New build house - what can i change?
Discussion
Quick explanation of the situation. My wife and I have been looking for a new larger family home within the catchment area of a nice school a few miles away from our current home. Our two children are fast approaching the age where we need to consider secondary schools. The village in which it is located is very picturesque and is surrounded by countryside and forests.
We have seen a home that looks ideal. It has all the space we want (including a double garage). The house is a new build and within my budget. However, there is one feature that is putting us both off the house.
The kitchen has a utility area which in itself is gigantic, thus, making the kitchen very small. The utility area has no external door to the outside garden and no door between it and the kitchen - making it bizarre in my opinion.
Layout at present:
We have seen the same house at a different location, built by the same builder with a much better layout i.e. No utility. This makes the kitchen area much more usable for us.
I have asked if the wall between the utility and the kitchen can be removed and have not yet received a solid answer. However, i can see from the plans that there is a soil stack within the wall between the kitchen and utility. My idea is to request that the utility is omitted on my property. I have been told (by the sales lady) that this may not be possible due to the routing of the soil stack. How difficult would it be for them to build this to my desired specification?
As we are so keen to move into this house, i was also considering that i could remove this wall myself and pay for the kitchen to be constructed as per the second plan above... How much would this cost?
The builder is one of the largest builders in the UK, and this is the last house of this style on this development. This house has not been released as yet and is at a ground floor level of construction.
We have seen a home that looks ideal. It has all the space we want (including a double garage). The house is a new build and within my budget. However, there is one feature that is putting us both off the house.
The kitchen has a utility area which in itself is gigantic, thus, making the kitchen very small. The utility area has no external door to the outside garden and no door between it and the kitchen - making it bizarre in my opinion.
Layout at present:
We have seen the same house at a different location, built by the same builder with a much better layout i.e. No utility. This makes the kitchen area much more usable for us.
I have asked if the wall between the utility and the kitchen can be removed and have not yet received a solid answer. However, i can see from the plans that there is a soil stack within the wall between the kitchen and utility. My idea is to request that the utility is omitted on my property. I have been told (by the sales lady) that this may not be possible due to the routing of the soil stack. How difficult would it be for them to build this to my desired specification?
As we are so keen to move into this house, i was also considering that i could remove this wall myself and pay for the kitchen to be constructed as per the second plan above... How much would this cost?
The builder is one of the largest builders in the UK, and this is the last house of this style on this development. This house has not been released as yet and is at a ground floor level of construction.
When I bought a brand new house I asked the builder to put a garage on the side and he was happy to oblige, I just had to pay! It was a small, local builder though - in the end money talks! If they will struggle to sell it then they're going to be more flexible, but there may be a lot more involved than just changing the design - I'm no expert, but the changes may impact planning permission or building regs, and this could be a ball-ache the builder doesn't want to be bothered with if they can sell the house as it is to someone else.
A friend of mine bought a brand new house and then spent money having the whole layout remodelled - in the end it's not the end of the world, just frustrating to knock down something nice and new! You may be able to create a new, even better kitchen design including the soil stack if required.
A friend of mine bought a brand new house and then spent money having the whole layout remodelled - in the end it's not the end of the world, just frustrating to knock down something nice and new! You may be able to create a new, even better kitchen design including the soil stack if required.
I would say it mostly depends on how much of it is built. I was able to get a silly stub wall removed at the breezeblock stage; the sales lady just passed my request to the builders and they knocked it out 
It also depends how helpful the various individuals are, ie whether they want a happy customer or just want to pack up and go home. If they are unwilling, offer to pay - either to the developer or by any other means that may achieve the objective.
It also depends how helpful the various individuals are, ie whether they want a happy customer or just want to pack up and go home. If they are unwilling, offer to pay - either to the developer or by any other means that may achieve the objective.
When mine was being built they wouldn't even omit a stud wall between the kitchen and dining room. I asked well before it was put in. This was a large national building firm, so I guess it comes down to who's building it and what their policy on this is.
It wasn't just the sales lady having PMT either. My neighbour asked the same thing with the same reply.
It wasn't just the sales lady having PMT either. My neighbour asked the same thing with the same reply.
Thanks for the replies - i appreciate your advice.
Can anyone give me an idea of how much it would cost to make the modifications and to remove the utility room, creating a large kitchen?
This figure could help me with my bargaining, should the home builder refuse to build the house to my requirements.....
Can anyone give me an idea of how much it would cost to make the modifications and to remove the utility room, creating a large kitchen?
This figure could help me with my bargaining, should the home builder refuse to build the house to my requirements.....
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