survey, which we were pleased about. There's always issues with old property and changing things like this come in as very expensive and also fraught as you don't want to destroy the character of the cottage. However, if you love it, and think it's do-able then go for it! As others have said, make sure you get a builder who completely understands old buildings.

Do you have a photo op?

It might need planning to change it but regardless the costs are also likely to be huge. If it's listed or in a cons area then you aren't likely to get permission.

Are you sure this is really the house for you?

The other thing... which direction to kitchen and living room face? North facing rooms with thick external walls will always be dark - they just won’t catch any direct light regardless of window size.

Anyway, taking out old external walls will need significant steels etc, but the sheer volume of rubble that comes out of old walls (even if built with a cavity) will add to the cost, because of the time it’ll take. And then replacement wood double-glazed windows that are in keeping.
I would hazard a guess at £8k per window. Add £2k for architect to draw up plans and warrants and for structural engineer to calculate lintels and steels etc. However I’m guesstimating here!
You’ll have to replaster and redecorate afterwards but it sounds like you’re planning to do this anyway.

Look up the planning docs for next door - they might give you an idea of whether it would be possible and also local ones conservation areas etc. If it was done some time ago then it may not help.
Some local authorities are still offering pre application advice to non owners for a fee. Is it possible to access planner for this before you commit ?
Look at local planning anyway for policies applying locally. You’ll get a good idea as to whether it would be allowed.
I’ve an old granite cottage where windows are small but faces south west and is actually flooded with light - too much a lot of the time.

You could look to a more light airy extension to the side or rear, which is well lit - and appreciate the cosy snug lounge in winter - or the cool dark lounge in the height of summer.

I'm married to a builder and we have renovated a number of old stone houses over the years. 17th century cottages had small windows- it pretty much defines how they look. If you live in a National Park, are in a conservation area or similar you will not be able to enlarge the existing old stone mullioned (the stone bit in the middle is called a mullion) without planning permission, which is unlikely to be given. Note: what next door has done some time ago will have no bearing on your house.

The trick with successful renovations is to keep the essential nature and fabric of the existing house, while at the same time making it up to modern standards. This involves compromise and money - lots of it.

If you want a nice bright modern house with big windows and lots of light, buy one of those, trust me it will be cheaper in the long run!

It is possible to enlarge windows- first the wall above has to be supported with acro props ( holes knocked through to the inside so great big metal poles insides and out). Then the window removed, wall knocked out and new windows built in. Invariably when you knock out a rubble stone wall more stuff comes out than you can possibly imagine.
You will also need to find a builder used to dealing with lime mortar- not standard cement.
All this will cost £££££.

Even if you don’t need to get permission I would thoroughly investigate what the house is made of- older buildings are not of standard construction and so enlarging a window may mean virtually rebuilding a whole wall. At the very least ask a structural engineer to have a look. Like others I think this mat not be the house for you if you can’t to an extent embrace its character. Though it can make a massive difference how you decorate and light the space and you may be able to replace the conservatory with a nice light timber framed room.

Just because it isn’t listed does not mean you won’t need planning permission, next door is irrelevant. I would be amazed if planning allowed you to go ahead, I can’t understand anyone wanting to buy a 17th century cottage and then wanting to remove the main features that give it their historical character, can’t believe you want to remove the mullions, that is sacrilege, seriously buy another property and let someone else buy it who will appreciate and treasure its quirks.

Completely disagree with most posters on this thread. It is not "sacrilege" to remove old, small windows and replace them with larger, more energy efficient windows while still keeping with the character of the building. The OP didn't say she was installing white UPVC in a cottage! There are plenty of windows options that would look good in a cottage and probably increase the value of the property!
What I don't know is how much that would cost and if it'd be worth doing!

Is it made of cob? We doubled the size of our tiny kitchen window (cost £2,400 to enlarge plus £1,200 for new window) but it was completely worth it.

We also had to pay for a structural engineer to make sure the lintel could support floors above.

It is expensive, but for us it was worth every penny.

It'd be phenomenally expensive to make the windows bigger and I'm afraid I agree with pp that you'd alter the whole facade of the building.

Alternatively, do you have the funds to go all out and drastically alter the rear of the property? Basically keep the facade and create something new behind it? If it's not listed, that could be an option.

It will cost a fortune and be so messy. If you have room you could put a glass extension on the back that would bring in light.