Inspiration and tips required

[basill]

Hi there. Below is a link to a few pictures of my "lean to" kitchen which is at the rear of my ground floor flat. Tis about 20 or so years old and as you can see is not the prettiest thing you would have seen. Am thinking of selling the flat and want to be able to get as much for it as I can.

http://uk.f2.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/diybasill/album?.dir=/2cfe

Basically I want to spruce it up myself without tearing it down and starting again. I had some quotes which were pure fantasy for tearing it down and starting again but I guess that is London for you! I am away with work so often that I just don't have time to deal with builders, council permissions etc so was thinking of doing the following:-

- recladding with western red cedar shingles

- blocking the patio door from the side position and putting in say a nice stable door that opens straight out from the end of the hallway to the patio. This should give the "feeling"/appearance of making the kitchen bigger than it is as it can be a bit of a squeeze getting past people in the kitchen to the patio area.

So the questions/thoughts I have are as follows:-

- should I remove the cement cladding tiles that are there at present? I think this might avoid me having to drill the battens for the timber cladding into the concrete and would also allow the shingles to butt up under the cills with a decent amount of clearance to stop rain penetrating behind them

- if I take off the cement cladding do I line the bare framing timber with a waterproof paper/membrane of some sort? Or will the cladding be enough in itself to keep water out?

- I want to close off the left side where the door is at the moment. I guess this involves ripping out the existing door. Would you take out the windows that are there at the moment too or can I just cover them up from both inside and outside? do I use say marine ply for the outside and fix battens over this for the cladding as per normal and then plasterboard inside?

- I checked the survey that I got when I first brought the flat and it mentioned that the framing timber for the lean to is of "sub standard" quality. Think it might be something like 2 by 2. It certainly seems quite thin to me. Should I reframe say the front length of the lean to with 4 by 2 and noggins and suchlike? I am thinking of putting in nice ready made double glazed windows and of course the new patio door but I am not sure if the existing framing timber is up to it. How would I go about this? Maybe prenail up a frame with noggins, rip out the windows, support the roof and then put in the frame?

Sorry, a lot of questions there but any help would be appreciated. Similarly if you have any better ideas then feel free.

 

[breezer]

picture unavailable

 

[basill]

Sorry about the link hopefully photos now accessible.

Cheers

 

[basill]

No takers? Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[breezer]

flatten it.

 

[masona]

I don't think I would flatten as it could be a selling point for some people might want the extra room, if they don't then they will knock it down anyway.

If it was me I would re-paint the window frame and the bottom half I would use timber shiplap cladding and maybe some nice new vertical blinds for the window and some nice lights fitting. Inside you could use dots & dabs with plasterboard then paint over with a warm colour.

Cladding,
Where you see the joints, drill a hole right thru' the panel wall and fit 2"x1" batten upright with gutter bolts then fit your cladding onto this.

 

[breezer]

thats what i said masona, flatten it

 

[masona]

The costs properly be the same, can't win

 

[AdamW]

Basill, when you get to the stage where you need to put in more timber to replace the "sub standard" ones, you would probably find it easier, less stressful, quicker and not much more expensive (if at all) to rip it down and build it again.

It can actually be difficult and frustrating trying to work around and into something that is already there, especially if it is putting things right.

Now, there is the added advantage that you can make more of your design decisions if you start again. Obviously through the correct planning processes.

I'm with Breezer, flatten it.

In fact, I was watching "Property ladder" a few nights back and when I wasn't gazing in awe and wonder at the beautious Ms Beenie and her well-developed properties, she was saying that if a house has an extension that just looks all wrong, doesn't go with the house etc. it can actually be better to get rid of it.

 

[basill]

Thanks so much for all of the suggestions. I kind of like the idea of going down the least cost/less hassle route that Masona suggested although tearing it down and starting again does give me the option of extending the concrete foundations and gaining some space as she is a tight fit in the kitchen. Could be a daunting prospect building it back up from scratch although I haven't yet ruled it out completely. I like even more watching property ladder for the reason Adam suggested

Sorry but loads more questions for you all though. The shiplap cladding, is that tongue and groove and does it come in lengths that you would cut to size? Would it be better to remove the concrete cladding that is there to reduce the weight on the existing frames? Any problem with softwood and then staining it to get the right colour. Will this provide a waterproof finish?

I have seen some cladding in sheets rather than lengths. I guess these are probably a cheaper copy rather than the real deal and the type of thing that goes on a garden shed? Also would you mitre cut at the corners or do you butt each side up to a vertical piece of cedar hardwood that would need to have a recess cut in it so it sits "flat" on the corner?

Thanks again for all the help so far.

 

[breezer]

try height reduction of 100%

i say this because i do not like the look of it,as i see it no matter what you do to it it will be

a) ugly

b)an eye sore

c) a building trying to be something it isnt.

how much is it going to cost you to make it look really nice against the cost of a skip to put it in when its not there

 

[masona]

The shiplap cladding, is that tongue and groove and does it come in lengths that you would cut to size?

The picture is showing upvc but you can get the same in timber

Yes, I was thinking timber and weatherproof straining it for a appearance. The problem I find with upvc sheet cladding tend to looks a bit cheap, I know it's a bit cheaper but you could get that back if you sell it quicker. Always do the property as you would like it and try & not to cut corners.

Would it be better to remove the concrete cladding that is there to reduce the weight on the existing frames?

Shouldn't be a problem.

Another thought you could use thin brick cladding bedded onto the panel slabs. See this

 

[basill]

Well having done a lot of thinking about this I had to concede that knocking it down and rebuilding really does make more sense. That way I can incorporate windows in the ceiling, some nice french or cantileverd doors opening out to the patio and bbq area and make the whole thing into a proper living/kitchen space rather than the cramped thing it is.

So have been onto the council and the necessary application forms are winging their way to me. In the meantime I have some questions that will be pretty basic I guess:

- I am going to build out of timber framing (prob clad with cedar timber or use the thin brick slip cladding system) and have loads of information on how to do that which should be ok. Have seen links on this site that say the foundations should be 300mm deep, think it was 150mm below ground level with the rest above. Can it be entirely of concrete or do I need to use a brick and builders mix base? I was thinking that hiring a concrete mixer and laying a slab would be a lot quicker and easier. Also do I just lay the DPC membrane across the first 150mm concrete base after it is dry and then pour the remaining 150mm?

- Can you see any problems with the existing foundations for the old lean to? I was hoping that I can just box up next to it and lay the new foundations and bring them up level to this. Is this allowed or do I need to remove the old foundations first?

- To fix the framing timber sole plates to the concrete base (slab) I guess that you use anchor bolts. I have seen various types from J shapes which would be set in the wet concrete through to others which are drilled in later and sit in a sleeve. do the building regs state what type I have to use. I am not looking to do this on the cheap so want to do it right and for the sake of some cash on getting the right bolts am happy to do this.

Again thanks for the continued help!