Extension v New kitchen Which is better?

holidayhippo

Hello!

Me and my OH are throwing around idea's what to do in the house next year. The kitchen must be a good 20 years old, screaming out for an upgrade, we both agree this should be the top of our list however were unsure which route to take.

I'm really sorry if i don't explain this well but the back of our house is a L shape.

The kitchen is long and narrow, our first option is to knock the wall down between the kitchen and the dining room for a more open plan feel, and put patio doors in the dining room so it brings the garden in, or the small walk to it at least. The kitchen is only 12x8ft and once cabinets are in, it leaves a small floor space so we were going to put underfloor heating in etc

the second option is making the kitchen and dining room one room, a kitchen island to break the rooms up. If we were to extend it would be 12x5ft so the back is no longer an L shape. (I hope you all understand what I'm rabbling on about)

Can anyone give me an indication of what price I might be looking at for the extension (Using a calculator on the internet is said £2500, surely that can't be right) I would also like to know which is likely to add the most value to the home.

I am fully aware that the first option would be cheaper, but if in the long run its better to add the extension then I will, even if it means we have to save up for a year or two.

thanks!

sujman

holidayhippo wrote: »

Hello!

Me and my OH are throwing around idea's what to do in the house next year. The kitchen must be a good 20 years old, screaming out for an upgrade, we both agree this should be the top of our list however were unsure which route to take.

I'm really sorry if i don't explain this well but the back of our house is a L shape.

The kitchen is long and narrow, our first option is to knock the wall down between the kitchen and the dining room for a more open plan feel, and put patio doors in the dining room so it brings the garden in, or the small walk to it at least. The kitchen is only 12x8ft and once cabinets are in, it leaves a small floor space so we were going to put underfloor heating in etc

the second option is making the kitchen and dining room one room, a kitchen island to break the rooms up. If we were to extend it would be 12x5ft so the back is no longer an L shape. (I hope you all understand what I'm rabbling on about)

Can anyone give me an indication of what price I might be looking at for the extension (Using a calculator on the internet is said £2500, surely that can't be right) I would also like to know which is likely to add the most value to the home.

I am fully aware that the first option would be cheaper, but if in the long run its better to add the extension then I will, even if it means we have to save up for a year or two.

thanks!

The £2500 probably refers to the average cost per square meter. In your case, roughly £10k just for the construction. New kitchen will be on top of that.

To get a better idea you could ask for builders to quote but many would like to see planning permission / building control approved drawings as that shows you are serious. Developing a proper quote takes time and effort and understandably builders would not want to spend their time dealing with someone who's just thinking about it.

Personally I think extension would add more value than just a new kitchen. A new kitchen makes your house more saleable not necessarily more valuable. We'll planned and thought out extensions are more likely to add real value to your house.

Doozergirl

Whether the extension is worth building will depend on your house value and the number of upstairs bedrooms. Is the existing kitchen single or double storey?

Very small extensions are comparitively expensive because of the large amount of building work in ratio to floor area. For a finished extension, with the existing wall knocked out and supported, I wouldn't expect to see change from £20k.

As above, the old kitchen is likely to detract from the value rather than a new one add value (I know it sounds odd but if youthink about it, the average house and therefore the average price will have a half decent kitchen). An extension will add value but the question is whether it costs less to build than it adds to the value.

As a builder, I wouldn't be concerned about seeing drawings and PP. We're happy to have potential customers in the pipeline but can quite easily organise PP and building control anyway.

holidayhippo

The existing kitchen is only one story with a flat roof.

I'm in disbelief at the cost! OH parents and mine have had extensions, one a kitchen extension costing 5k and a garden room costing 7k.

Both those are bigger than what we are wanting, I do understand that a smaller extension may be a little bit pricier, but that much..

If it was to cost something like that, I think we would be outgrowing our street, as 20k plus kitchen costs, the work where doing elsewhere, if we were ever to sell we'd never see the money we've put into it.

Think a new kitchen it is, 3m2 thats like £7k per m2!

Think I need a sit down…. ha!