Rear Extension Dilemma

[neversay]

As part of our extension project, we are looking at pushing out the back of the house by 3m-3.5m depth and around 11m width. Roughly 7m will be opening up the kitchen and dining room to a seating area, with the other 4m width being a partitionable garden office/day room area.

The choice of the roof is causing us some dilemmas though:

1. Pitched roof and Velux - this would give a slightly vaulted feel and soften the current 'box' shape of the present house. However, the pitch angle will mean that we have to compromise on the depth to under 3m or have to reduce the size of an upstairs bedroom window height by several brick courses, hence would reducing the light and aesthetics of the room.

2. Flat roof and large lanterns - this would solve the pitch/height problem but the low ceiling height could be oppressive (I'm tall) and would give the effect of making the combined area feel like a large (and possibly more gloomy) room rather than give us a more open and airy feel.

3. Aluminium and glass room - like this https://www.littleconservatorycompany.c ... vatory.jpg with brick sides that would maximise the feeling of being light and airy, but would have issues of Summer/Winter thermals (we have wet-loop UFH), noise, cleaning/durability and glare.

Are there any of these that would stand out to you as experienced DIYers and thinking of 'potential buyers' as the way to go or not go?

[dealtn]

Are there any of these that would stand out to you as experienced DIYers and thinking of 'potential buyers' as the way to go or not go?

Doesn't answer your question but we extended as 2) and very happy with it.

[neversay]

Are there any of these that would stand out to you as experienced DIYers and thinking of 'potential buyers' as the way to go or not go?

Doesn't answer your question but we extended as 2) and very happy with it.

Thanks @dealtn. I think I'm ruling out the pitched roof option as the trade-off leaves us with either a cramped extension or a dark bedroom. The lantern option has been the current favourite (and I trust your instinct on that). However, it's the aluminium and glass roof option that has just come on my radar again - partly as it seems to feature in many of the newspaper articles about yuppy couples transforming their London property.

[dealtn]

Are there any of these that would stand out to you as experienced DIYers and thinking of 'potential buyers' as the way to go or not go?

Doesn't answer your question but we extended as 2) and very happy with it.

Thanks @dealtn. I think I'm ruling out the pitched roof option as the trade-off leaves us with either a cramped extension or a dark bedroom. The lantern option has been the current favourite (and I trust your instinct on that). However, it's the aluminium and glass roof option that has just come on my radar again - partly as it seems to feature in many of the newspaper articles about yuppy couples transforming their London property.

Ours isn't as airy as that, but has almost full length "French doors" along the rear, plus 2 large lanterns above. North facing too, so limited natural "sunlight" but still very light and airy, not at all dark. (Plus underfloor heating). Doesn't feel at all like a cold North facing conservatory.

[AsleepInYorkshire]

As part of our extension project, we are looking at pushing out the back of the house by 3m-3.5m depth and around 11m width. Roughly 7m will be opening up the kitchen and dining room to a seating area, with the other 4m width being a partitionable garden office/day room area.

The choice of the roof is causing us some dilemmas though:

1. Pitched roof and Velux - this would give a slightly vaulted feel and soften the current 'box' shape of the present house. However, the pitch angle will mean that we have to compromise on the depth to under 3m or have to reduce the size of an upstairs bedroom window height by several brick courses, hence would reducing the light and aesthetics of the room.

2. Flat roof and large lanterns - this would solve the pitch/height problem but the low ceiling height could be oppressive (I'm tall) and would give the effect of making the combined area feel like a large (and possibly more gloomy) room rather than give us a more open and airy feel.

3. Aluminium and glass room - like this https://www.littleconservatorycompany.c ... vatory.jpg with brick sides that would maximise the feeling of being light and airy, but would have issues of Summer/Winter thermals (we have wet-loop UFH), noise, cleaning/durability and glare.

Are there any of these that would stand out to you as experienced DIYers and thinking of 'potential buyers' as the way to go or not go?

Definitely option 2 - simply lift the height of the roof - 3m width won't be enough though - try and get 4m if possible and if you can you could probably omit any openings in the existing structure. It's almost identical to the plan I have for the rear of our home. Just haven't got the money yet

AiY

[neversay]

Thanks @dealtn and @AiY. So option 2 it is then.

Our neighbours did the same on a smaller extension but the ceiling height felt low. I wasn't sure if that was the way the builder had constructed it or a regular consequence of the constraints.

Definitely option 2 - simply lift the height of the roof - 3m width won't be enough though - try and get 4m if possible and if you can you could probably omit any openings in the existing structure. It's almost identical to the plan I have for the rear of our home. Just haven't got the money yet
AiY

I think 3.5m to 4m will be the limit in external dimensions. It will need one large lantern and one smaller. I'll need to do research on suppliers.

Fortunately we have the money after a long and patient wait. Now I'm just dreading the coming months when the house becomes a bombshell and the bank balance is drained.

Thanks again.

[redsturgeon]

Just did similar to our house last year with a flat roofed extension 11m X 6m. Sliding doors across the whole 6 m width and a full width 1m x 6m skylight, 3 metre ceiling height. Very happy with it.

John

[redsturgeon]

A couple of photos

John

[malakoffee]

Just a reminder that a major consideration of (any) building work these days has to be temperature control - heating in winter : not overheating in summer.

The days of boundless energy, to actively overcome any omissions of these fundamental considerations, is ( hopefully ) drawing to a close.
Will the future heat-pump cope with the characteristics of the new extension ?

Is it worth fitting underfloor heating pipes in anticipation - a few years forward ?

