Whom to ask if a house for sale can be extended

pieroabcd

hazyjo said:

Blimey, I'd class anything over 8' in both directions as a double!

Uhm, I don't consider as double bedroom a space where you can just have a double bed and have no space for a cupboard and to move comfortably all around the bed. 
Lately i've started to tell the EAs that I need 2 master bedrooms, to explain better what I need.
I find that all house that I've been shown seem to have been designed to force you to live in the communal spaces, using the bedroom only to keep the bed in place. That's not at all how I intend my house to be, where i want to have livable space both in the bedrooms and in the communal spaces.
If I really have to sacrifice some space I can accept to shrink the lounge, but none of the bedrooms.
+Private -Communal

seradane

pieroabcd said:

hazyjo said:

Blimey, I'd class anything over 8' in both directions as a double!

Uhm, I don't consider as double bedroom a space where you can just have a double bed and have no space for a cupboard and to move comfortably all around the bed. 
Lately i've started to tell the EAs that I need 2 master bedrooms, to explain better what I need.
I find that all house that I've been shown seem to have been designed to force you to live in the communal spaces, using the bedroom only to keep the bed in place. That's not at all how I intend my house to be, where i want to have livable space both in the bedrooms and in the communal spaces.
If I really have to sacrifice some space I can accept to shrink the lounge, but none of the bedrooms.
+Private -Communal

Yeah, British houses are not built particularly large or generous. Even very expensive houses often have more, smaller rooms rather than fewer, larger ones.

I suspect you'll be better off finding a place that has more "bedrooms" than you want/need, but where you can take down the wall between them to make it into a generous room. Keep in mind this will probably devalue the property slightly, but if you have the budget it may be the only way to get the space you want.

pieroabcd

seradane said:

pieroabcd said:

hazyjo said:

Blimey, I'd class anything over 8' in both directions as a double!

Yeah, British houses are not built particularly large or generous. Even very expensive houses often have more, smaller rooms rather than fewer, larger ones.

I suspect you'll be better off finding a place that has more "bedrooms" than you want/need, but where you can take down the wall between them to make it into a generous room. Keep in mind this will probably devalue the property slightly, but if you have the budget it may be the only way to get the space you want.

Yes, I'm already in this perspective, but this poses another problem: new builds have moving walls, so it's easy to make bedrooms coalesce, but if you do you invalidate the NHBC warranty. 

Older builds seem to be the only option, but in most of my viewings the wall between the boxroom  and the adjacent bedroom at  the first floor was made of bricks.
I wonder if it classifies as load bearing. In that case would it even be possible to remove it?

Second hand recent houses would be the best option (no NHBC warranty to consider and moving walls), but they are quite rare. 

hazyjo

pieroabcd said:

hazyjo said:

Blimey, I'd class anything over 8' in both directions as a double!

Uhm, I don't consider as double bedroom a space where you can just have a double bed and have no space for a cupboard and to move comfortably all around the bed. 

Nor do I! That's big enough for all that.

pieroabcd

hazyjo said:

pieroabcd said:

hazyjo said:

Blimey, I'd class anything over 8' in both directions as a double!

Uhm, I don't consider as double bedroom a space where you can just have a double bed and have no space for a cupboard and to move comfortably all around the bed. 

Nor do I! That's big enough for all that.

Bedroom 3 is 3.43, x 2.72m
Assuming that you use a double bedroom (1.90 x 1.40)  you have 1.30 / 2 = 65 cm at the sides of the bed. There's just enough space for 2 night tables, no more than that.
As for the other dimension you  have 1.5m available between the end of bed and the wall. Considering that a cupboard is 60cm deep you have only 1.50 - 60cm = 90cm free to walk around. If you ask me it's quite crammed even without considering a small table to work.
If you also consider that the radiator and the window are in the way and more often than not they force you to use a specific layout.... furnishing a bedroom like that becomes a very major feat.
It could work as a single, but not as a double.

FreeBear

pieroabcd said:

seradane said:

pieroabcd said:

hazyjo said:

Blimey, I'd class anything over 8' in both directions as a double!

Yeah, British houses are not built particularly large or generous. Even very expensive houses often have more, smaller rooms rather than fewer, larger ones.

I suspect you'll be better off finding a place that has more "bedrooms" than you want/need, but where you can take down the wall between them to make it into a generous room. Keep in mind this will probably devalue the property slightly, but if you have the budget it may be the only way to get the space you want.

