Internal Alterations
Any material changes inside of a home would fall within the category of internal alterations. Some types of alterations might have implications in terms of structural integrity, fire safety, acoustic performance, etc. Internal alterations are particularly popular in London and other densely populated areas as a less costly alternative to moving home or extending.
The Benefits
Altering your house internally can be a great way of optimising its layout and creating stunning new spaces.
Planning
The updated internal layout can work around the existing external envelope or require changes to it. If the external envelope remains unchanged, planners are rarely interested in what is being altered inside a house. If the internal alterations are part of a larger development, however, planners would be more likely to inspect the proposed interior scheme. In any case, it is highly recommended that the new layouts comply with the Nationally described space standard and follow good design practices throughout.
Typical Scenarios
Creation of open plan living / kitchen / dining area
This is a preferred layout in recent years, for the many benefits of having a large open space. It also allows for a family to be together in the same space when engaged in activities traditionally carried out in separate spaces. Many opt in for adding a kitchen island for extra utility, provided that there is sufficient space. Creating a large open space in a house would usually require removing structural walls, and reinstating the structural supports to walls/floors/roofs at the upper level. The budget option for this would be to install the structural members below the existing ceiling line and leave the existing structure above undisturbed. If aesthetics and utility come first instead, the structural members would be installed within the floor/ceiling depth, resulting in a more demanding structural alteration, and typically having to re-do the finishes at the level above.
Chimney removal
With the emergence of more efficient methods of heating, fireplaces and chimneys in traditional houses have become largely redundant, and many homeowners decide to remove them in favour of gaining extra functional area by squaring off a rooms layout. This is quite straightforward for detached houses and usually does not require planning permission. If the house is semi-detached or terraced, however, there is a possibility that the chimney is shared with the neighbours, in which case, the removal should be coordinated with them. It might be decided to remove the entire chimney, including the parts above the roof level, or that the parts above roof level should be retained. The latter would require structural support for the remainder of the chimney, usually at the loft level.
Creation of bathrooms
A bathroom is unlike any other room in a house as a significant part of its cost would be concentrated in what goes outside of it rather than inside.
Providing water to a new bathroom might require construction works in an otherwise unrelated area of the house.
The same would go for a new waste pipe, with the addition that waste pipes have to go at a certain fall in order to prevent blockages. This might be limiting in terms of distance of the bathroom to the existing sewer, or alternatively – might require alterations to the existing sewer.
Ventilating a bathroom could require providing a duct with an external outlet going through another room’s ceiling.
A bathroom might have a bathtub and/or a layer of screed within its floor, which are both heavier than typical house loads and can require strengthening of the existing floor.
Further Considerations
Most internal alterations are notifiable works, as they might result in changes in the structure of the house, fire safety, acoustic performance, etc. Even though no proposed design should necessarily be submitted to the local authority planning department, building control should be engaged, and depending on the scope of the works, they might require existing and proposed plans, sections etc. in order to assess and sign off the proposed works.
Recent Internal Alterations Projects
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