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Original poster

How important is it to have access from the front of your house to the garden?

24 replies

SamVimesIsMyHero · 05/04/2009 07:55

We're thinking about an extension (because we don't seem to be able to sell atm and the way we would do it will probably mean we won't have a garden gate any more. There is a possibility of making the garden accessible from the garage. What do you think?

OP posts:

LackaDAISYcal · 05/04/2009 08:00

lots of people do this. I've seen lots of extensions with no obvious access t the garden

I think as long as you have access from the garage to the garden so you don't have to trail stuff through the house it'll be fine when you come to sell in the future

RupertTheBear · 05/04/2009 08:00

One of the reasons I loved our house is because you can't access the garden except for through the garage - it feels really secure when the children are playing out there - I can leave them with minimal supervision because no one can get in and they can't get out.
However it has been a bit of a pain as we can't have a window cleaner as they would only be able to do the front windows, and when we have had bricks etc delivered we have had to carry them a few at a time through the garage.
I would definitely buy a house with only access through the house again!

franke · 05/04/2009 08:01

I think you just have to weigh up how useful that access has been to you up until now. If you can create access through the garage, I would definitely do that. We lived in a terraced house with no front to back access except through the house. We managed but if we had wanted to do anything drastic to the garden such as put down a new terrace or whatever, it would have been a real problem getting materials in and out. So I would say if you can create access I would do so.

Original poster

SamVimesIsMyHero · 05/04/2009 08:02

Fab! I was hoping that was the case. I guess if you live in a terrace house you have no choice and people manage

OP posts:

Original poster

SamVimesIsMyHero · 05/04/2009 08:04

I hadn't thought about that Rupert. I was only thinking about us getting in and out of the garden. My window cleaner is lovely though, I wouldn't mind him having a key to the garage We wouldn't need any bricks etc delivering because once this extension was done, that's IT!!

OP posts:

maddylou · 05/04/2009 08:16

I think it would be tricky ,what about lawnmower,wheelie bin ,wheelbarrow,bikes?Everything would have to go through garage.We did an extension which left under a metre at side of house but its very useful.

ChippyMinton · 05/04/2009 08:19

If you need planning permission for the extension, they may insist that you leave 1m between your building and the boundary.

Ineedanewname · 05/04/2009 08:20

A friend of mine did a garage conversion/extension thing - converted most of the garage but left a "path" (doors each end) that was wide enough for wheelybins and wheelbarrows.

tatt · 05/04/2009 08:28

I've seen a house where both ends of the garage had door fitted - so you could drive right through.

But I agree that you're likely to have to leave a gap at the side. Your local planning department would discuss it with you.

spicemonster · 05/04/2009 08:30

If you can give access to the garden through the garage then I would. Apart from the window cleaner issue, if someone wanted to have the garden done, it would mean traipsing everything through the house which is a total pita

LackaDAISYcal · 05/04/2009 08:39

good point chippyminton. Also depending on how close your neighbours house is to the boundary, there may be a party wall issue to resolve

Original poster

SamVimesIsMyHero · 05/04/2009 09:07

There won't be boundary issues with the neighbours because of where our garage is situated so that's a positive!

OP posts:

beepbeep · 05/04/2009 09:16

Our house is exactly as you are desribing, have access to garden just through house (back access to garage is through house also). The security of the garden is def a plus, kids can play outside without a worry, I don't really worry about things from the garden coming through the house (is just through the conservatory) but admit it would be prob better with a back door to garage)

SamJamsmum · 05/04/2009 09:20

As long as you can get access without actually going through main living space it's fine. I once had a house which involved gardeners carrying bags of London clay backwards and forwards through the living room. YUK.

SoupDreggon · 05/04/2009 09:25

We have no access other than through the house - technically you can come through the garage and then through the side door or the kitchen but then you have to navigate the fire door and some awkward angles to get into the garden. It's easier to come through the front door and through the hallway. It is a PITA really. I wish there was a side gate for muddy/mucky stuff and workmen.

SoupDreggon · 05/04/2009 09:27

Having said that, the house I grew up in had no side access and it was fine. But the route through the garage and through the utility part of kitchen to the back door was a straight line with only 2 sets of easily opened doors. If planned sensibly, it's fine.

LIZS · 06/04/2009 10:25

Next door( end of terrace) have rear access only via a right of way over path on our side. You may have problems extending right up to your boundary if the adjacent house is also quite close.

littlerach · 06/04/2009 10:32

We have no access to rear garden other than through the house.
Also our back garden goes onto a field, so no access there either.

Whilst it didn't put us off the house, it is a PITA at times.
WE have to carry garden waste that we don't compost through the house, also when we did the garden last year we had to carry bricks and paving thorugh.
And ladders.

But it does make the back seem incredibly secure.

themildmanneredjanitor · 06/04/2009 10:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ohdearwhatamess · 06/04/2009 10:36

Our house is like this. We have a garage at the side, attached to the house (and to anothert garage on the other side). We can only get to the garden from the house (although we have doors from 3 rooms to do so) or from the rear of the garage.

Swings and roundabouts, imo. The downside is that delivery people can't pop round the back to leave parcels, and I have to wait in for things like windowcleaners or oil deliveries. The upside is that the rear of the house is very secure - near impossible for intruders to get in or for dcs to escape out.

ramonaquimby · 06/04/2009 10:42

there will be thousands of homes without access to backyard apart from through the front door. (terraced houses) It's great with 3 young kids as they are perfectly secure in the backyard.

goldenpeach · 06/04/2009 23:13

My first house had no access. I had a conservatory built at the back and the builders were very considerate moving stuff and cement mixer, etc through our house, plus panels and fence posts. I loved to have access in my second house but it had a terribly stiff gate which was secure but put me off opening it. As it was original in Victorian house I didn't want to change it. When the fence needed replacing it was useful, though. I guess your idea of having access through the garage is a very good compromise.

kentmumtj · 07/04/2009 09:54

interestingly i have lived in all that is being described. I think its about personal preference. For me i much prefer a side entrance/gate.
I am currently having a mamous extension double storey side and back and had to have the metre gap between it and boudary wall so had to have a side entrance. This has proved vital with the buildin work.

Also in terms of older kids getting their bikes etc through the house would not be ideal so side entrance has worked here. We would not have been able to access via back garden as we back onto woodland.

going through the garage would be good if this is the option you choose. Can i just play devils advocate and ask whether you may in the furture decide to build an extension/conservatory onto the back of the garage ever in the future. How would this then effect going straight through to the garden???????

ABetaDad · 07/04/2009 10:04

A few years ago, I rented a semi with no access to the garden from the front because the owners had converted the garage.

The big problem was getting large garden rubbish out of the garden. It was impossible. The result was that all the gardens in the street were overgrown as everyone had done the same thing.

If a wide access door (wide enough to get a loaded wheelbarrow through)can be made in the back of the garage into the garden it will prove a huge benefit but still be secure as long as the front garage door is secure and the back door of the garage has a couple of good mortice locks at top and bottom on it. Definitley worth the investment of having a door way made.

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