(Side return) extension inspo
We've a fairly small ground floor flat of a mid-terraced Victorian 2 floor property (the floor above is another flat) with a garden.
We'd like to explore options wrt to subsuming the side return.
Research leads me to believe this could cost around £60k.
My first question is - assuming we don't get ripped-off and the extension goes to plan, is it fair to bet that we wouldn't lose money on the final sale price? I.e. extending in such a way would likely allow us to add the cost of the development to the sale price (if/when we ever did), at least?
Second question - given the attached floorplan, what how would you configure things when extending?
For me, there are two obvious options:
Option 1) Keep the layout as-is and just extend the rooms that are already adjacent to the side return (bathroom, second bedroom and master bedroom), or;
Option 2) Flip reverse - master bedroom swaps with the living room, allowing the main living spaces (kitchen and living room) to 1) access the garden and 2) take adventage of the extension.
Neither sound particularly game-changing, but it could make things more comfortable and possibly even add value (?).
Thanks for your opinions in advance!
Comments (12)
Sarah L
13 days ago
katlucy
13 days agoRelated Discussions
Ground floor flat side return and extension
Comments (16)Pete I am North London (Islington borough) and went ahead with mine, finished just over a year ago and it’s changed the flat entirely, so happy I did it. Layout similar to the plans in original post but larger kitchen. If you have an idea of layout you want I’d recommend trying to find a junior architect or go with some sort of basic pack option. Architect fees were way more than I expected and unnecessary for me. I found my original suggestion was the best option anyway and despite agreeing a planned budget it was way over spec’d resulting in tenders out of my reach. I ended up finding a very well priced builder myself using mybuilder.com who still worked to fixed fee contract, came in significantly cheaper than lowest architect tendered builder. Speak to your neighbours before Party Wall letters go out, you are about to disrupt their lives for 3 months or so, worth having them on side :) Try and pick/plan the small things as early as possible - you can’t imagine the ridiculous amount of stress you feel having to pick and order kitchen cupboard handles out of the millions of options there are when the builders are ready for them now! Good luck!...See MoreSide return extension with side access dilemma
Comments (7)Hello James, Just a thought here and a very quick one!... If you have a galley arrangement you don't cut the room in half. You could then have a different kind of island/eating area. I love the island that morphs into dining if there is not a degree of separation to have two separate entities.. . The room spatially will feel more open, but of course it must be something you're happy with. For the seating area consider a chaise longue as if two don't sit, one can recline and gaze into the garden! If you were to make the side return ie follow along from the external wall (Living room) you could move the kitchen back in line with this. It's not a massive extension possibly 70 or 80 wide ie the doorway width approx.. It allows the access way to be left alone and thus you can still walk down past your kitchen.. There's no courtyard but you have a better flow through from front to back.. It's simpler perhaps but sometimes this is the best solution to a problem.. The living room could possibly have the angled wall removed to open up the living and kitchen area.. RSJ or some structural addition if the wall is load bearing and you'd need consent most probably.. Structural engineers, but the architect can advise you.. if you liked the idea.. It means you lose the door to the alleyway from the living room but I don't feel this is a gr8 loss.... You could move (or rather extend backwards to the new rear wall) the loo to my suggested new "rear" wall position boxed in from either side of course and with pocket doors and a small (read tiny) cloakroom in front accessed from hall side... so the door isn't opening directly into hall/kitchen/living but has two doors. So the end of the living room is squared off and forms one side of the new loo position. It's a minimal move. You increase the flow through from the living room by opening this out more and even a smaller amount would benefit. and then you can start the run (Kitchen) from back of downstairs loo with larder cupboard for example so there is again a degree of separation from downstairs loo and what is going to be kitchen units.. I also like to plan large monoliths like double height fridge freezers or larders in corners, which doesn't impede the view! Sliding or concertina doors at the back or my specific favourite .... Bring the outdoors in and visa vera! It's rather a more simplified design but I think it creates flow which I like the idea of in a home such as yours. You could put in wooden french doors if you wanted to separate front living from rear living but still keep them with the aesthetic feel of one room.. Don't lose the fireplaces if they're lovely they might be worth keeping! The other alternative is to square off the loo, do the small side extension as mentioned above and then you have two walk ways into kitchen from hall side and from kitchen side.. Then you'd have the FF or larder in the middle on the Loo wall .. This arrangement isn't open like my first idea.. but it would save you moving the loo in question.. : )) These are on a huge scale I know but they're to give you some inspiration about how to handle the door from kitchen to garden! Think garage style pulley system.. This kind of solution makes for a spectacular entrance to your garden and beyond!...See Moreside return extension -permission for doors/windows
Comments (2)It all depends on distance to boundary/neighbour’s house and how many other openings there are on that elevation of your property already. It’s in the fire bit of the building regulations, there are limits to how much of the wall can be openings to reduce risk of fire spreading to adjacent properties. Page 83 and on from there. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/937931/ADB_Vol1_Dwellings_2019_edition_inc_2020_amendments.pdf...See MoreSofa in side return extension
Comments (2)Hi Jane - Abi has a great idea above. Keeping to a 2 seater sofa a long either side wall to utilise the longest wall space I think would work better. Perhaps adding smaller seating in the form of stools or a bench could work? Using these around a coffee table also helps to centre the seating area nicely in an open plan space. Good Luck! Dani...See MoreNick K
11 days agoSarah L
11 days agoNick K
11 days ago@katlucy - So imporessive. Can't believe you just knocked that out.
I think that is awesome!
It is very similar to what I drafted up this morning. The main difference was that I kept the kitchen to the right of the property (on the side of the extension) so that the cooker's extractor fan had an exit, in theory.
This design doesn't seem very orthodox though. Probably a million gotchas init!
I thought there would be a wealth of ground-floor side return extension examples in mid-terraced properties, but I can't find any, and now I'm starting to understand why that might be.
tim_baker921
9 days agoNick K
9 days agotim_baker921
9 days ago
katlucy