Rearranging kitchen layout to add patio doors

[UndertheMapleTree]

How easy is it to redo a kitchen to have a whole new layout when it includes moving a boiler and a sink?

DH and I are looking to move and we're interested in this property (hopefully photo of layout below!), but in an ideal world we would love to add patio doors straight into the garden at the end of the kitchen, fill in the existing door that's on the right hand side, and then move the existing counter tops/sink/boiler to the left and right hand walls of the kitchen.

We've done a full kitchen renovation before in our existing place but that used the same layout of the existing kitchen so we didn't need to knock anything down or move sinks or add doors etc. so I have no idea if this is possible and if so, whether it's very expensive. The appeal of this property is that it has the size we want, it's just the layout that could be better for us but if it's very expensive it would be a no go for us.

Any experience welcome!

I was told that for the cost of moving an existing boiler, you may as well buy a new boiler (eg v expensive to move).
I'm designing my new kitchen sort of around the boiler after initially hoping to move it- can't remember how much the builder said it would cost to move but must have been in the 000s.

I paid 1000 to have my boiler moved . That was 5 years ago and I am in the south east.

We did! Last winter. Very similar layout to yours too. They knocked through the back wall and turned the boiler off on the first day of snow here, brrrrrh. They boarded it up with insulated board and hung dustsheets overnight to try and keep the cold out as much as poss. They took the room entirely back to brick, blank canvas and moved everything/started over. They dug out the floor too and laid damp course, membrane, so while they were at it we had wet underfloor heating installed too so we don't have a radiator in there now either.

They did it remarkably quickly really, in the grand scheme of things, and seeing the daily progress was great!

We definitely use our garden so much more now because we don't have to access it from a dingy side path, but directly. And I can see the kids easier while I'm cooking if they're out too. And the doors bring in so much light, and kids can see into the garden from the warmth of inside now too which is great for watching birds, cats, snails on the window, weather etc etc.

We didn't need a structural steel or anything like that.

Took them about 7 weeks all in, but we had a lot of other stuff done around the house at the same time too so probably could have been quicker. Also we lived on site throughout, my DH, me, and 2 kids then 3y and 7m.

We had our fridge, microwave, toaster and slow cooker plugged in to our front room. Which is also where we played and relaxed and lived, essentially. Felt a bit bonkers at the time but worthwhile.

It was a very spenny project for us. We don't intend to do it again so spent more than we might have otherwise.

Good luck!

Also our boiler was only a couple of years old, so we didn't bother replacing it again. They had no problems moving it.

Thanks so much for the replies so far and for people's experiences. Interesting to hear getting a whole new boiler is probably the same price as moving it! Not sure how old the boiler is in this place but based on how old the kitchen is I'd guess about 10-15 years.

It sounds like it's definitely physically possible but maybe financially not so much! I've looked at a couple of other places on that road which sold recently and they've all got the kitchen opening into the garden and it just looks SO nice. I'd love to be able to let DS just race around there while we watch from inside.

I have a kitchen that width and it actually works better having a sink under the window for the view and a separate back door. It's nice to have a door that opens to a service area rather than main garden. I would live in the house for a year before making a decision. Children Running in and out of the garden lasts less long than staring at a brick wall /fence to do the washing up chopping boards etc. if you have a table in front of patio doors (alternate view)access for running/opening shutting is also less easy.
The room can also seem less narrow if you put sink run across rather than down length.

If you filled in the side return, doors at garden end would be more of a no brainer.

If you filled in the side return you might kick yourself for wasting money on prior layout change.

You will be making more of a galley kitchen effect: pleasant and airy but possibly less cosy/grounded. There will be a sense of "moving" towards the new door. Sometimes that will feel great but sometimes a bit unrestful.??

Where were you thinking of moving the sink to? You might be able to move it down near the downstairs loo and see if you can take advantage of the drainage and water that’s already near that location. If it was me I’d just put in a big window across the back much cheaper than the expense of moving a boiler and sink.

I've just had the same dilemma as you and decided in the end to not add the patio doors just because the costs out weighed the benefits, I'm not sure where you are but we're in the north east and the cost to change and existing window to a single glazed door and window was £1,800 which isn't too bad but then had costs of around £700 to move the drain outside to accommodate the new door and allow the sink waste to still reach it. We then would have needed to lay a patio straight away as the ground outside would be churned up and muddy and would be our only door to the garden so that was another few thousand £.

We also had prices in to knock a load bearing wall down and to add an RSJ and they all ranged from £2500 to £4000.

So for us it just wasn't worth the cost especially as the new door was compromising the kitchen layout however if it wasn't for that i probably would have done it as all of my neighbours have doors into the gardens from the kitchens as well however they all did this work years (some of them decades) ago and all of them were before covid and the price of everything went crazy!

Hope that helps to give you an idea of some costs.

@Newbie2025 thanks for the idea of costs. We're in SE London so I imagine mega expensive for labour costs right now

What about moving the boiler into the store so it's not in the kitchen.
What is the other side of the left hand side of the kitchen? If it's your neighbours kitchen then it might not be possible.

I honestly hadn't even considered a big picture window option instead over the sink but that does sound appealing. I don't mind a long thin kitchen (a friend has a gorgeous house with that layout) but I can see it might have the potential to be a bit less cosy... I think an extension into the side return would never be a financial possibility so it's definitely thinking of how we could use the space we might have.

Lots of great thoughts, thanks all. Now we need to actually view it! (It's been on the market for ages in a v popular location so there must be something wrong with it beyond cosmetic things.)