Side return extension - is it worth the hassle? Post Reply

[Goldhawk]

I'm looking for some advice as we are considering doing a side return extension.

If you did yours was it worth the hassle and expense?
Did you move out for the build?

[shaneleone]

I would say absolutely worth it. We LOVE our side return extension, and pretty much spend all our time in the kitchen now - the space is great for my toddler. However, he and I did go to visit my parents for about 6 weeks in the middle of the build, and I honestly don't think I could have handled it otherwise (my son was 14 months at the time). The couple of weeks at the beginning and end that we were there for were pretty stressful. I think it depends on how much time you (and kids) currently spend at home, and if your family is out working and in school most of the day, then it might be doable... but if you have a young one and are at home, then I'd have to say it would be best to move-out during the worst of it if possible.

[Boune]

It absolutely worth it!
We are so happy with our kitchen extension and even in term of investment we potentially "made" a lot of money out of it!
But more than that, it completely changed our comfort and the way we enjoy our kitchen and dining area.
We were very lucky and didn't have to move (actually we went on holidays for a week) as our builder managed to set up a temporary kitchen on our front living room. Maybe ask him if he could do the same?
After that, I guess it depends on other personal factors (size of your house, age of your children...).

[sadialifestyle]

Side extensions have been increasingly popular because it gives you more living space. We have done side extensions where people have turned the space in to Kitchen and dinner/family room. It also increases the value of your home.

Try having a look at www.lifestylebyasq.co.uk -
and our testimonials: http://www.lifestylebyasq.co.uk/testimonials.php

Our clients usually have the extension area blocked off from the rest of the house to avoid disturbance while they are living in the house.

Hope this helps. Feel free to give us a call if you wish to discuss or speak to one of our clients.

Regards
Sadia

[Rabbit_and_Co]

Yes definitely worth it, regardless of whether it increases the actual value of the house much but simply from the point of view of how you will use / enjoy the space.

We've lived-in during works, a few times (with a 9-month old baby at one point) and it's pretty tough at times, but one of those situations where immediately afterwards it all seems SO worth it and hardly a pain at all.

Just like childbirth, in fact!

[bamse]

I'm certaintly hoping it's worth it! We're at the final stages of having ours done & after 12 weeks of chaos the end is finally in sight. It's still a mess down there but it's amazing what a difference adding on that tiny bit of space makes. Weve lived on site throughout with a 2 year old & newborn. Wevprobably would have gone on a long holiday had it not been for the baby. Luckily toddler has been at nursery most days which makes it easier. Having both bathrooms done at the same time has made it much more intrusive as the builders have had to come upstairs but it's still doable. If anything I've found being at home quite useful as there are so many questions that come up all the time & sourcing all the fittings is pretty much a full time job!

[DDJJ]

Agree with everyone here, it's definitely worth it. And I speak from having just emerged the other side as ours was completed a month ago. We went into the side return and about a metre into the garden. We do have a small baby and I'm at home all day so we made the decision to move out for two months which was worth it (added about £5K to the budget), it meant minimum stress for us plus the builders could go super fast as they didn't need to worry about getting hot water/electricity back on every night. We also ensured it coincided with holidays too, which meant another two weeks of being out of the house.

I'm not sure what it's done to the value of our house, if we sold tomorrow would we make the money back pound for pound? I'm not sure, probably not. But we did it because we love our house and want to stay here for another five to ten years. We now spend a lot of time in our lovely kitchen, it has made a big difference to how we live.

[NorthcoteLuvvie]

There are TWO things we have had done that I smile about ALL the time.

1) Side return. It is amazing. It transforms the house. Get one now and you'll never look back I PROMISE you. But. And its a big but. We lived through it and it was hell. Truly truly awful. We did it and I am glad we did but I don't think I could do it again. Imagine someone walking around your house every day with a big bag of dust and tipping it upside down on everything.

It is worse than that.

Before we had ours done someone said to me "its like it has snowed in your house. But its dust." My reaction was "yeah right" but its true. Only whatever the opposite of exaggerate was they did that. Its like it has snowed heavily.

2) Basement. WAIT! Not the big dig out basement that costs millions but getting the basement tanked and some proper lights and some wood on the walls painted white. We then had tiles put down. Cost about £5k and it has turned the basement into a proper room, albeit a room for short people. We then had proper stairs put in and it has all the sports kit, two fridges, washing machine, tumble dryer, wine etc. Its amazing. Just to be clear we didn't dig out at all but just make it light airy and dry.

Get those two things done and your life will be enriched immeasurably

[littlebalckbear]

NorthcoteLuvvie - would you be happy to let me know who did your basement? I'm thinking if getting ours tanked out in the way you've described and am looking for someone to quote / do the job.

Many thanks and sorry for butting into a post about side-returns! 

[NorthcoteLuvvie]

Eeeek I am not sure I still have it, it was five or so years ago.

I'll go and see if I can find the invoice

[Maggie1]

So, worth it! We had our side return done a couple of months ago and it feels like we have a whole new house. The work took about 8 weeks (ecxluding planning permission and party wall stuff). We lived in the house throughout the work as the builders made us a temporary kitchen upstairs. I was heavily pregnant and it was a bit cold at times (January with no back wall to the house...) but it honestly wasn't a problem. It was fun coming home each day to see how things had progressed. The builders kept everything really tidy and the dust wasn't too much of an issue.

I would say though that if I'd been home all day and had kids at the time, we would have considered moving out. Luckily the work was finished before our baby arrived.

If you do decide to go for it, try Galvin Lofts. They were amazing!

[Georgie001]

I am so pleased to have seen this post. I am thinking of doing exactly this and trying to incorporate as much glass as possible. I have been wavering and I think you have all just made up my mind. It doesn't seem to add that much space but I think once it's done you realise it gives you more room than you anticipated. Thank you.

[balhammummy5]

Hello

I know I'm posting on an old post, but we're about to kick off plans for a side return extension and need to consider whether to also extend back into the garden, so I thought this was a good place to post.

I wondered if people who've had side returns done would mind saying what size it has made their kitchen, and what they've managed to fit in the space?

Just a side return extension would make our kitchen 16ft3 by 12ft10. Ideally we want a kitchen with an 'island'/breakfast bar and big family table (my husband's also desperate for a huge American style double fridge...). I'm not sure that would all fit in the space we will have, so would be interested to hear what others have managed to fit in their space. With toddlers whizzing round on ride ons, I don't want to use up every bit of floor space and make our new kitchen feel cramped! Equally, I don't want to eat into our garden by extending out backwards if at all possible.

Thanks

[Laura9]

Hello, just tagging on to this thread about side returns- we are wanting to do a side return extension but haven't yet got plans, but we do have a builder. Would anybody reccommend an architect or a building designer to draw up plans? Grateful for any suggestions!

[juliantenniscoach]

Definitely worth it. Try to go round as many friends homes who have them to get a view of different arrangements. Our side return is effectively a childrens' play area. We also opened up the back with full doors and that was absolutely worth the money.