Need some guidance on rebuilding costs and requirements.
Recently bought a house and noticed that the front single storey bay had some cracks and weather damage. During the heavy rains it also started leaking from the bay roof (it's a flat roof which angles back to the house and drains through an original cast iron downpipe) into the living room.
We got a structural engineer in who said the bay has most likely separated from the front of the house. He didn't think the core foundation was a problem but said the rest would need to be sorted out. He's since advised the following:
"The bay above window sill level is rebuilt in similar materials and the horizontal bars of the 'helibar' type should be incorporated at high level to prevent future spread."
So, three questions.
Firstly, what sort of cost am I looking at to get this fixed. I'm not totally precious about having the bay rebuilt in the same style, so would be okay for the vertical pillars, for example, to be built from brick and rendered, rather than re-casting a new pillar. Also, the mantle at the top could be made to be less ornate than the current style.
Secondly, if we do change the overall look of the bay, will I need to get planning permission (as I would be changing the external look of the house). The overall footprint of the bay, including width, height, etc wouldn't change because we're going from the sill up and not changing the main footings or the foundations.
And finally, would I need an archtect to re-draw the bay to the new style or is it something we could do directly with a builder?
Any advice/guidance welcomed.
Recently bought a house and noticed that the front single storey bay had some cracks and weather damage. During the heavy rains it also started leaking from the bay roof (it's a flat roof which angles back to the house and drains through an original cast iron downpipe) into the living room.
We got a structural engineer in who said the bay has most likely separated from the front of the house. He didn't think the core foundation was a problem but said the rest would need to be sorted out. He's since advised the following:
"The bay above window sill level is rebuilt in similar materials and the horizontal bars of the 'helibar' type should be incorporated at high level to prevent future spread."
So, three questions.
Firstly, what sort of cost am I looking at to get this fixed. I'm not totally precious about having the bay rebuilt in the same style, so would be okay for the vertical pillars, for example, to be built from brick and rendered, rather than re-casting a new pillar. Also, the mantle at the top could be made to be less ornate than the current style.
Secondly, if we do change the overall look of the bay, will I need to get planning permission (as I would be changing the external look of the house). The overall footprint of the bay, including width, height, etc wouldn't change because we're going from the sill up and not changing the main footings or the foundations.
And finally, would I need an archtect to re-draw the bay to the new style or is it something we could do directly with a builder?
Any advice/guidance welcomed.
