Access to garden through the house

[Tooldnowx]

I am planning to create a corridor in the side garage of the house which leads through to the kitchen, almost in a straight line, into the garden. The corridor will be part of the garage conversion and on top of that will be a single storey addition.

What do you think about that? Should I either have the access in the normal way or does an inside access sound sensible?

But what are you gaining? You can still just use your existing hallway to walk through your house.

I think it would be a mistake - even if you are prepared to put up with the inconvenience for the extra room, I can see it putting off buyers in the future.

We haven't got direct access to the back unless going through house and it's a pain.

Do you have to go through your kitchen to get to the garden with the house as it is?

It’s not really side access though is it, it’s just another door in the front of your house, unless I’m misunderstanding your diagram.

The problem is that you're not really creating any sort of useable access. Your converted garage/new room needs to have a door into the existing hallway for the layout to make sense and work.

It's a real shame that whoever did the kitchen extension removed one of the benefits of a semi over a terrace (external access to the rear from the front).

Have any if those with gates onto the park sold recently or use it as their only access?

My house backs onto a park and several people in other houses down the road have access gates into the park. I enquired with them - and they had to pay the council a one off fee for a limited permission to have the gates. You would need to get the permission from whoever owns the park (council or private company) for a gate, because a public right of way is not the same as having access from/to a private dwelling.

The houses are in a glorious location so even the ones that closed up the access through will have no trouble selling. The two that I am sure about only have the gates in the park as the access to the garden except through the houses themselves. But I’m thinking more about my convenience than selling in the far future.

It is a shame that the previous owners took away the access. We want to put it back to having access but do not want to smash our kitchen.

It would be a gate on the side not another front door.

I hate access through the front door. A shorter walk through the house and a more direct route to the garden seemed a good compromise? Maybe not by the responses.

Can we have a ‘current situation’ diagram and a ‘proposed situation’ diagram please. Your posts are very unclear.

That is good to hear Bewareofthedragon. I will ask the two houses up the road. I am nervous about a gate access for burglary risks. I really want to recreate easy access back to the semi detached feel.

I don’t get it. Do you currently only have access to the garden by going through the house, or can you access it via a side entrance?

If you have side access and are planning to build and block it, meaning your only access is now through the house, i wouldn’t do it.

It’s a PITA. Especially if you have bikes, or other stuff kept in the garden you need regularly.

If I understand correctly you already have to go through the (newish) kitchen to get to the garden? But now you are adding a garage conversion at the front?

If this is the case then what you have proposed sounds sensible. If possible make it so that the corridor can eventually go right through, when the kitchen next gets changed. In 20 years you might want to redo the kitchen and then you can have a corridor all the way through.

So if I've got this right. Your kitchen already goes up to the boundary. Currently you have to go through the front door, along the hall and through the kitchen to reach the garden. You are planning on adding access into the garage which you are converting, and from there through the kitchen to the garden. Yes it sounds like the best you can do under the circumstances, but definitely check with the council about a gate into the park. Maybe check with the neighbours who have them first.

I have used a ruler and put in doors.

That is exactly right pickingdaises. That is what I want to do.

The bay window in the reception stays. I am just not good at drawing these things. The changes would only relate to the garage area.

If you are planning to sell it in future, then don’t do it. I wouldn’t buy a house like that.

Totickleamockingbird would you prefer only access through the front door, the hall and through the kitchen instead of on the side for half the length and the through the kitchen?

What a headache this is. I don’t know what to do.

I think it's a pointless and superfluous change.

Spend the money instead on really good sturdy flooring and wall coverings in the hall and use it to bring stuff through. You've got to go across the kitchen whatever you do anyway. It's the going across the kitchen that's the PITA bit, surely, not the hallway?

I think in your situation I'd seriously look into the park access options. As long as you spend the money to put in a sturdy gate with a decent lock and spikes on top or similar deterrent I don't see that it would be any more of a security risk than just having a fence that a burglar can climb over in any case. And keep all the floor space in the converted garage to use rather than splitting off a narrow passage.

@BewareTheBeardedDragon

I think in your situation I'd seriously look into the park access options. As long as you spend the money to put in a sturdy gate with a decent lock and spikes on top or similar deterrent I don't see that it would be any more of a security risk than just having a fence that a burglar can climb over in any case. And keep all the floor space in the converted garage to use rather than splitting off a narrow passage.

If this is a possibility, this will be the best option.

Parents have a house like that. It’s fine. Wheelie bin stays at the front and garden waste is collected in bags and brought through the house. It’s still clean, no dirt tracked anywhere, and convenient for her.

Would be advantageous over your current setup. In terms of the pain of side access. Opening a door is much easier than a garage door.

But you lose space in the garage and will the garage door be so small you can’t easily fit a car in?

Personally I’d spend the money on getting an electric garage door( if you don’t have one) rather than designing in a door.

Unless you have items in the garage you don’t want exposing every time you want access like a classic car, expensive bikes etc

If you're a semi and it's the kitchen/garage side that's attached, why can't you access the garden via the other side?