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?

I live in a semi-detached house, which has no side access to the back garden. The house originally did not have garage attached to the house, & a previous owner built one. There was not enough room to build a garage, & still have side access to the back garden. We find it ok, as we have room for bins at the front of the house, & we carry the lawnmower, garden waste etc. though the garage. The garage has the traditional up and over garage door at the front, & a proper door at the back..

Both sets of neighbours (On each side of us) also have no direct access to their back gardens. One converted their garage into a kitchen, & the other built a small sitting room & shower room from scratch (no garage originally). They have paved driveways to the front, so do not have to think about lugging lawnmower etc. through their house.

I think having no direct access to the back will be seen as a plus for some people, as it makes it more secure,

I think what you are planning sounds fine.

The gate to the park is sounding like an option to explore.

We have wooden floors in the hall and porcelain in the kitchen.

The kitchen side use to be the semi detached side.

The garage no longer has access for a car. The driveway is big and can easily take 4 cars. The access at the side of the garage would be through a gate and then a door to the kitchen.

A gate to the park might be the less fuss and we would not lose the space in the converted garage.

Hum, ok. What is the garage going to be turned into? I can’t see the point unless it will be a proper room of some kind.

It will be converted to a proper room. A gym or study. If it was just a garage I wouldn’t bother trying to create access. The drive is big so we don’t need a garage or storage room.

As you’re already gaining an additional room from converting the garage I would chop off the bit of the kitchen that meets the boundary wall and turn it into a proper semi detached house. In other words, continue the side access path you’re putting in right to the end of the house. Surely that would actually add value?

Hi @WeAreFromThePlanetDuplo

Would that not mean losing the thousands of pounds I spent on the kitchen units and I would have to do a brand new kitchen.

I am slowly coming round to putting a gate at the back if the council allows it. That way the access point is dealt with.

It is a really difficult decision to be honest.

Depending on the kitchen layout you could reuse cupboards, sink etc.

I don't quite understand the value of a gate into the park, apart from being able to get into the park. Presumably you couldn't drive your car through the park to the back gate?

I wouldn't buy a house without rear access. My parents have a terrace and no access other than through the house - redoing their fencing panels was an absolute nightmare, as is any sort of garden work as everything has to be trouped through the house. Have you spoken to builders about whether they would even be able to work on a build like this? How will their equipment get to the back of the house?
If you can get park access, make sure it's vehicular and you can bring groundwork vehicles in too, otherwise future buyers will have limited options to change paving or do any other works they like.

Doesn't really answer your question, but are you sure you'll get planning permission to build above the garage (I doubt you would here - you need to leave a gap between a double storey extension and the boundary).

@WeAreFromThePlanetDuplo

As you’re already gaining an additional room from converting the garage I would chop off the bit of the kitchen that meets the boundary wall and turn it into a proper semi detached house. In other words, continue the side access path you’re putting in right to the end of the house. Surely that would actually add value?

Agree with this tbh. I'm not sure how planning permission wa granted - I thought you had to leave a 1 metre gap between extension and boundary.

I'd scrap the dinning room. Have a bigger kitchen/diner, and have proper access to the garden that didn't come through the kitchen.

I only have access through the house to get to the garden. Can't access it from the back because that's a steep railway cutting. It's a pain if I want to bring potting compost in, or cuttings from the front garden to the compost heap in the back. If I move, it would be one of the things I would avoid, only having access through the house.

Planning permission would have been granted otherwise it would not have been done and given the uniqueness of these houses they would not have escaped attention. Several have gates and several have built to the side boundary. In any case it is there already and I am looking at cutting out about half of it.

In theory a vehicle could get into the park but it would eventually have to be driven on some grass because the path at the back is only wide enough for walking. It is a big park.

Each time I think I have a way forward and then I despair.

Ok so what problem are you actually trying to solve? I know you've said access to the garden without going through the house, but why? For day to day you'd be going into your garden from your kitchen. How often do you dig up patios/repair fences/chop trees down realistically? For the proposed extension scaffolding and a mini-crane would suffice.

Previous owners may / will have got planning permission for a single storey / garage previously, but that doesn't mean you'll get permission to convert the garage and / or built above it. I would ring the Council for some initial advice before you waste your time.

Also you would need to check whether the foundations are sufficient to support another level, otherwise you may need to rebuild anyway. Even if others have formal permission for their gates it is unlikely to include vehicular access. There may be conditions limiting use and specifying there is no right of access established.

I bought a house with no garden access except through the house. It had everything else I needed and was the compromise I had to make. Bins stayed at the front and yes, I did have to carry the lawnmower through the house to mow the front lawn. A bin bag over it solved the loose grass problem. My house had been 'filled in' between the house and garage to provide an extra room, which I needed to use as a bedroom. In an ideal world its great but it's not an ideal world!

*not great

I don't think what you're planning is worth it. We recently had to send exterior painters away because they couldn't get their ladders through the house into the back garden. You really want the path to be dead straight and unobstructed. The turn to get from the corridor into the garage and then into the kitchen is worse than just going straight through the garage.

If you want to add this access do it properly, which will mean taking space out of the kitchen. What you've drawn will just leave you with a useless closet and a smaller garage.

And you can't seriously be considering driving a vehicle off road through a public park!

your proposed solution doesn't bring any benefit because it only solves half the access problem. you manage to save the flooring in the hall but you still have to cart all the garden things through the kitchen.

Our house only has access to the garden via the dining room & kitchen. I bought a strong trolley with solid rubber wheels and everything that needs to go through is wheeled along on the trolley. I can then wash the trolley wheels so there is no mess. Bins stay at the front & there is no front garden.

Think carefully about what you need the garden access for because an odd corridor along half the access route is not going to help at all.

I have only got access to my garden through my house and it's incredibly annoying and restricts what we can do I the back and the garden.

For instance we can't get large equipment for house or garden renovations out the back.

If we needed a bulk load of anything for the garden eg soil or pebbles etc, we can't just get a bulk delivery, we have to buy it in bags. Or we'd have to bulk deliver to front and wheelbarrow it through the house.

All garden rubbish has to be bagged up to carry through the house which is time consuming and messy

Arranging a window cleaner is difficult as they can only come when we are in.

It's annoying enough that I don't think I'd buy a house without outdoor side access again.

"Would that not mean losing the thousands of pounds I spent on the kitchen units and I would have to do a brand new kitchen.

I am slowly coming round to putting a gate at the back if the council allows it. That way the access point is dealt with. "

I have a friend who redid her kitchen and with great care the people removed some of the cabinets and repositioned them

I think you need to be very precise with access to park at the back & make sure you are allowed a gate - I am sure vehicular access would not be allowed - but you will only know re gate / access if you ask council & whoever is in charge of the park.

I know off street parking / side access etc is a big thing for some people but I have lived in 4 houses without any of these and have managed - it just depends on priorities . What I would not do is compromise the layout of indoors for day to day living for once a week / fortnight / months bringing some things through the house. It is possible with care to do this without messing up the house.

But I have lived in terraced houses and like them. Not everyone is the same.