I'm guessing this has already been added to ay least once , I suspect twice looking at the floorplan . So you already possibly have different floor materials ( I'm guessing wooden floor on piles / stumps in the original , what is the rest ? ) ; different window styles ; different wall materials ; maybe different roofing materials and angles . Similarly , the plumbing has probably been added to , etc .

Anything is possible , but it sounds like you are on a budget , like most of us . Once you start adding between the kitchen and the 'top right' bedroom , move a few walls ( you'd need engineers reorts because I suspect some around the right of the kitchen will be load bearing ) , potentially move or add a bathroom -- you'd potentially be $200k at a guesstimate . Add new roof trusses and a complete reroof so it looks like one design -- how long is a piece of string ?

Heres my quick thought -- swap tyhe laundry with the bathroom next to it ( laundry looks a lot bigger , plus already has plumbing and water . Do your bath , a shower , a new vanity , not quite as easy as this , but essentially rotate toilet 180 degrees so connection is easier .

Any more than that , my gut feeling is sell and buy something else , or knock down rebuild . You may have gotten it cheap , you may love the area , you may even love the house , and I may have guessed wrong , but thats just the feeling I get without having seen photos or any more info .

How many bedrooms do you need?

And move the window in the F/D space from west wall to the south facing courtyard which will integrate to the other living space for entertaining

Can you post a Google Earth view of the house and block, how many bedrooms do you need ie: people living in the house. Is the building brick and Tile on a Slab, what climate do you have.

Thanks for the suggestions! Yes this is an older federation house - not sure how many times it has been extended but there's an older front section (with high ceilings) and the back extension with the lower ceiling. I think @User you're right in that the wall next to the kitchen may be load bearing, but that shouldn't be impossible to deal with? Based on feedback so far it looks like it would be a lot of effort to remove exterior walls but I should try and work with the interior layout that I currently have. I have attached the google earth view of the house and some of the real estate pictures to show the living/ kitchen/dining area and the back view of the house.

@siriuskey - currently a family of 4 but maybe 5 one day so ideally keeping 4 bedrooms would be good, I think the entire building is brick and its sydney weather.

You are braver than me -- wanting to take out a brick wall , and one you suspect is load bearing at that ! I'd do everything I could to keep within the existing walls in that case .

Can you just confirm though , that the back 2 bedrooms ( and the laundry etc ) are all in brick external walls too ?

@pottsy99 Am I being naive in that it would just cost a bit extra to have a load bearing wall taken out and a steel beam installed? Yes the back two bedrooms have brick external walls and the only wall that isn’t brick is the side door entrance, opposite the laundry.

Depending on the span of the beam and the engineering required I’d allow $15k-$20kish. It’s not just a weight bearing wall it’s an original exterior wall, and cost will depend on the roof construction and the surrounding walls. You’ll need an engineer opinion but if you have a friendly builder their opinion will point you in the right direction.

@siriuskey that looks great! I'm a curious about the bifold door you've included on the top right of the kitchen, is that to try and connect the patio with the kitchen instead of the entrance via the laundry?

Hi Charlie,

If you want to outdoor living on the north side as a priority, go for it. I have attached a sketch that allows you to do this and maintain 4 good sized bedrooms.

I have assumed you could change your pedestrian access to the house to match where your cars access the house on the north. This will reduce how much of your outdoor space is given over to access rather than usable space. Forgive me if I'm wrong on this point.

The sketch maintains a large number of the internal walls and one of the existing bathroom locations.

I have closed the front door and put in the master ensuite in its place, this way there is an external window for this room. You may need to consider means of escape from the bedrooms by putting big low level windows in or french doors from B1 onto the verandah. If you don't like this idea, you could make B4 the master and put the second bathroom where the powder room is but this would make both bathrooms smaller and with small kids I think it will be nicer to have a separate powder room.

So, all the bedrooms are at the front and all the living is at the back, though I am suggesting you switch what is back and front!!! The roof structure and ceiling over the new living area could possibly be altered to be higher to make it feel bigger. You could change the trusses to rafters and beams where needed, possibly within the existing roof envelope and have sloping ceilings. Open the new living up to the back yard (new front)as you want. New openings will need to be adequately structured. I have also shown a courtyard off the kitchen and dining. This is to the west so you will need a shade structure outside the kitchen or it will be too hot to cook in the evening. The dining could move to the back of the house in conjunction with the living and have just a breakfast area opening onto the court instead. This will be more private that then north space and will be nice and cool in the morning or great for autumn and spring evenings.

The only down side of this is the long corridor but that is a function of these 'single stack' houses. You could make B3 smaller and the corridor could double as a playroom if your kids are small and you could put in an additional door between B3 and the powder room to keep their mess out of view!!! It might be a bit hazardous for you if it is not kept tidy but you could introduce storage down one side for toys etc. It seems like a wide corridor so it could work.

Good luck,

Christine.

I've just taken out 4 internal brick walls and rebricked one, including engineering certificate, we needed 4 extra roof beams, and had to replace the ceiling. it came to about $20 000. Our first quote was 32 000 so make sure you get a few quotes. We've also relocated the kitchen which has been a very costly exercise in a double brick, full concrete slab house! My advice would be keep as much plumbing where it is to keep your costs down!

Thank you for sharing your costs. It’s always valuable information.

Sorry for late response Charlie L, I added a Bi fold window to serve the courtyard, but it could be a glass door which would mean reducing the length of the sink benchtop or having the door open outwards. As above keeping and working with the existing plumbing will help keep your costs to a minimum

Could you remove the wall between the living and formal dining rooms, and make the small 'study' area your new dining space? Also, turn the sitting room into a bedroom. That way you don't have to manipulate your floor plan much at all, and you're still left with four bedrooms and a lovely, open-plan living area.