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What would you do with this extension frontage (with pics)?

phoebe1989seb
phoebe1989seb Posts: 4,452 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
We inherited this extension when we purchased our property (a repossessed, 400 year old, non-listed mill in rural Wales) during 2018.



A previous owner had it built as an artist's studio (complete with huge boiler 🙄 which we have since removed) around 1999.

Overall it's a useful addition to the living space but the quality of fixtures used/decisions made back then were poor at best, shoddy at worst.

 

The deeply recessed south-facing window looks fine from outside but internally - coupled with cheapo, single glazing - gives the room the air of a shed 🙄



We are upgrading the whole property (as everything previously was done on the cheap/out of character with the age/history of the building) - such as the timber double glazed casement windows to the front elevation that we had fitted this year - and intend to incorporate the extension into the adjoining living room (which we currently use as a snug for watching TV).

The snug is very dark as a result of the extension and its poor fenestration. There is a *window* (I use the term loosely as it's of such abysmal quality, with a flimsy piece of board as external *sill*! ) at the west end of the extension but this doesn't bring in any light anyway due to high hedging on a neighbouring property. This window is going because we plan to fit floor to ceiling hacked/custom Ikea besta storage internally along the whole length of that wall 😉



Regarding the front elevation, my thoughts are to bring the entire frontage forward (by 45cm - the foundations are in place) in line with the outer face of the stone to the left, which will continue up to the roof, as per my very rough sketch.....



The area of stone to the right (adjoining the house)  will be replaced by floor to roof glazing which will actually stretch the full length of the frontage (apart from the aforementioned area of stone on the left side) and will incorporate new fully glazed double doors which we need for access with large furniture etc.

If all this glazing doesn't bring enough light in, we'll add a pair of veluxes to the slate roof of the extension.

Personally, I hate the lean-to style of the roof and would rather replace with a (rubber???) flat roof, but having already replaced the slates three years ago, DH isn't keen to alter it.

What would you do with the frontage/roof (apart from losing that awful white plastic fascia)?

Thanks for your thoughts 😃
Mortgage-free for fourteen years!

Over £40,000 mis-sold PPI reclaimed
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Comments

  • The ideas you have mentioned are really good the extension would look better with wood double glazed window /doors & the walls right up to the roof. With the roof what about fitting roof windows or something that will allow light in. I would also say that if you want to level off the roof I would go for it. It would look better. Having helped on house renovations in the past if you think you want it a certain design/style but go for easy or cheaper option it will bug you for years. The best of luck with your plans
  • plumb1_2
    plumb1_2 Posts: 4,395 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Take the timber of and clad it in Welsh slate 
  • Thanks both 😃

    I'm definitely leaning towards my preferred option of replacing the roof with a flat one 😉
    Mortgage-free for fourteen years!

    Over £40,000 mis-sold PPI reclaimed
  • Doozergirl
    Doozergirl Posts: 34,021 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I quite like the slope. It gives added height, at least that you'd either lose or have to build up.  That said, it should have a flat roof covering because tiles on such a shallow pitch are likely to be unable to meet regs for being watertight - even if you put tiles over the top. 

    Your sketch looks plenty nice.
     

    Everything that is supposed to be in heaven is already here on earth.
  • There are always option's,  It it was my property i would want to remove the cladding, pitched fascia front,back and build level parapet walls in the same stone material.  Then re roof as necessary.

    Would involve an Architectural Technician at an early stage.

    From the sketch the glass doors and window look very reasonable, really need to see the property up close to get an idea on how to make changes that will be sympathetic to the rest of the property.

    As mentioned velux skylights will bring in extra day light, i would consider a roof lantern but again it's an option.

    Before doing any work, how well is that extension built ?
    Knowing foundations are good, any dampness ? Doubt there is much insulation. Its a proper project  <3

    Good luck  :)











    Choose Stabila ! 

  • I'm definitely leaning towards my preferred option of replacing the roof with a flat one 😉

    The current roof is definitely wrong... but I'd need to see drawings before being sold the idea a flat one would be better.  It might work, but I think it would probably need a lot of clever detailing to make it look right and be durable.

    I agree with Doozergirl about the pitch and trying to get tiles/slates to work well.

    Have you considered some form of metal sheeting?  The main building has an industrial past and has some quirkiness, so perhaps you don't need to be bound by using 'traditional' house building materials?

    Depending on the span (not clear from the pictures) I would probably want to go for a pitched roof with the ridge running perpendicular to the main building wall.  It looks like you have enough height to achieve sufficient pitch in that direction if you use sheet metal, as you wouldn't have transverse gaps/joins and the need to worry about water penetration.

    There are lots of options over the material type, profiles and colour - but just as an example of appearance, something like this is what I'd be drawn towards (you'd have a shallower pitch though) -



    Pitching the roof as suggested would then mean the front elevation sorts itself out, as you'd end up with a level 'traditional' eaves just above door opening height, with no need for any infill materials.

    There are plenty more examples of using modern metal sheeting in industrial/residential situations on this site, as well as elsewhere online.  https://www.peterwraggesupplies.co.uk/gallery/
     (The Poppy Red Plastisol example is the wrong colour, profile and guttering, but demonstrates how shallow the pitch can be)
  • Lots of extremely interesting and helpful points to take on board there - thanks very much everyone 😆

    I'm going to inwardly digest and discuss further with DH - no doubt I'll be back with further questions at some stage.....
    Mortgage-free for fourteen years!

    Over £40,000 mis-sold PPI reclaimed
  • Are you any good at 'Photoshop', Phoebe? If not (like me), then you can get 'reasonable' results from cutting and pasting using even 'Paint' (I used that approach a few times to determine things like where to have the steps on a patio, shape and size of windows in our extension etc. I printed out the options, laid them on the table, and everyone looked. A consensus always popped out.)
    That is such a lovely extension! All the ideas mentioned before are great. I do envy you your task, working out what will look best! But I'd suggest you need to a have a reasonably photo-realistic image before you can be confident it'll be the right choice.
  • Section62 said:

    Completely agree Bendy.  Even a crude montage of images can give an idea whether something might look Ok... or terrible. And lead to other ideas ultimately emerging.


    Nice - that's the idea.
    That immediately suggests two things to me; the metal-cladding idea you offered before 'works', but - and I think more significantly (to my tastes anyway) - that shape of pitched roof definitely fits in.
    Phoebe, is the existing extension roof slate? If so, there will be enough there to cover the front pitch at least, which I presume is the more visually significant?, and the rear can be anything you like, such as the metal sheet, perhaps with a couple of skylights.
    You plan to take that front wall forward 450mm? That's a lot of work - are you sure it'll be worth it? I mean, it would be great to do, but there must come a point where cost vs improvement goes 'ping'?



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