Open plan advice - process/budget

[Garrybibson]

Hello, I am hoping to move in to a new property by the end of the year and wanted some high level advice on creating an open plan bottom floor. I have a floor plan at the below link

http://viewer.tma-live.com/viewer.aspx?v=80637796&floor=0

Dining Room 3.60m (11' 10') x 2.76m (9' 1')
Kitchen 4.30m (14' 1') x 3.53m (11' 7')
Lounge 5.18m (17' 0') x 3.76m (12' 4')

I am basically looking at opening up the walls separating the kitchen, dining room and lounge. Possibly entrance hall too?

I am hoping you guys can help me with two things here
1) rough process I need to follow to make this happen?
2) very rough cost for budgeting purposes.

Any help appreciated, thanks in advance.

Barry

 

[^woody^]

and wanted some high level advice

Wrong forum mate

Process?

1. Knock walls down
2. Insert supporting beams

 

[Garrybibson]

Well thanks woody, I was hoping for a little more than that.

For example

Do I need planning permission?
How do I know what beams to put in?
Will it need to be looked at by a structural engineer?
At what point do I need too get a quote from a builder?
How much might I need to budget for a job like this?

I'm new, so if I have got the wrong forum apologies, would you mind pointing in the direction of the forum you believe is better suited?

 

[RonnyRaygun]

Do I need planning permission?

No, but you will need building regs approval

How do I know what beams to put in?

Get an SE to do some calcs.

Will it need to be looked at by a structural engineer?

Yes, see above.

At what point do I need too get a quote from a builder?

A builder could give an idea of costs without drawings/calcs, but you will get a more accurate price with drawings and specification from an SE.

How much might I need to budget for a job like this?

Thousands?

I'm new, so if I have got the wrong forum apologies, would you mind pointing in the direction of the forum you believe is better suited?

He's messing with you...we all know everything here

You need to know which walls are load bearing and which aren't. I'd guess that the only load bearing wall is the long one down the middle, and that probably carries the joists above. It' probably also assisting with lateral stability so you might need a frame to resist the wind loads (or a masonry nib/pier).
The walls above are probably non-load bearing studwork, judging by the fact they don't line up with the walls below.
The roof might be trusses.

Of course I could be completely wrong. Only way to know for sure is to get a builder/SE to take a look.

 

[Garrybibson]

Thanks Ronny, so first step is to get a structural engineer to look at it. How would I go about finding one of these in my local area? How much should I expect to pay?

Also, I had a fair idea from reading other posts on here that the budget would be in the thousands. Could you be any more specific? 3? 5+? 10+? Even if it is just a guess. I won't hold you to it, just will give me an idea how much to set aside.

 

[^woody^]

You need to engage a professional who knows about structural matters and building regulations.

Now this could be a building surveyor or a structural engineer. The problem is, some surveyors don't know about structural design, and some engineers don't know about building regulations

So seek out a professional and first tell them that they need to be able to do all the work, and not do part of the work and then palm you off to another professional and another fee.

Don't invite a builder round, or let one loose until you have professional design work done first.

The cost could be anything and will depend on the work. Ball park figures and estimates are pointless and could be way out

I wonder if you could benefit from some interior design ideas too? Those are big spans and will need potentially deep beams. Perhaps complete open plan may not be the best if beams interrupt the ceiling lines?

You're still probably in the wrong forum

 

[RonnyRaygun]

Thanks Ronny, so first step is to get a structural engineer to look at it. How would I go about finding one of these in my local area? How much should I expect to pay?

http://www.findanengineer.com/
How much you pay depends on how much work is involved, but probably a few hundred...

Also, I had a fair idea from reading other posts on here that the budget would be in the thousands. Could you be any more specific? 3? 5+? 10+? Even if it is just a guess. I won't hold you to it, just will give me an idea how much to set aside.

Again, depends on how much work is required. I'm not a builder so not sure. Between 3 and 5k?

 

[Garrybibson]

Thanks guys, woody, some great advice especially realting to the two roles. Since you wont commit, let me put it another way.... If you were thinking about doing this, before you decided what size mortgage to get, how much would you set aside for something like this? I understand you dont want to commit, but i need a number as i physically need to decide how much equity to put in the house and how much to put aside for improvements.

Ronny, thanks exactly what im looking for.

So just to summarise...
1) I need to get a surveyor or structural engineer who can advise on the structural requirements with a guarantee of adhering to building regs. (£2-300)
2) think about interior design, once i know what the raw solution will look like. (how much would a professional opinion cost here?)
3) get quotes form a builder. (approx 5k, could be more.)

anything else i need to consider? In terms of the building regs do i need to apply for anything? Get inspected etc..?

 

[skotl]

Not that I think it's a particularly good idea (you'll put off prospective buyers when you come to sell, the house will be valued less with less "reception rooms", privacy and echo noise will be a pain) but...

We've just opened up a kitchen and dining room and added an extension onto the two rooms. So I know how much we spent on that.
I'm guessing, too, that you will also need to redo all the flooring (you would presumably need the same flooring throughout) and you'll have to completely re-decorate.
And you'll almost certainly need a new kitchen, right?
And you'll have electrical re-routing.
And you'll need professional fees (structural engineer, building regs, preferably an architect / designer).

I'd be amazed if you could do all that for less than £15k. Knocking the walls down, as such, won't be the bulk of the work but I can see lots of £1k and £2k jobs...

 

[RonnyRaygun]

I'm guessing, too, that you will also need to redo all the flooring (you would presumably need the same flooring throughout) and you'll have to completely re-decorate.
And you'll almost certainly need a new kitchen, right?
And you'll have electrical re-routing.
And you'll need professional fees (structural engineer, building regs, preferably an architect / designer).

I'd be amazed if you could do all that for less than £15k. Knocking the walls down, as such, won't be the bulk of the work but I can see lots of £1k and £2k jobs...

I agree. I was talking about just the structural works, removal of walls, installation of beams etc. Finishes and other alterations will cost a lot more.

 

[ivixor]

The high level advice is: don't do it!

So many drawbacks:

Cooking smells will pervade the entire ground floor, covering all surfaces with grease

Any mess whatsoever will be immediately visible to any visitor

Cooking noises will interrupt TV viewing etc

Value of house will be reduced

Noise from toilet will echo across room in embarrassing fashion

Won't be able to watch tv with someone sleeping upstairs - the noise will echo right up the stairs

etc !

If you just remove the wall between dining room and kitchen, you will still have double doors into the living room, giving you the benefits of more spacious feeling without going over the top. Much much cheaper too. Depending on direction of joists you may not need any structural alterations at all.

 

[Garrybibson]

thanks guys appreciated. gives me a very good idea. Only question not answered seems to be how the building regs process work, any directions?

ivixor, even though i did not ask for advice on whether it was a good idea or not, i appreciate your insight. Have you ever lived in an open plan house?

 

[Garrybibson]

Hi all, I've finally moved in and looking to get some structural engineering quotes. Best I've got so far is 400 exc vat and exc any local authority costs. How does this sound or should I continue to shop around?

Also any ideas on what local auth costs might be?