Single storey extension/bathroom conversion/kitchen-conservatory extension

omarjk

Hello all,

My family is looking to buy a wonderful property that is cosmetically run-down as it has been used on a buy-to-let basis to hoardes of students over the years, and lived-in by a family for 55 years prior to that. The property was built c.1880. It is a terraced townhouse. It is not in a conservation area. I have a few questions that you may be able to help with.

1) Single storey extension: the house has a jut, which on the ground floor houses the kitchen (4.9 x 1.9m), and on the first floor the bathroom (3.5 x 1.9m). We would like to extend the jut upwards from two floors to three in order to create an extra bathroom on the new floor. The dimensions would be identical to those of the first floor bathroom.

I would like to know:

- Going on the information on the government's planning portal website, I will need to seek planning permission as the proposed depth is around 3.5m, whereas the limit stated therein is 3m for terraced houses. Is this interpretation correct?

http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/genpub/en/1115315205815.html

- If PP and Building Regs compliance are required, as seems the case, should I employ an architect/architectural technician to design the extension?
- Is there likely to be a problem with the weight of the bathroom on the load bearing walls, requiring new foundations and/or underpinning?
--> as you may be able to see I am truly a building & design novice.

- How much is reasonable to pay for such an extension, in London W12, to the:
architect(ural technician)
builder

- Should I be looking for a builder with particular accreditation/governing body membership for the job and
- can anybody on this site in West/South-West/Central London recommend someone they have used in the past?

- Could I fit and/or tile the bathroom myself, with the aid of user manuals etc?

2) Then we plan to convert the existing first floor bathroom to a utility room.

- How much is reasonable to pay to a builder for scrapping the original bathroom and finishing?

- Will all the necessary plumbing for washing machines etc. will be present due to its present use as a bathroom?

- Finally, could I undertake this job myself?

3) We would then like to extend the ground floor kitchen-area jut in to a conservatory. If you take the jut as forming an L-shape, with the kitchen being the vertical part of the 'L', the conservatory will also ideally open into the room at the bottom part of the 'L', to make an open plan kitchen-conservatory-dining room area. A builder who I have consulted preliminarily has advised me to undertake the single storey extension in (1) prior to this work, as the conservatory may be damaged by later work carried out directly above it, and it is more convenient for the purposes of erecting scaffold etc. The dimensions of the new kitchen conservatory will be roughly 5 x 4m.

- Will the house lose so much heat through the conservatory, that I should have it sealed off by using doors etc, at least from the room at the bottom part of the 'L'?

- Should I employ the services of an architect or architectural technician or some other kind of designer for the entire job? Possibly the same as for the extension in (1) above?

- How much can I expect to pay for parts (good quality) and labour for the extension?

- From the Planning Portal website it appears we do not need to seek planning permission, but I put my hands up here and admit that I cannot really work out if I do. Can you advise me if I do from the information that I have provided? Ditto Building Regulations compliance.

4) Penultimately, the house is carpeted, but appears to have good quality wooden floorboards beneath the carpets.

- If I lifted and threw out the old carpets, do you think it is a manageable job for a novice to sand and paint/varnish the original wood flooring? Presumably I could hire a sander for the job if it is manageable.

5) Finally, the house has in many rooms the pebble-dash equivalent of wallpaper, which I would like to strip and paint over.

- How do I go about doing this, and would it be a long job to undertake single-handed in a house with at six rooms and hallways over three floors?

Thanks in advance for any help, advice, and suggestions that you may give.

Lalu

planning_officer

omarjk wrote: »

Going on the information on the government's planning portal website, I will need to seek planning permission as the proposed depth is around 3.5m, whereas the limit stated therein is 3m for terraced houses. Is this interpretation correct?

Yes that's correct.

omarjk wrote: »

3) We would then like to extend the ground floor kitchen-area jut in to a conservatory. .... The dimensions of the new kitchen conservatory will be roughly 5 x 4m.
...
- From the Planning Portal website it appears we do not need to seek planning permission, but I put my hands up here and admit that I cannot really work out if I do. Can you advise me if I do from the information that I have provided?

It depends on whether it is classed as a rear or side extension - different authorities interpret the new permitted development legislation differently, so if it's classed as a rear extension, then it will need permission, as, like above, it exceeds 3m in depth - however it may not need permission if it is classed as a side extension. You need to ask your council how they interpret the rules.

omarjk

Thanks planning_officer, I was beginning to think my post was so long that it was putting people off- maybe it still is. The local authority is Hammersmith and Fulham, who I shall check with.

Generally, if you are reading this and able to answer any part of my initial post I would appreciate it.

slummymummyof3

4) Yes to sanding floors etc yourself - hire a professional sander from BSS (think you also get nectar points from them as well)or similar and get a good quality varnish such as ronseal diamond finish (rather expensive but worth it) - It is very messy so you will want to seal off other rooms. Make sure you are wearing a mask. Don't get all your sanding sheets from hire place, go and have a look at the equipment when you go to book it and perhaps buy a sheet for the large sander and a small sheet for the edging sander and then purchase the rest over the internet!

5) Sounds like woodchip wallpaper????? Get yourself a steamer (approx £25 from diy stores) - it is evil to get rid of!!!! Be careful you don't leave the steamer over an area for too long as the plaster will blow and then will need reskimming.

planning_officer

I know you said that are not in a conservation area, but is it in an AONB or National Park? If so, the conservatory extension will definitely require planning permission, as it's too long to be permitted development as a rear extension and no side extensions at all are allowed in the aforementioned areas.

planning_officer

On re-reading your initial post, it seems you want to extend from two storeys in height to three, which I didn't pick up on originally! Whilst you can extend up to 3m in depth from the original rear wall of the dwelling, there are also limitations on height - namely, if the eaves will exceed 3m in height (which they undoubtedly will) and are located within 2m of any boundary, it will require planning permission. Also, the eaves cannot be higher than the eaves of the original house and the extension cannot be closer than 7m from the rear boundary.

omarjk

Hi planning_officer, to my chagrin, I'm neither in an area of natural beauty nor a National Park (a high-rise tower block looms over the house). I will contact the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham to enquire how they go about classifying side/rear extensions for pp purposes, and upload the answer for other users.

I would like to demolish an internal wall on the LG floor, with a view to opening up the whole floor so that it all flows as one. Will I need planning permission for this as well, or does this depend on whether it is a structural wall?

Yes, you are right about the height of the eaves as well. Is the best order to get an architect/technician to design the rear upward extension, conservatory, and LG floor layout, and then apply for planning permission where necessary?

Thanks for your valuable advice slummymummyof3.

I should point out that we have not bought the house yet, but I would like to know if it is a viable purchase as a matter of course.

planning_officer

omarjk wrote: »

I would like to demolish an internal wall on the LG floor, with a view to opening up the whole floor so that it all flows as one. Will I need planning permission for this as well, or does this depend on whether it is a structural wall?

Nope, it's purely internal - so no planning permission needed. Will need Building Regs though I would have thought.

omarjk wrote: »

Yes, you are right about the height of the eaves as well. Is the best order to get an architect/technician to design the rear upward extension, conservatory, and LG floor layout, and then apply for planning permission where necessary?

Yes, pretty much a good order - the plans will be needed for the planning application, so they need to be done first.

You can still actually apply for planning permission for the extension, even though you don't own the house.