Older builds seem to be the only option, but in most of my viewings the wall between the boxroom  and the adjacent bedroom at  the first floor was made of bricks.
I wonder if it classifies as load bearing. In that case would it even be possible to remove it?

Generally, brick walls are structural and can not be removed willy-nilly without the advice of a structural engineer. You may not be able to remove a wall in its entirety as quite often, they provide lateral support for external walls. Should also point out that stud walls can also be structural, especially in modern builds, so again, professional advice should be sought before removal.

One last point. Any structural changes should always have Building Control approval (never trust a builder that says it isn't needed). With paperwork in hand, you will find it much easier to sell the property in the future. Having Building Control on hand early on also ensures that the work meets a minimum standard.

pieroabcd

FreeBear said:

Generally, brick walls are structural and can not be removed willy-nilly without the advice of a structural engineer. You may not be able to remove a wall in its entirety as quite often, they provide lateral support for external walls. Should also point out that stud walls can also be structural, especially in modern builds, so again, professional advice should be sought before removal.

One last point. Any structural changes should always have Building Control approval (never trust a builder that says it isn't needed). With paperwork in hand, you will find it much easier to sell the property in the future. Having Building Control on hand early on also ensures that the work meets a minimum standard.

uh, so even if the wall sounds empty it's not necessarily removable? One more complication. Thanks for saying it.
Of course I would never venture to do something without the proper plans and approvals.

seradane

pieroabcd said:

seradane said:

pieroabcd said:

hazyjo said:

Blimey, I'd class anything over 8' in both directions as a double!

Yeah, British houses are not built particularly large or generous. Even very expensive houses often have more, smaller rooms rather than fewer, larger ones.

I suspect you'll be better off finding a place that has more "bedrooms" than you want/need, but where you can take down the wall between them to make it into a generous room. Keep in mind this will probably devalue the property slightly, but if you have the budget it may be the only way to get the space you want.

Yes, I'm already in this perspective, but this poses another problem: new builds have moving walls, so it's easy to make bedrooms coalesce, but if you do you invalidate the NHBC warranty. 

Older builds seem to be the only option, but in most of my viewings the wall between the boxroom  and the adjacent bedroom at  the first floor was made of bricks.
I wonder if it classifies as load bearing. In that case would it even be possible to remove it?

Second hand recent houses would be the best option (no NHBC warranty to consider and moving walls), but they are quite rare. 

Brick walls, especially on the top floor, are not necessarily load-bearing. Just that before a certain time period it was the only way they built walls. But without a bit of building knowledge, and unless you can get up into an unboarded loft, it's going to be tricky to tell before you own it and can open it up.

That being said, even if they are load-bearing, they can be removed, you will just need to put a steel in to span the gap removed by the wall. This will cost you a bit more, but it's not insanely expensive (at least not compared to the price of 3+ bed houses in London) so still perfectly doable.

gingercordial

pieroabcd said:

I'm in London, and very seriously disappointed by the quality and size of the houses that I've seen so far.
As for the garden, i think that the best use that I could make of it is to build on it. I like to live inside, not outside.
I'll never understand the excitement for the green.
I have a big garden where i'm renting now, but guess what? never gone.

If you are looking at places with the intention of building on the garden, please bear in mind that there are rules about how much of the garden you are allowed to cover with buildings so do not assume you will be allowed to build over all of it. 

You will need planning permission if your extension (plus any extensions already done, plus any sheds, greenhouses etc) will cover more than 50% of the land around the original house when it was built.

Even if you personally prefer inside space, council policies will be to preserve the outside space as gardens are good for wildlife, pollution control, soaking away rain to prevent floods etc, so it could be very difficult to get the required permission to build more than the above.

user1977

pieroabcd said:

seradane said:

pieroabcd said:

hazyjo said:

Blimey, I'd class anything over 8' in both directions as a double!

Yeah, British houses are not built particularly large or generous. Even very expensive houses often have more, smaller rooms rather than fewer, larger ones.

I suspect you'll be better off finding a place that has more "bedrooms" than you want/need, but where you can take down the wall between them to make it into a generous room. Keep in mind this will probably devalue the property slightly, but if you have the budget it may be the only way to get the space you want.

this poses another problem: new builds have moving walls, so it's easy to make bedrooms coalesce, but if you do you invalidate the NHBC warranty. 

Says who? I don't see the relevance of removing (presumably) non-loadbearing walls to the sort of claim that the NHBC warranty actually covers.