Maybe some ducts for the cables & pipes ( as part of the groundworks ) . . . . in anticipation ?

** He said having put too much glass on a SW aspect and not put underfloor piping in the screed. It was eight years ago though . .. **

[UncleEbenezer]

What on Earth is that behind you in the reflection? Looks like a big chest, with a corpse or dummy draped over it to service your most dodgy carnal needs!

[redsturgeon]

What on Earth is that behind you in the reflection? Looks like a big chest, with a corpse or dummy draped over it to service your most dodgy carnal needs!

It's where we hide the bodies.

John

[sg31]

What on Earth is that behind you in the reflection? Looks like a big chest, with a corpse or dummy draped over it to service your most dodgy carnal needs!

It's where we hide the bodies.

John

You always have to be different. Put them under the patio like everyone else.

[neversay]

Just did similar to our house last year with a flat roofed extension 11m X 6m. Sliding doors across the whole 6 m width and a full width 1m x 6m skylight, 3 metre ceiling height. Very happy with it.

John

What a wonderful extension. That looks superb in all respects, but to raise a few (i) the sliding doors are of interesting (my wife hates bi-folds) and they really avoid the interruption of view of the garden, (ii) your use of tiles to flow from inside to out, (iii) your surrounding wall and use of levels, (iv) the integrated log-burner, and (v) everthing else (including foliage, flowers, furniture, layout, etc). Thanks for the ideas and inspiration - very helpful indeed.

[richlist]

That very large tree to the left looks a little to close for comfort.
Let's hope the roots don't cause to much damage as time goes by.

[AsleepInYorkshire]

That very large tree to the left looks a little to close for comfort.
Let's hope the roots don't cause to much damage as time goes by.

The foundations should have been designed to cope with the tree roots based more upon the desiccation factors of the soils.

AiY

[neversay]

Just a reminder that a major consideration of (any) building work these days has to be temperature control - heating in winter : not overheating in summer.

The days of boundless energy, to actively overcome any omissions of these fundamental considerations, is ( hopefully ) drawing to a close.
Will the future heat-pump cope with the characteristics of the new extension ?

Is it worth fitting underfloor heating pipes in anticipation - a few years forward ?

Maybe some ducts for the cables & pipes ( as part of the groundworks ) . . . . in anticipation ?

** He said having put too much glass on a SW aspect and not put underfloor piping in the screed. It was eight years ago though . .. **

Excellent points. We have wet loop UFH in the rest of the ground floor and I left enough manifold ports and the connections in place to be 'plug and play' for UFH heating in the side and rear extension (I should add the side is just a regular two-storey build with the single-storey rear part the one with the glass). Our gas boiler is in the attic but I'd relocate it to the utility room.

The future is important though and it has been on my mind and remains an open question. I did start a thread a while back about the future of green home heating, where air source was mentioned. The wet loop UFH is working particularly well - cheap to run and always a lovely ambient temperature with no hot and cold spots that you get with radiators. However, if gas is on the way out then I somehow need to design for future heating solutiosn to replace it, plus similarly with the potential for future battery storage. I'm looking at the plan though and it's all tight on space inside and out (which is all the more reason to plan ahead) so I'm struggling to design a 'space' for future 'solutions' that I'm not sure of yet.

[Nimrod103]

In my experience all conservatories with glass or polycarbonate roofs eventually leak a little, and cause higher maintenance bills. Also difficult to access the main house roof above for clearing gutters etc. A flat roof, for all its well known drawbacks, is probably easier to manage.

[neversay]

In my experience all conservatories with glass or polycarbonate roofs eventually leak a little, and cause higher maintenance bills. Also difficult to access the main house roof above for clearing gutters etc. A flat roof, for all its well known drawbacks, is probably easier to manage.

Thanks. That nails it for the flat room and lantern option which, as John's example shows, also looks great.

I'd like to make the internal ceiling height as height as possible but the main constraint is the bedroom window. Do you or anyone else here know how much to allow for the depth of the roof?

[richlist]

That very large tree to the left looks a little to close for comfort.
Let's hope the roots don't cause to much damage as time goes by.

The foundations should have been designed to cope with the tree roots based more upon the desiccation factors of the soils.

AiY

Yes I was aware of that but it doesnt make allowances for garden structures like patios, fencing & walls. I do often see these a few years on where they have clearly moved all over the place and look awful.

[redsturgeon]

Just did similar to our house last year with a flat roofed extension 11m X 6m. Sliding doors across the whole 6 m width and a full width 1m x 6m skylight, 3 metre ceiling height. Very happy with it.

John

What a wonderful extension. That looks superb in all respects, but to raise a few (i) the sliding doors are of interesting (my wife hates bi-folds) and they really avoid the interruption of view of the garden, (ii) your use of tiles to flow from inside to out, (iii) your surrounding wall and use of levels, (iv) the integrated log-burner, and (v) everthing else (including foliage, flowers, furniture, layout, etc). Thanks for the ideas and inspiration - very helpful indeed.

1. The sliding doors are 3m x 6m with very thin frames (20mm) to avoid interrupting the view. The slide all ways to give 2/3 or a clear space either side. I too dislike bifold although you can get almost a 90% clear opening when open they only come in 1m widths so there would be multiple frames across the view. The frame are of course aluminium not uPVC.
2.The tiles on the patio were also meant to flow indoors but we ended up with a resin floor inside. happy with that choice.
3. Yes the garden slopes up away from the house soe quite a bit of earth was shifted.
4.The log burner is a Stuv, its a big one, possibly too big since we also have underfloor heating and as with any modern build the extension is very well insulated.
5. Thanks.

John