should I buy this house with a two storey sinlge brick wall extension?

hotcake3

Hi

I viewed a house last week - this house is at my idea location and I really liked the rest of the house but one thing. This victorian terrace house comes with an extension at the back as kichen at the ground floor and a third bed room at the first floor. Demesion 3mx2m for each level. The trouble is that this past fo the house was built with only one single lawyer of brick, some mortgate company will refuse to lend money for such a house.

What should I - should I walk away or try to rescuit it? Not sure if it would be worhtwhile as if i add another layer of the brick to the wall, the room will become even smaller. let along I have no idea about how much that would cost.

Any suggestions?

thanks

Milliewilly

If you really want it see what the mortgage surveyor says and haggle with the Vendor. Surveyor's don't like single brick extensions though - do you have a decent deposit?

hotcake3

I got about 30% for deposit but I think even my morgate company would lend me the money it will be difficult for me to sell the house in the future unless i re-build the extension.

silvercar

Your problem is compounded by the single brick room being the kitchen. We have one single brick room and the surveyor was sniffy and supposedly valued the property excluding that room. If that room was the kitchen, that would have been difficult.

PasturesNew

I saw a bloke on Homes Under the Hammer that just dry lined and insulated a kitchen extension that was single wall. So you could look into if that is a beneficial and valid response.

hotcake3

Thanks for the advice- would be appreciated if anyone could help to provide an idea about cost to put an extra layer on?

There is a kitchen 2x3m on the ground floor and a small room same size on the first floor above the kitchen.

thanks

Hopejack

Can't help on what to do really but just thought I would say that we currently live in a 4 bed house (rented). The 4th bedroom is over the garage and a single brick extension with no insulation that we know of - it's absolutely freezing and trying to heat it, is almost like burning £20 notes tbh. It's really put me off buying anything that has been poorly extended imo.

It could be done but as you say, with the room sizes would it be worth it? Unless the house is 100% the 'one for you' I'd walk tbh.

PS - I'm so pleased we were able to rent this house before buying (we did think about buying it when we sell our house which we currently rent out) - tbh it may as well be a 3 bed house and really should be valued as such as there is no way the room can be used for any decent length of time! Heating costs too much and isn't practical at all!

marcg

Architect here. Single skin brick walling is basically garden walling - it has practically no insulation value. That said, Victorian houses are only made from two layers of brick walls - these have "next" to no insulation value. Touch an outside wall in a Victorian house and you'll feel the cold.

Modern houses are generally built in one of three ways:
1. concrete blocks, insulation board, gap, external skin.
2. Insulated timber stud walls, gap, external skin.
3. Insulated metal stud walls, rendered board.

You can see that you can convert your single skin wall into type 2 by building an internal stud wall which you put polystyrene-type insulation (celotex or kingspan) between and then plasterboard to face. Figure on about £1000 per room finished. You'll also need some vapour barrier membrane in there to stop condensation forming in the wall. A technician will do you a drawing/spec for about £150. Best to have this before you do things yourself.

However, bear in mind that this new wall will come out of your living space. Assuming all the walls are external, your 2m wide room will become, at most, 1.8m wide. Yes, you could put thinner insulation and get a wider room, but then you won't feel the benefit.

You could also look at insulating the outside of the wall (envirowall or alsecco) but this is not really done on old buildings, not many people will do that size of job and the waterproofing detailing is complicated.

hotcake3

Hi Guys thanks for both imput!

Marcg, may i ask- the agent also indicated that I could carry out the work as you suggested. However, i wonder if I need to take into considerations of the foundation? As if the foundation is not strong enough could it be fine to support an extra layer of brick? Also do i need to give some considerations on the strength of the floor on the first floor?

thanks

BexInLondon

Just to echo those who say that a single-brick extension is freezing - I slept in one for a year while at Uni and had to wear a balaclava. Every night as I went off to sleep I could see my breath in the air, even with a heater on. If I accidentally brushed the wall in my sleep I woke up instantly as it was like brushing an ice block. Then summer came, and I was sweltering hot 24/7.

Jonbvn

hotcake3 wrote: »

Hi Guys thanks for both imput!

Marcg, may i ask- the agent also indicated that I could carry out the work as you suggested. However, i wonder if I need to take into considerations of the foundation? As if the foundation is not strong enough could it be fine to support an extra layer of brick? Also do i need to give some considerations on the strength of the floor on the first floor?

Civil/Structural engineer here! marcg did not say an additional layer of brick. He recommended timber stud walls with a suitable insulation and a vapour barrier and gap. This is very lightweight, and should not be a problem for the foundations.