What do you think of this house - esp pillar in kitchen

[joecormac]

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-86141224.html

It’s the kitchen - I like location, size, huge park opposite.
Not my style but post divorce, me and two kids I like doing work/decorating - but have feeling that the post/pillar in the can’t be replaced by steel (as surely they would have done it?) and can’t imagine kitchen layout

What do you think?

I've seen kitchens where exposed brick looks amazing. I think you could look at how they made that look good.

The park opposite seems to be labelled as a golf course. Sometimes they are not for public access - guess you know that this one is accessible though?

@JenniferSantoro

Flixton is up north

It's in Trafford, greater Manchester and you pay for the grammar schools

It is a lovely place to live but I wouldn't want to be so close to the park (lovely in the day time, less so at night) and the shared access worries me more than the layout

I'd personally want to return it to more of a cottage layout -it feels half done to me

The pillar has been left in for support. Stairs in the kitchen would put me off more. And it will be really cold. It's quite spacious and has some good points but I wouldn't buy it. I'm sure there will be better houses at that price. And straight in the front door from the lounge no hall.

It’s had too much work done. Too many walls taken out.

Not for me. I don't like the layout and there is no garden, just a tiny yard.

If you like the location etc and the house generally, first thing I’d do is find a builder to walk through.

First to check the changes have been made safely, second to see if any changes you’d like are possible and cost.

Then you can make a decision based on how much the house would cost to get thw way you want.

To me the work looks very 'piecemeal' and I wouldn't trust it had been done correctly. This house wouldn't be the one for me.

I had a pillar similar to that in my house (but plastered). No large beams like in your photo though and that makes me think it may not be as simple as you think.

We did replace the large pillar with a steel so it is much, much smaller. Couldn’t get away without a steel or house would fall down.

However, to put in the smaller steel, it needed better foundation so the floor needed to be dug up and go down much deeper.

Getting the brick pillar out causes huge movement in the house, hitting the brick makes such vibrations. You could expect cracking upstairs - grout cracking in upstairs loo, possible tiles cracking, many hairline cracks in plaster about the house etc. Something to really need to consider

I don’t think the pillar is really that big of a deal. Plastered, it won’t look so in your face. Our builder suggested putting a mirror on ours, that it then blends in. DH didn’t even consider it.

The house otherwise isn’t that bad. If it is the area you want/need, is a good price for your circumstances and you think in the future would sell on easily, then go for it.

Following with interest because we are about to do a single storey extension which will involve having a pillar between the kitchen and dining areas. It’s already referred to as The Stupid Annoying Pillar and we’ve decided that it needs to serve a purpose rather than just standing there like a dick, so it’s going to be turned into a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf and painted probably white eggshell. Hopefully it’ll blend in well!

Lack of garden would be a no to me.
Layout wise I'm sure something could be done, I'd put in a wall to create a hall with the stairs in which incorporates the pillar.

I normally hate rogue kitchen pillars, but they've actually done a good job with this one (and furniture layout) - looks more like a restaurant and less like a random pathway block.

Of course that's subject to a structural report and ensuring it isn't a repeat of the Faulty Towers' builders episode.

Thank you!!!

Lots of food for thought and great, practical suggestions.

I leave in Urmston, kids go to school here. If I ever work in the office again I need to be near one of the train stations (Flixton, Chassen, Urmston) as I don’t drive.

Have always lived in old houses and finding looking at three bed inter-war semis a bit depressing as third bed is always so small. I worry my son will gravitate back to his Dad’s if I only get a box room.

Plan is for DH to keep our current home and buy me out. We live in a four bed good sized Victorian with loft and cellar conversion - no real garden.

I’ve just gone full time so need to wait for three month’s salary slips before applying for mortgage. We also need to re-value our house in new year before we finalise how much I get.

£350,000 is probably my limit and I’d have to save for renovation over the years.

I’m going to miss stamp duty window but am ok - that’s life.

Will come back in few if anyone willing to give more advice then

Have you looked at this one in the same terrace? Be worth comparing the 2.

That second one is lovely!

I'm not keen on the flow of it, I like a hallway with rooms coming off it. That said it's like a Tardis, the outside is so deceiving as to how much space there is inside.

I like the one in Whitelake Avenue.

Lots of older houses have stairs leading from the kitchen.

InTheLongGrass
Been looking at that one (online) for a looong time. Originally on for £375,000, then £350,000 now current price.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-85451956.html

I’d love to make the big front downstairs room a kitchen/diner, have the middle room as a snug and do a side return extension on what is currently the kitchen and have that as a sitting room looking into garden.

But when I looked at the layout plans I can see the floors don’t match - I think one of the bedrooms is a flying freehold (over neighbour’s living area) and that nextdoor’s bedroom also flies.
Can be difficult to insure/mortgage I think. Also - cost of brining kitchen to front of house?

I think I’m a bit scared - excited too - but v much doing this on own

FAQs - like Whitelake house - quite a few have gone on that road this year. But the road feels very crammed by cars when I walk down it. Great location for me and kids - need to go back and look.

I just don't like the original house at all. Can't see a single appealing thing about it.

I hate everything about the layout of that kitchen, although I'm not sure the pillar is the worst thing. I think if the kitchen was all on one side of the pillar and the dining room the other then it wouldn't feel so in the way?

Hi , I don't know the area so difficult to judge prices but looking at the others on Rightmove search for Flixton the pricing is ok

I would be suspicious that the work carried out opening up the ground floor was not compliant to current building regs, the pillar would normally be a steel and be triple boarded in a kitchen , of course this may be just the photo and you find that it's not brick but wallpaper to look like brick

I've had two houses opened up with the stairs open to the kitchen - not in the kitchen like this but larger open plan area with kitchen in part of it and stairs in another part but no doors in between as a fire break these were acceptable to building control providing the smoke detectors were independently wired

The alley way outside looks very narrow , is the side of your house and is access to the garages behind so the neighbours can drive through 24/7 ? This would be a deal breaker for me , you also have a door that opens up onto it .

I think if you are not able to proceed before the Stamp holiday runs out at the end of March there will be more houses to choose from in the new year and something more suiting your needs will turn up

Being both excited and scared is good ! You can definitely do this.
Excited gets your blood pumping , gets you out there looking , scared makes you check that everything is correct and as it should be and stops you running away with the wrong house 😀

Thanks all

Spam88 - love that first sentence for some reason, it’s making my laugh. I think I can picture my sister saying
‘I hate everything about the layout of that kitchen’