WWYD with the outhouse! Keep it or knock it down??

Wes121708

As you can see it's not in the best location, it blocks the view to the garden. The last picture is the back of the house at the moment where the old boiler is and the bathroom. We're going to move the bathroom and extend the kitchen and open up the back. Only problem is when the back is open you have a massive slope of concrete and then the outhouse which behind it is the garden. 

When we first bought the house in June we were set on getting rid but now I'm swaying towards keeping it and turning it into something we can use, garden Room maybe, but if we did, how would we make the back of the house more attractive instead of having the concrete? How would you connect the house and the garden?
The outhouse is lower than the house and the garden is on a slight slant.view of  garden from outhouse window.
 back of house.

fenwick458

Keep it. Knocking it down to me seems mad, it's going to cost you money and it's going to de-value the house...

Rosa_Damascena

Can I get this straight? There is a garage-like structure to the rear of the property and the outhouse is the coal-shed like structure with the rust waterfall?

I'm not against knocking down the garage and replacing with a habitable space, just don't expect it to be cheap! 

Bendy_House

Wes121708 said:

view of  garden from outhouse window.
 back of house.

Well, that outhouse is a darned sight nicer than the flat-roofed extension to your house It has a proper gable-ended roof, and looks sizable too?

The existing extensions are raised quite high, presumably due to the sloping ground?

My gut says that what I would want from this setup is to extend out from the existing extensions to join with the outhouse. Do this at outhouse level, so the first thing would be a short staircase from the old extension into the new 'interlinking' extension. This will keep the new extension profile low, so less likely to cause potential issues with neighbs, but also would simply reduce the overall height of the build and hence its cost - almost certainly the new extension's roof-line would be below that existing end window? In other words, everything 'new' would be set at the lower, outhouse level.

The new joining extension would be flat-roofed and have skylanterns in them. The outhouse re-roofed to provide a vaulted ceiling with skylights and wide bifolds to lead into the garden. I'd put the kitchen/dinner in there, with some comfy seats too - a place to enjoy socialising and living in.

The joining extension can be anything you want - bathroom/showerroom/utility/snug/storage/younameit.

It shouldn't cost that much to convert the outhouse.

Rosa_Damascena

Now I look at the pics again I am convinced the OP means the garage. I'd also want to get rid of that great big tree on the RHS of the shot which is obstructing the view. The setting is lovely, the house is huge....but where is the back door? Is it to the side of the property?

That programme with Tiny Tempah this week featured a couple from Loughton with a similar "problem".

Coffeekup

Bendy_House said:

Well, that outhouse is a darned sight nicer than the flat-roofed extension to your house It has a proper gable-ended roof, and looks sizable too?

The existing extensions are raised quite high, presumably due to the sloping ground?

My gut says that what I would want from this setup is to extend out from the existing extensions to join with the outhouse. 

This.... As Bendy says... Join em together... Have bi fold doors onto outhouse with the view of your garden, I wouldn't wanna move from that view.

Wes121708

Rosa_Damascena said:

Now I look at the pics again I am convinced the OP means the garage. I'd also want to get rid of that great big tree on the RHS of the shot which is obstructing the view. The setting is lovely, the house is huge....but where is the back door? Is it to the side of the property?

That programme with Tiny Tempah this week featured a couple from Loughton with a similar "problem".

You can call it a garage it's just we can't access it with a car! Unless you're Delboy Trotter and have a tiny three wheeler!!
Unfortunately the waterfall is the back of the house! And watching Tinie Tempah has made me now think about getting rid.
The tree in the RHS is our neighbours so that has to stay.

Wes121708

So this is a manhole in our garden which is the public sewer which my understanding is we can't build over so can never connect the two buildings

Wes121708

This where the backdoor is located at the moment. 
It's a semi so the extension to the left side with the chimney is the neighbours.

Wes121708

this is the floor plan at the moment. As you can see there is no bathroom upstairs so out aim initially is to get one either by going up in the loft and moving one of the kids in there or going above the kitchen. This won't be until 2023 when we will hopefully have some more funds saved up. 
I'm just concerned that well pump loads of money in and won't see a penny of it back when we come to sell but we can't live without the bathroom where it is.

Bendy_House

Manholes can be moved. This could be easy or difficult, but they can be moved. Do you think it serves other properties? If so, that's more tricky, but still doable - I can't see why it cannot be moved over to the boundary to its right.

The large triple window currently facing out the back on the extension is the loo?!

Anyhoo, I can only reiterate what I said before about what - I think - I would want from this extension. How large is that garage? I would be looking to make that 'the' feature' of the house - kitchen, dining, relaxing area, with large bifolds, and a decked area outside at the same level as the floor inside. Cooking, eating, socialising, relaxing would all be at one with the garden and lovely outlook. That could be a stunning room, and not at a great cost - by far the biggest amount of work - founds, walls, roof structure - has already been done.

Your existing kitchen could become a dream bathroom and showerroom - again, it would be an amazing addition to the house. And again the actual room is there - it just needs fitting out. The wee bathroom becomes the access point to the new extension - it'll have the steps down to this, and there's even room for your boiler or storage.

Your existing flat-roofed extension is, how can I say this tactfully... I can't - it's very ugly indeed However, this can be transformed with cladding (anything - metal, timber, composite) and it - along with the new flat-roofed, connecting extension which could have sky lanterns - could be made into something very special indeed.

An Archi should be able to make your dreams come true. The potential here is huge.