Knock through or extend

david69_2

I've got a 1930's semi with a small lounge 11' by 11' and a seperate dining room 14' by 11' it has a non supporting wall between the 2 rooms and thats it .
Question is should i knock the 2 rooms into 1 and have an open plan area or should i have a extension on the front of the house .I weighed up the pro's and con's and the price difference but we still can't make our minds up .
Has anyone on here done it and regretted it ?

Yorkie59

If you have a mortgage - I'd check with them. When we changed a downstairs reception/dinner into a bedroom they insisted the chance could only be temporary since the house was 4 beds & 2 reception rooms & worth more than 5 beds & 1 reception.
If not, I would suggest that you look at the price difference and compare that to house value after the modification. I would guess extension gives the best result long term.. but only if you intend staying in the house for it to be realised.
Open plan can be good when one room is too dark or hardly used but what would a potential buyer want? Estate agents may help - evn a browse thru' similar property details may tell you the answer.

rumpelstiltskin_2

We have a similar style house and have knocked thru but put double doors on. That gives the option to choose whether we want a large living space (was god send Xmas day) or not.

vansboy

Knock through - but do check what other similar houses, nearby have done, as already mentioned. Estate agents will advise, but it's what suits you, if you're not thinking of selling.

& when we did it, we had the old pantry area between the 2 rooms, which created extra space, but looks like you've not got that. So what you might consider, is opening the wall, rather than removing totally & then leave the option to fit a pair of double doors & side panels, if you/someone else, wanted 2 rooms.

Talking to our Asian friends & neighbors, as I mentioned before, they seem keen on 2 rooms, so the ladies can kick the blokes out of the way & have less distractions!!

So if you have a potential buyer, who's Asian, they might like this option, too!

VB

OddjobKIA

It depends on what you want...

Knock through = more space and cheaper

But extend will give you more rooms

we prefer the 2 rooms we have than one huge room we used to have

real1314

Do the knock thro and double doors (go for 2 x 30"), see how you like it - you could always remove the doors to give an open plan feel.

We had a house like this, but had both doors in place and kept them shut - it always felt like 2 rooms, but a mate has a similar set up with the doors removed and that feels like open plan.

As for an extension on the front - would you get planning - it's not always easy on the front?

PasturesNew

You can use special door hinges called "rising butts".

When fitted the doors simply lift off; you open the door and literally lift the door up and it comes out of the hinges as the two parts are not permanently joined but a metal bar fits into a metal sleeve. They don't look any different to others either really. http://www.ratman.co.uk/lift-off+hinges_hinge.html

Might be an idea if you decide to go with real1314s choice - as you could theoreticaly remove the doors and still have them fitted again in just 15 seconds. Just need somewhere to store them safely while they're off.

never_enough

We had a 1930s semi & knocked the small galley kitchen into the back room (we used it as a living room, but I think it should've been the dining room.)It made a huge kitchen/diner/family room thing with the addition of a conservatory type extension across the whole of the house. Was very light & lovely to look onto the garden. Practically lived in that room, but it was nice to have the seperate room at the front at times. Good if there are any children in the house, especially older ones (you don't necessarily want them taking friends to their bedroom!)
Agree that will be much harder to get planning for an extension at the front, unless you have a large front garden, or if there's a precedent in the street.

ginger_nuts

I would knock thro ,but put sliding doors on .
Sliding doors are less intrusive when kept open .

Sola

We knocked through in our Victorian terrace and put double doors on but they got in the way so we took them off. I prefer the one big room as it's lighter.

david69_2

Thanks for the replies I had planning permission for the front ext about 10 years ago but forgot to renew it.
I'm going to probably do the knock through at the end of the day if we dont like it i can reinstate the wall or fit doors. just want a bigger room for socialising .