Front and back kitchen - and a pantry!

[fruitstick]

We have offered on a turn of the century house which needs work.

We probably won't get it at the price we have offered but I am trying to calculate how much we will need to spend on it.

It doesn't need any major building work (extensions etc) but the kitchen is a bit odd. It has a 'front' and a 'back' kitchen. the front bit has all the cupboards, cooker etc and the 'back kitchen' is essentially an equally sized utility room with sink, washing machine etc, the back door and a walk in pantry (all my dreams come true). Both are probably about 10 ft square, not quite big enough to get a breakfast table in comfortably.

My initial thought would be to knock them through to make a big kitchen diner, but that would leave no separate utilty room and the wall would need an RSJ. Otherwise we could move the wall to make the kitchen bigger and the utility room smaller.

But do you think it could work as it is or would it just be a wasted 'back kitchen'?

Obviously I'm trying not to get too overexcited but it would make a difference on what we could offer if we didn't need to knock the wall down

You need to knock the wall down. You really can't keep it as two separate rooms. You have to have a sink in your kitchen.

I think I would do without a separate utility room if it meant that I could get a proper sitting area in the kitchen.

Is there room in the bathroom upstairs to put the washing machine and tumble dryer.

I think there is a sink in both kitchens. I think originally the back kitchen would have been the 'prep kitchen' so it's all a bit rough and ready.

The bathroom upstairs is small (and the the loo is separate) so no room for washing machine.

I do need to budget for the wall to come down don't I.

We have an edwardian house that was very similar.I had the wall knocked down and an RSJ put in.Came to under £2000 and has made a vast difference to the kitchen.I hope this helps!.

Yup, the wall needs to come down

You may not need an RSJ depending on whether there's a wall above & which way the upstairs floor joists run.

Yes, the wall needs to come down. You could always move the wall back if you wish to retain the utility room - it would only need to be about 4-5ft wide.

I hope it works out ok. How low are you offering compared to asking price? I look forward to hearing how the offer is received.

We have offered 10% under which, considering it hasn't gone on the open market yet, I imagine will be turned down.

We can't afford to go up much more given the work that it will need (already around the top of our budget).

I only hope that everybody is so nervous about the hung parliament that nobody else will be prepared to stick their neck out either.

It's a probate sale so I imagine they are keen to get shot of it quickly.

Good luck with it. I guess it depends how quickly the greedy relatives want to get their sticky-mitts on the cash!