Open Plan Diner/ Kitchen with conseravtory

PierremontQuaker03

Hi, at the moment I have a separate kitchen, and then a separate dining room leading on to the conservatory.  I am looking at knocking the wall between the kitchen and dining room and creating a kitchen/diner with an island, new roof on the conservatory with bi-folding doors - in other words all singing and all dancing, the full works space. See pics below. The trouble is I don't know where to start in terms of the planning etc.  I know someone who could potentially could do it - I will get him round, but I am wanting ideas, and want everything to be planned to the fine detail. Are there any websites/forums I can join, contact etc? I am based in the North East (Darlo). Thanks for looking, and any ideas comments would be appreciated. (apologies for the mess, we are having a sort out)

Emmia

The photos are great, but do you have a floorplan for how it relates to the rest of the property?

PierremontQuaker03

Emmia said:

The photos are great, but do you have a floorplan for how it relates to the rest of the property?

Good point, I have found them and added

FreeBear

A couple of suggestions - Your bifold doors need to be exterior grade to comply with building regulations & conservatories. What you have there currently do not appear to be up to spec. Having proper exterior grade doors between the diner & conservatory means you can shut off the latter and keep the heat in the rest of the house. Also better security if some thieving little scrote gets in to the conservatory and is faced with a proper door with decent locks.

Knocking down the wall between the kitchen & dining room - If anyone tells you that it is not structural and doesn't need building regs sign-off, kick them out straightaway. You need a qualified structural engineer to look at it, do some calculations, and if a steel is needed, to provide the specifications. You will need that report plus calculations for Building Control anyway - And yes, the work you are planning does need Building Control oversight and sign-off.

maman

I thought the bi-fold doors were planned for the far end of the conservatory so that the kitchen/diner/conservatory all flow into one open plan space? 🤔

Emmia

maman said:

I thought the bi-fold doors were planned for the far end of the conservatory so that the kitchen/diner/conservatory all flow into one open plan space? 🤔

So integrating the conservatory area fully into the house? If that's the plan, I think doing that would mean it would be worth considering demolishing the conservatory and replacing it with a properly insulated extension, perhaps with Velux windows for light.

PierremontQuaker03

Emmia said:

maman said:

I thought the bi-fold doors were planned for the far end of the conservatory so that the kitchen/diner/conservatory all flow into one open plan space? 🤔

So integrating the conservatory area fully into the house? If that's the plan, I think doing that would mean it would be worth considering demolishing the conservatory and replacing it with a properly insulated extension, perhaps with Velux windows for light.

Thanks everyone, yes the idea is to integrate the conservatory fully into the house with a large Velux (I want plenty of light) and have the bi-folding doors at the rear.  One of the reasons is, next door have built an extension, so the side of the conservatory looks on to brick now -  other reasons are, the roof is starting to leak, you can see the damp towards the back door...the conservatory was built in the mid 1990's so its on its way out now.
So what is the first thing I need to do, get it designed, get a structural engineer round - it will need a steel beam as it is a supporting wall that is coming out.

PierremontQuaker03

Hi All,
I have got the plans back, just wondering what everyone thinks See below existing plans, then option 1 and then option 2..  The idea is to go with a flat roof with roof lights.
Part of the existing kitchen would make a utility for washing  / drying etc and keep the main kitchen for the nice things. The question is where to put the downstairs loo. I prefer option 2 with it under the stairs (there is a window there - I don't like a loo without windows), however to get to the utility then I would have to walk all the way through the dining room and round the kitchen. Anyone got any thoughts and tips? Cheers