FTB renovation advice

owenjt

My wife and I are FTB's due to complete on our house in a couple of weeks. It's a 1930's semi-detached house that needs quite a lot of modernising as the owners haven't done much since they moved there in the 1980s. There's a lot of work we want to do including knocking down walls and reconfiguring the layout but we're unsure where to start.

Is anyone able to offer any advice, tips, useful websites etc to get us started? Should we get an architect first to help draw up some plans and see what's possible? I know they can be quite expensive so are there any cheaper options?

In terms of the layout we'd like to:

• Knock down the wall between the kitchen and dining room to create an open-plan space and install a new kitchen
• Move the living room wall back to create a larger space
• Knock down the wall between the toilet and the bathroom and install a new bathroom
• Maybe build a small extension on the back of the house (depending on price)
• Convert the loft into a room

Mrs_F_2017

For the knocking down/moving of walls, you could get away with a structural engineer to advise on steel required etc.

But you don’t want to spend money knocking down walls etc and then find they impact later design decisions. 

Some architects offer a free initial consultation to give an idea of what’s possible for what budget, and to outline their costs to get you there. Worth considering if there is anyone local to you who does this (or get a few to do it if they offer) 

Or you can share some floor plans on here for people to give you ideas! 

good luck! 

stuart45

Mrs_F_2

Or you can share some floor plans on here for people to give you ideas! 

I'd look at this idea first. There are a few people on here(not me) who are very good with design ideas from plans and photos.

FreeBear

If this house is anything like my home (late 1920s 3 bed semi), the wall between the kitchen & dining room provides lateral buttressing/support for the back of the house. The wall between dining & living room supports the dividing wall between the two bedrooms which in turn supports the roof. Removing either wall is a non-trivial exercise and will involve some costly steels.

Stud walls in the bathroom support ceiling joists, so whilst the walls could be removed, the joists would either have to be changed for longer spans, or some additional supports put in place on one of the walls.

These ceiling joists, exposed in the loft, are only 3x2 timbers. No where big enough to support a proper floor. Due to the way the roof is designed, inserting suitably sized timbers to support a floor is a non-starter. Don't have anywhere for a proper staircase either...

Your first port of call would be a structural engineer who could advise on what is practical within your budget - You may well find that the money would be better spent on doing an extension to the rear.

macman

If these changes are not within PD then you are probably going to need an architect anyway, as you will need plans drawn up for PP. All depends on the scope of the loft conversion and rear extension.
Are you in a Conservation Area?
Given the scale of the proposed works, maybe better just to buy another property that more suits your requirements?
Edit: I suspect you have already exchanged, so that advice is probably redundant.

ka7e

1930s semis tend to follow a similar design, but they are not all identical. We had structural surveys and were able to knock down the wall between kitchen and dining room, though I left 60cm standing to accommodate built-in kitchen units. Bathroom and loo were extremely narrow and removing the wall caused no issues. We didn't "square up" the resulting bathroom as it would have meant moving the loft access. 2 store rooms and outside loo were amalgamated to form a downstairs shower room, but could be a decent sized utility. The lounge/dining room wall is staggered under the main bedroom - the front bedroom being bigger than the lounge below it.

owenjt

Thanks all! Floorplan below. We have ideas of what we want to do so maybe the best option is to speak to a local architect to see what might be possible. So much we want to do it's a bit overwhelming!

davemorton

Hope you have deep pockets, that all sounds rather expensive. 

benson1980

davemorton said:

Hope you have deep pockets, that all sounds rather expensive. 

Agreed…

You are looking at some serious money to do all that. I would be looking at the ceiling price for similar properties in the area to make sure it all makes sense financially and that you are not better off just buying a bigger house in the first place. Or, keeping it to a more basic renovation and moving when you need, or want something bigger. 

FreeBear

owenjt said: Floorplan below. We have ideas of what we want to do so maybe the best option is to speak to a local architect to see what might be possible. So much we want to do it's a bit overwhelming!

Looks like a fairly typical post WWI build with a later extension to the side for a garage - Subsequently divided to provide a utility room and a bike store (certainly not big enough for a car).

Knocking down the wall between the lounge & dining room will need a steel to support the wall above, and you'd need piers either end. So you wouldn't get rid of the wall in its entirety. Moving the wall back will mean that the fireplace is no longer centered on the side wall - It is going to unbalance the look & feel of the space.

Taking out the wall between the bathroom & toilet to create a bigger space is possible. If you are lucky, the ceiling joists will span the distance between the outer (back ?) wall and the landing wall. If not, the span is roughly 3m, so wouldn't be very expensive to fit new joists - The ceiling would be coming down anyway (assuming original lath & plaster), so replacing the joists will be fairly simple. Before fitting a new bathroom suite, do think about insulating the walls. For the sake of a few sheets of Celotex/Kingspan type boards, it would be a missed opportunity.

Take the walls back to bare brick, fix 50mm (if there is a cavity) or 75mm (for solid brick) Celotex to the walls, top off with moisture resistant plasterboard, and you are ready to plaster/tile & fit the suite. If you are hacking off tiles, the space will need replastering anyway, so may as well insulate.

Any other room where you are hacking back plaster (e.g. kitchen), add insulation to the exterior walls. With the way heating costs are going, even a small saving is going to add up in the long term. Having a well insulated house will make it a bit easier to sell in the future.

moneybelle

Architects are expensive
My advice is to look at the planning applications online for similar building and see who the agent is.  Perhaps even approach those homeowners if brave enough to get feedback. A surveyor or architectural technician may be able to give you good advice and do drawings. depends on your budget and if you know good professionals.

Also try living in the space first and get a sense of what would work for you?

With energy prices increasing, perhaps smaller rooms and less open plan is going to be more sensible for homes of the future. Having one smaller room to heat or cool rather than a warehouse could have it's merits.