Potential room under front room? Advice.

[TheEnquirer]

Hi all,

I recently purchased a two bed Victorian house that spans three floors. At the ground floor you enter directly into the front room and you walk through the front room to the dining room, where you can access the stairs down to the cellar which has been converted into the kitchen and sits directly below the dining room.

The back of the kitchen is a solid wall (with kitchen units in it) which if removed would allow you to walk under the front room.

I recently noticed under the floorboards in the front room, a large space that was 125 cm from the floorboard to the ground.

The kitchen height is 235 cm.

Question.

Is it feasible to have the back wall in the kitchen taken down and replaced with a support beam?

Would this affect the foundations of the house?

I would need to remove about a metre of (dirt, bricks, rubble?) in order to make it level with the rest of the kitchen.

It would extend the kitchen by about 3.5 meters length and width.

To give you an idea, if I removed the wall now, it would be like climbing up on a stage about waist high. I’m not sure what it is made of as I have not lifted any floor boards up in the front room yet.

Thanks

TE

 

[motorbiking]

Yes its possible, but it would be complex and you have to be mindful that not much science went in to foundation design back then. - is this a detached house?

 

[TheEnquirer]

It is a semi-detached house. Just trying to work out if I will need to get a quote off underpinning or not.

 

[motorbiking]

You have party wall act to consider as you will be excavating within 3m of the neighbours and going below their foundations. You will definitely need to do something with the foundations as you are unlikely to have any where you want to dig. A goal post system might be the right option or simply reinforced concrete walls. You should budget around 4k per SqM

 

[TheEnquirer]

Super thanks @motorbiking

 

[mrrusty]

Personally I wouldn't. Victorian foundations and a semi. It is quite likely that the foundations for the shallow part are a different depth to the cellar part. Digging out will be difficult and expensive, plus you will need structural engineers input to design new foundations. IMHO the risk, cost and pain doesn't match the gain - you would be better off building a little extension if you have the space.

 

[motorbiking]

Or a garden room. £4k per 10mSqr

 

[TheEnquirer]

@mrrusty and @motorbiking - I agree. I think I am going to do a 2 story extension at the back, I have been told it’s about £2100 per mSqr. The bottom floor will be around 6by4 and the top room 4x4. I did look at loft extension but they quote 70k for a 4x4 room. I laughed and showed him out.

 

[motorbiking]

2 story extension might impact the neighbours.

 

[TheEnquirer]

Bottle of whisky should do the trick.

 

[TheEnquirer]

Thanks for the advice and insight, I will go for the double story extension.