Going open plan costs? Hubbys or mine?!

[needahouseindurham]

Wondering if any of you have gone for knocking walls down and going open plan and can give any advice/approximate costs?

Hubby thinks we just knock the wall down between the kitchen and diner but I'm thinking move the wc and utility to the back of the garage and get a big open plan kitchen/diner/snug across the whole back. He thinks this'll cost 'loads more'. Anyone done similar - how does it look? What was the costs? Thanks

You need an estate agent to advise on the value impact of losing the garage as a space for a car.

I don't think you can have a toilet opening directly into a kitchen? If you're effectively removing the dining room, you'd need to do something with the loo anyway I think

@needahouseindurham I prefer yours, but it will be much more expensive, possibly double. But having bitten the bullet I'd convert the rest of the garage into a snug/office/guest room.

I prefer your version but it will definitely be more expensive. You'll have to create two new doorways - one of which is probably in a load bearing wall - and build new stud walls in the garage so it's quite a bit more work.

Thanks. Good point. Although I'm not too worried as lots we looked at had done this and were priced similarly to those with full garages.

You can now. This used to be a problem but isn't any longer.

Yeh I knew it would be more expensive - you are right it's prob a lot more work. I'm trying to work out if we are talking big price differences and it sounds like we probably are. Mine would definitely look better though!

Where is the garage? It looks to be detached?? So are you planning on making folk go outside to use the downstairs loo? That doesn't sound sustainable.

It's not detached. There's currently not an internal door to it but obviously we'd put an internal door in.

Opps. Sorry. Missed that space labeled "garage".
Will teach me not to see the picture, think ' that looks like outer floorplan' and jump to conclusions.

I like your plan, but suspect it's £££.
One more possibility: can you put the utility and wc lengthwise between the garage and back door? So square the room off as per your plan, but loose a little width. Ours is set up like this. Makes for a lot of doors in the utility (door to wc, kitchen and garden) but works.

@DoublePeonies I was wondering how you couldn't see the garage - I thought maybe it was cut off on the screen you were using!

Ahhhh yeh I see what you mean. Sounds like we will probably end up going with leaving the wc and utility. I just think it makes the room a bit narrow.

Yes. You can and we’ve had one for ten years and never been an issue. So convenient actually!

Parents just knocked through dining room kitchen and laundry room to make one room. They moved the downstairs toilet into part of the garage, new kitchen, had to move boiler,and pretty sure it was around 80k - they did choose high end options for hob, hot tap, ovens etc. Support beams are expensive

I’d go with your plan to move the toilet and utility room into the garage. I think your main expense in doing this will be moving the toilet soil pipe/drain and associated plumbing. I think it would make a much better proportioned space than leaving it as is.

So the garage wouldn’t be full size? I think it’ll cost more and devalue the house.

Yes. A lot of houses we've looked at have been like that. It's never put us off and the pricing has been similar to others with full garages. Garages tend to be used as storage rather than for cars. But I realise it would put some people off.

Thanks. That's more than I thought to be honest (or maybe more than I hoped!) but really helpful. Thanks

I just wonder if you’d be better off using more space in the garage and creating a fab laundry room.

I agree...on houses like yours, garages are not often used for cars these days, definitely more for storage - assuming you have a decent driveway I certainly don't think it'll devalue the house.

I'd go with the first one and have the Toilet open into the utility room.

We refused to even look at houses with no garage or workshop type place as we use it to store lawn mowers, tools, decorating stuff, bikes and a spare freezer.