Would you be happy with a UPVC lean to utility space?

[guessthatswhytheycallittheblue]

I posted here a while ago about our plans for a possible side return extension and the comments were all good feedback.

Long story short - after much discussion, we have agreed we are going to move from our 3 bed semi within the next 2 to 3 years so therefore, we don't to to spend huge amounts on extensions etc as it won't be worth it due to ceiling price on our road.
However, we really need an office space as we both WFH (this was the case pre-covid) and we need the box room back (currently an office) for DC3 who is still in our room aged 2.5.

DH has renovated most of our house already and pretty handy, and the cheapest way we can gain an office is for him to do something in the garden which he has costed out and will be about 6k (we have an existing structure on a concrete base with power.)

We did our kitchen diner extension years ago and didn;t factor in a utility space at the time which I think, given the size of the room was an error.

I think we could do a sort of utility/storage space in the side return at the back of our garage to house a washing machine, drier and some shelves and would be quite happy with a UPVC lean to type thing added on the back of the garage and accessed from the house via a side door from the kitchen diner.

My question is - firstly has anyone done anything like this and would mind sharing some pictures and/or idea of cost?
Also, do you think this an acceptable utility solution if you were looking to buy? I think DH could do most of the work himself except for a bit of trade work for plumbing and electrics.

Could you provide a diagram? If it blocked light to existing rooms or in some way blocked garden access I probably wouldn't look upon it favorably, otherwise it would depend on quality and condition.

Have you considered converting part of the garage?

I have uploaded a picture (I hope!) The red circle of where our access door from the kitchen/diner is.
I would hope to do something sort of lean to up to where the green line is.

We have considered the garage conversion and/or extending the garage slightly but for various reasons want to leave as is (cost, storage and also don't want a view into a dark the garage from the side door etc) and I also want to be able to step out of my kitchen into something.

Thoughts?

So pretty much a conservatory. Better than nothing I guess. If it blocks access to the garden from the front I'd consider that a net loss, back alleys are unreliable and having to take garden equipment through the house is a nuisance.

I wouldn't want it. If I was viewing a house with that, I would think well I would need to knock it down and check if there's enough room for a washer inside.

Conservatories are old fashioned now and are very impractical. Most are boiling in the summer and freezing in the winter. If I bought a house with a conservatory, I would knock the conservatory down. Any sort of lean to, I would 100% knock down. It would put me off a house as it's likely that the estate agent will price it to reflect the 'extension' which is not desirable at all to me.

Sorry OP, but I’d not value it as a buyer. I might not be able to afford to replace it, but I’d not pay more for a house with that space added to it.

It looks narrow (around 3 or 4 feet?) so by the time you factor in pipe work theres only just space for a washer/ dryer to open fully? For me, it wouldn’t add anything to your house in terms of function or house price.

It would put me off a house as a buyer! I’d have to factor in the cost of ripping it down! That said, if you want it, do it for yourself anyway.

A friends neighbour did similar on their kitchen to extend it and I think it looks good. The house is now for sale (hence the photos).

If it benefits you now then go for it and as long as it’s a proper structure and doesn’t look ugly then I don’t think people will be put off as generally they’ll also appreciate the extra space too

@Saz12

Sorry OP, but I’d not value it as a buyer. I might not be able to afford to replace it, but I’d not pay more for a house with that space added to it.

It looks narrow (around 3 or 4 feet?) so by the time you factor in pipe work theres only just space for a washer/ dryer to open fully? For me, it wouldn’t add anything to your house in terms of function or house price.

Too narrow to open a washer or dryer door properly?

You’re size perception must be off, the patio slabs and garage access door show that there is plenty of width to fit them in easily

Thanks for the feedback, lots to think about!

I think if it’s something useful to you OP it will be useful to the next buyer. If not it’s easy enough to get rid, just don’t spend to much money on it. In our last house we had the washer & dryer stacked on top of each other in the old outside loo as we couldn’t fit both and a dishwasher in the kitchen, worked well for us and had plenty of interest on selling.

We have a conservatory filling in the side return done about 10 years ago by the previous owner

We use it, it doesn’t get too hot or too cold and gives worthwhile extra space.

We have one, put in by the previous owners. It gives us some storage space but is otherwise pretty useless

We had this in a previous house which sounds very similar to your house. It was used as a sitting area by the previous owner, but it was more useful for us to use it as a utility so I had plumbing put in. It was the only way to get to the back garden from the front (through the garage) other than through the house which was a bit of a pain sometimes, but it was so useful I didn't want to get rid of it. The people who bought from us thought it was a useful addition and kept it.

Perhaps also think about:
The space you lose in the kitchen/diner by adding another door
The impact of building over what looks like a drain?
As a buyer I don't think it would add any value eg I normally mentally remove any temporary structures when I look at floorplans online.

I've seen it on a few houses round here and it never looks good. It's like someone shoved the washing machine in the corner of a conservatory. Tbh it is a cheap option, and it shows.

We have one of these - it was there when we bought it but when we redid the roof and lights and laid a silicon floor and that was about £5k but it’s a very long space - 10metres.
We absolutely love it - our washing machine, tumble dryer, and chest freezer are there and it means no noise in the house. Also a sink for cleaning mucky things and lots of shelves for paints, tools, garden things. It doesn’t restrict access as it’s really wide and in fact we even got a digger through there when we had an extension built at the back.
It’s not somewhere you’d want to sit as it’s hot in summer and cold in winter but it’s a really useful utility space.

I think if we go ahead it is a fine balance to get it to look "not ugly" as someone else has rightly said. Also good point that if we will find it useful, chances are other people will too.
I don't think many people would opt for a conservatory type space anymore. It's not ideal but probably our best option for many reasons.

We need to do the garden this year which will involve replacing the paving in the side return and adding a patio so it won't be full of crap as per the picture!

@FudgeSundae would you mind sharing a pic of yours? I would be interested to see it.

@guessthatswhytheycallittheblue
Not the tidiest but you get the idea!

Thank you @FudgeSundae. It looks like a very useful space and definitely what I had in mind!

I keep thinking what would Kirsty Allsop tell me to do and what would she do with a small budget which wouldn't be wasted money. There is a ceiling price for the road and a proper extension is just too much.

Thanks again for all the replies, it is good to have different perspectives.

@guessthatswhytheycallittheblue You could definitely save money off what we did by not doing the floor - before we redid it it was poured concrete and perfectly serviceable, although the silicon is nicer for laundry etc. The £5k was floor, roof, doors both ends (one is upvc, the other composite for security) and redoing the lights, but the electrics and plumbing was pre existing.

Just a cheap extension then, too cold in the winter, too hot in the summer. Waste of time and money. Do it properly or don’t bother.

@Monkeypeas I think that looks surprisingly good!

@FudgeSundae do you know the dimensions of your utility space? I’m looking at doing something similar.