Lower floor by 15cm - how much £££

Eldi_Dos

Silvertabby said:

Just fit a step.

Or fit a ramp, then it becomes a plus point if property is sold in the future.

prettyandfluffy

It might actually be cheaper to raise the other floor.  

Section62

prettyandfluffy said:

It might actually be cheaper to raise the other floor.  

Unless the original doorways are unusually high then there won't be enough headroom if the floor is raised by that amount.

stuart45

GDB2222 said:

I expect you will get used to it, and will stop noticing.

15 cm is not a huge step, but you could build a platform that splits the step in half, so it is two steps of 7.5 cm.

The problem with small steps is that they can be a trip hazzard. That's why the rise for external steps is 150mm-170mm.

Section62

GDB2222 said:

I expect you will get used to it, and will stop noticing.

15 cm is not a huge step, but you could build a platform that splits the step in half, so it is two steps of 7.5 cm.

One step of 150mm is probably better than two of 75mm from a safety point of view - steps with a very small rise can be a trip hazard.

Bigphil1474

I'd put a step in too. You then 'step up' into the new extension. Done properly it'll be fine. Rather that than spend £30k give or take. If you put a step in but end up losing £20k on a future sale that may or may not happen, you'd still be in front. 

ThisIsWeird

Hi Gemma.

Could you confirm, please; this view is in to your new extension, with the garden sliding doors at the far end? And the doorway in the foreground will be an 'opening' and not actually have a door when completed? So, you'll have one or two lovely steps between the two levels? Nice.

So it's essentially this view, but taken from further back inside the house?

The purpose of that higher floor level and step was presumably to get the house a bit closer to the raised garden level? If so, why would you want to increase that disparity now?

Anyhoo, given the situation is as above, then my thoughts would be:

1) You have a stunning extension, and I have serious extension envy.

2) You have a stunning, welcoming garden, and I have ditto.

3) Having had an extension built ourselves a few years back which is also blessed with a voo, I do recall 'fixating' a bit on what we'd actually be able to see out the bifolds, and standing on the newly laid concrete slab, raising myself on tiptoes to try and judge what I'd end up seeing once the lintels and doors were in place.

4) Now that it's built, I realise that was all bonkers. If I want to 'admire' the view, it is there; I can walk up to the bifolds and look - and see everything I want to see. And ditto if standing in the middle of the floor. For a wee glimpse of Appledore, well, I take two steps to the side and crane my neck.

The reality is - and will be for you, I am sure - the view is 'there', and it bathes the room. You are always aware of it, it is always present, regardless of what you are doing - standing, sitting, eating, reading, listening to music, or staring out the doors. When you sit down, the perspective changes, but you are still bathed. You can still see, are aware of, 90% of it, but the bits you can no longer see are irrelevant. No more Appledore for me if I sit down? Big deal - I know it's there. No more of the very tops of the end trees for you? Ditto - it really really won't matter. Once you live in that space, you don't stare at the garden view, but just let it flow over you - that welcoming blaze of greenery you know you can step out in to any time you want. 

Of course, you will also stare at it at times, possibly often - you'll take your hot cup of coffee and walk right up to the doors, and sigh with pleasure at your good fortune. Then you sit down, turn on Radio 4, and sigh again - the view has changed but is still the same.

You have a stunning new extension and a glorious garden that most folk will be very envious of. I firmly believe that lowering that floor will not give you what you think you want, and will therefore be a staggering waste of money. It'll also surely increase what you feel is your other issue - the height difference with the garden (in my belief, a non-issue). And it'll remove the interesting change in indoor levels - seriously, every house I've seen with one or two internal steps to differing floor levels have all been very appealing - it adds a type of cosiness, and certainly more interest.

In your case, the step has a real purpose that'll I think will feel 'right' - it is to get that room a bit more into the garden, and I think it will feel like that. As said by others, use that saved money to have the immediate outer area designed to be a highly desirable place to be in, with access to the main garden via steps as before; again, I think that is far more interesting than a flat garden. The patio area will be cosy and inviting, a real statement, and you'll likely spend more time out there as a result, more than if it were just part of a larger level garden. The potential is incredible.

I cannot see any benefits at all in reducing the floor level - only negatives, including an empty pocket.

gemma.zhang

Bigphil1474 said:

I'd put a step in too. You then 'step up' into the new extension. Done properly it'll be fine. Rather that than spend £30k give or take. If you put a step in but end up losing £20k on a future sale that may or may not happen, you'd still be in front. 

That exactly what my husband said when we decided to put a step in to have a better view of the garden.. ‘step up’ to the extension…. And I am eaten alive with the regret. He is not bothered with it..


am I the only person who is bugged by this and want to change ? 

35har1old

gemma.zhang said:

Just one room, extension.
55 square meters.

Are you sure you got the measurements right?

ThisIsWeird

gemma.zhang said:

Bigphil1474 said:

I'd put a step in too. You then 'step up' into the new extension. Done properly it'll be fine. Rather that than spend £30k give or take. If you put a step in but end up losing £20k on a future sale that may or may not happen, you'd still be in front. 

That exactly what my husband said when we decided to put a step in to have a better view of the garden.. ‘step up’ to the extension…. And I am eaten alive with the regret. He is not bothered with it..
am I the only person who is bugged by this and want to change ? 

It is completely understandable to be bugged by it, to be uncertain, to feel it may have been the wrong decision.

I honestly think, tho' - partly 'cos I've been there to some extent - that you are mistaken, that's all. One aspect - the view of the garden, the whole garden, as much of the garden as is possible - has become the focus for you. But, it really won't be like that at all once you are living in that room properly, and everything has been sorted, especially that area immediately outside the sliding doors. (And I think sliding doors are a good call too - they open plenty wide enough, are dead easy to do so, stopping at any opening size you want, and also don't stick out into the garden.)

The 'view' into the garden has become the 'issue', but in reality I don't believe it will be. You can see it, in its entirety, any time you actually want to - you just stand and look. But, when you sit down, the angle of view changes, and your brain will consider that normal. You will still enjoy the view, and it'll be a warm feeling.

Visitors will be the same - they'll come in to that fabulous room, and remark on the stunning garden beyond. They will not start bobbing up and down to try and see that end treetop. When they sit, they also won't be craning to see the bits they are now missing.