Stairs in your living room? anyone?

[purplehaze]

just wondering has anyone, living in a typical victorian house, knocked down the wall between the back living room and the stairs/ passage?

the idea would be to make the room feel more open plan. but does it work? and would you buy a place like that?

thanks ph

[Salsaboy]

I'd get a structural engineer in first if you are planning to do this. I have an idea that at least one of the walls would be load bearing.

[Tradesman32]

I think it works.

We have worked in a few different house types and if the house is relatively thin then it works. Most people have put in a small hall/lobby to to the front door.

Open plan will affect a loft conversion as you need to have a "protected stairwell" to pass fire regs. It's still possible but requires demister system or fire curtains to pass regs. Both are somewhat expensive but worth it to maintain the open space.

[ratty]

Too noisy upstairs without the living room door!

[purplehaze]

thanks salsaboy, ratty and tradesman32 - are there any variations on this idea that would work better? the passage seems a poky waste of space.

[Mustard]

I have seen some houses in Nutfield Road like that, but they are quite small. I also saw one in Upland Road, and it was open to a small kitchen at the back.

I would imagine it could be very drafty (and also very noisy) if you did not have good insulation. I think it does look attractive. Surely it's just personal taste.

[*Bob*]

Noise transfer between your place and next door would be my main concern - you'd lose that existing sound-reducing barrier between you and them. If they've done (or did) the same it's possible you'll be hearing a lot from them - and vice versa.

I quite like the way the open stairs into an open plan front room looks but I wouldn't be so keen hearing them fart as they watch telly.

If I was doing it I'd lose some inches on the party wall to add some decent soundproofing. An extra expense there again though.

[civilservant]

in response to the OP's question, no, I wouldn't buy a Victorian house where the stairs opened into the back sitting room. it reminds me of the time when people got rid of fireplaces and panelled doors to 'modernise' their houses.

Have you thought about opening up the wall between the front and back sitting rooms as an alternative that would be more sensitive to the architectural character of your house (and maintain its future resale value)?

[Yak]

We have parliament doors - open in summer/for parties, closed in winter. When we moved in, it was all open plan so we wanted to partition it off.

[purplehaze]

thank you everyone - looks like majority view is - don't do it. The whole point of it was to increase resale value as the back room is a bit pokey.

cs I am going to knock the wall between front and back living rooms

[Mustard]

Yak Wrote:

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> We have parliament doors - open in summer/for

> parties, closed in winter. When we moved in, it

> was all open plan so we wanted to partition it

> off.

Can you show a picture?

[JohnL]

purplehaze Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> thank you everyone - looks like majority view is -

> don't do it. The whole point of it was to

> increase resale value as the back room is a bit

> pokey.

> cs I am going to knock the wall between front and

> back living rooms

The house I grew up in (and will sell soon) had 3 rooms

where in the 70s/80s everybody else had open plan.

I remember I preferred open plan - my dad said wait

til you bring a girl home.

[Jeremy]

I like the idea of installing double doors (assume that's what "parliament doors" are?) to give you the option of opening it up a bit.

[Yak]

Yep that's what we have. I am struggling to attach a pic - if you're curious, PM me an email address

[JohnL]

Yak Wrote:

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> Yep that's what we have. I am struggling to attach

> a pic - if you're curious, PM me an email address

Best of both worlds :)

[DaveR]

Parliament hinges allow you to open the doors 180 degrees i.e. flat against the wall

[Yak]

Right, one pic added above, second one here.

[Mustard]

Yak Wrote:

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> Right, one pic added above, second one here.

Thanks, so you have one set of doors between two rooms and one set sideways in the hallway? Who supplied the doors?

[Yak]

The two main rooms are knocked through, so we have the parliament doors from the back room to the hallway, and just a normal door from the front room to the hall. From memory, the parliament hinges were pretty easy to source, then we just got someone to build up the top part of the wall and hang the doors. I can't recommend the builders we used though. They were rubbish!

[KalamityKel]

Salsaboy Wrote:

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> I'd get a structural engineer in first if you are

> planning to do this. I have an idea that at least

> one of the walls would be load bearing.

Definitely get someone to have a look if you're considering this.

I knew someone who took the wall out. It looked lovely but when it came to selling they realised they hadn't put the proper supports in so had to put everything back to as it was.

If you already struggle with heating the rooms in the winter you'll find it even more chilly.

[civilservant]

purplehaze Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> thank you everyone - looks like majority view is - don't do it. The whole point of it was to

> increase resale value as the back room is a bit pokey.

> cs I am going to knock the wall between front and

> back living rooms

good luck - you'll prob need an rsj to support the wall above as SB and others have pointed out, but ultimately well worth the impact on your own amenity and resale value!

[alice]

oh dear