Single Skin brick extension - help!

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Has anyone ever bought a house with a single skin brick extension?

we have just had a survey back on a house we want to purchase and the surveyor has recommended the extension (that contains the bathroom and kitchen) is a substandard structure and should be knocked down and rebuilt.

Is this something to pull out of over? We really didn’t plan on knocking down an extension and rebuilding. Really unsure what to do.

When you say single skin do you mean 9” thick with no cavity ( 1 brick lengthways ) or 4.5” thick ( a brick widthways ) ?

I’ve bought a couple of houses with single skin as in the width of the brick thick extensions.
House one it lad to be knocked down and rebuilt. It was obvious when viewing and the brick work was not the only issue.
house 2. A smaller extension and I wanted to knock it into the kitchen to make a kitchen diner. Had to expose the foundations for the building inspector and put some big cat nic lintels in.
You probably need a good structural engineer.

I believe 4.5 inches thick

My husband knows about this..unless it is a very old building, and the extension was existing, the extension is unlikely to have been passed by building control. Either factor in a rebuilding of extension or pull out of the purchase.

The sellers said they didn’t build it and they bought the property in 2001. There are no planning permission or building regs available. The surveyor guessed that it was built in 1980. Im trying to establish whether it’s because extension is old ( although 40 years isn’t that old) and maybe a fairly normal thing to come across or someone just did a rubbish job

Just a factor to consider, it'll be bloody freezing if it's single skin 🫣

Google says that's 120mm and a normal brick is about 215mm x 102.5mm x 65mm? This means it's built with one layer of brick? Does it look like the solid wall or cavity wall layout on this link?
https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/advice/solid-wall-insulation/

The solid wall is pretty normal for older buildings.

I hope he doesn't mean this type that's found in garden walls https://www.pavingexpert.com/featur03

If it is really like a garden wall, you'll need to rebuild it. It's no substandard, not passed building regulations and even old buildings are not build like this for a dwelling.

Even in 1900 houses had 9 inch walls, by 1980 cavity walls were effectively required, although cavity insulation was not necessary. Single skin is probably a lean to/conservatory/garage type structure that has later had the external doors removed and incorporated into the house.
It's not really ok but it's up to you whether it's a deal breaker

We had a porch which I think was single skin. It was freezing! And it was south facing. Would not recommend.

We bought a house last year that had a side extension that was single skin. Same as you, historical build from around 1985-1990 with no building regs etc.

As a PP said, the extension is bloody cold in the winter. However, we're currently looking at internal insulation - but external insulation could be an option for you too.

In the case of our property, the building is solid and well-built. The only issue is the lack of warmth. We have done some other new building work around it (with building regs and planning permission) so that reduces the issue on two of the walls. We only need to insulate a wall and a bit, as that's all that's left exposed.

As for you OP, how does this house compare price-wise to others in the market? Does the price reflect the fact that this isn't a "proper" extension and will need some work?

My 1700 house had a single skin extension built 60 odd years ago. Had the outside walls insulated from inside with boards and replastered

Can you remember how much that cost @Loobyloo68? We're looking at getting that done now and builders have been vague about the cost so far....

We had quite a lot of work done as well as that, but I'm pretty sure it was around the £2k mark, that was with us removing the kitchen. They battened and boarded the walls, replastered and added more sockets to the kitchen. This was during covid when prices shot up as well. The 2 walls were approx 15ft in total.

If it was built in 1980 it's pretty certain it didn't conform to building regulations and was put up without consent. Most likely it was put up as an outhouse then incorporated into the house

Was it a garage that's been converted?

It'll be freezing with the double.layer and insulation.

I would pull out of it as you are no doubt paying for it and it's substandard. Plus it'll be interested if it passed the controls needed.

You could externally insulate it rather than knock it down.

Im trying to sell my home and buyers solicitors keep asking about a single storey side extension.
this house is a semi detached and built with a lean to no extension has been made.

and prior to when we brought it our seller converted it to a small utility.. when i say converted i mean no extension no new roof just closed the front entrance plastered , flooring put boiler & storage back door entrance still there.

Spoken to many builders who said buildings are not required for this..

now the buyers solicitor referred to the lenders solicitor.. we brought the house like this 5 years ago, but even prior to then it was always a already lean to in which all the houses have.

could i get an indemnity how can i move passed this.
my estate agents have forwarded 2 floor plans both prior to when i purchased which iv included..