pitched A frame roof vs lean-to cost

oinkely

Hi All,

Just checking if anyone can give an idea if there is a big price difference between the cost of a lean to style roof and a pitched A frame roof for an extension to the rear of a 3 bed semi?

cheers

martinn123

oinkely wrote: »

Hi All,

Just checking if anyone can give an idea if there is a big price difference between the cost of a lean to style roof and a pitched A frame roof for an extension to the rear of a 3 bed semi?

cheers

Depends on the detail, for example if you are extending across the full width of the house, it will probably work out less expensive to do a lean to.
If its say 1/2 the width, there may not be a big difference.
If your kitchen extends out as an extention and you are filling in between the extention and the boundary, following the lean to roof of the kitchen, if thats how its built, will be cheaper.

A lean to up against the boundary will mean a high wall, say 12' where the extention meets the house wall, which the neighbours may not like, wheras a ''A '' shape the wall will be same height as your patio door, ( you cannot have windows overlooking the neighbours garden )

Hope this helps, maybe post a picture for a more detailed response.

oinkely

Thanks Martinn123,
Thinking of extending right across the back of a 3 bed semi to give a bigger kitchen / dining / living area. A neighbour a few doors down has done something similar using an A frame sort of roof. However, i was thinking a lean to might be better as the the extension will be north facing so a few big velux or similar in a lean to might give extra light into the area. (and might also be cheaper!)

Was going to stop just short of the boundary so not interfering with the neighbour really at all. Hope that makes some sense.

sydthebeat

with a lean-to the main issue to look out for is that you dont go out so far as to render the pitch too shallow for whatever you roof finish will be.

with a gable roof (an A roof) make sure the pitch doesn't interfere with existing windows on the first floor.

martinn123

oinkely wrote: »

Thanks Martinn123,
Thinking of extending right across the back of a 3 bed semi to give a bigger kitchen / dining / living area. A neighbour a few doors down has done something similar using an A frame sort of roof. However, i was thinking a lean to might be better as the the extension will be north facing so a few big velux or similar in a lean to might give extra light into the area. (and might also be cheaper!)

Have a look at what the neighbour did, if you can.
As its facing North light will be the issue, you will be cutting off what little light there is to the Kitchen/Dining area, the Velux will help, but mainly to get light into the extention not the original house.
As you are going right across the back of the house, are there services to be moved, waste from kitchen sink, any pipes from bathroom running down the back wall, and the ball-breaker, vent from the Gas Central Heating Boiler, are there sewerage/rainwater pipes in the ground over which you want to extend.

Was going to stop just short of the boundary so not interfering with the neighbour really at all. Hope that makes some sense.

That's fine, the point I was making is that the new wall, inside the boundary on a lean to will be the height of the roof, where it meets the House, and while not interfering with the neighbour may cause some discussion regarding light, access to render etc
With an ''A '' roof the new wall is not so high, so less complaints, ( if any ) again see what your neighbour did here, if you can.

Next, go talk to an Architect or similar.

oinkely

thanks for the replies,

there will be some pipes to be moved alright (kitchen and bathroom waste and sewer pipe / vent) but as far as I can see this should not be too much trouble. There is no access to the sewer pipes on my property, which seem to run along the back of the houses in a line. the neighbour on either side appears to have a manhole cover though so thinking maybe access only every second house..... unless whomever put up the conservatory that is currently on my house put it over the access.

If needs must though we can put in an access where the line crosses our side passage.

Back to the roof though, I see the point regarding the height of the wall for the lean to roof, how a gable would lead to lower wall height. I guess i was just looking for the cheaper option as I am pretty sure my ideas and our budget will be in serious disagreement ;-)

A friend is an arch technician so next port of call might be to sit down with him for an hour or two.

martinn123

oinkely wrote: »

thanks for the replies,

there will be some pipes to be moved alright (kitchen and bathroom waste and sewer pipe / vent) but as far as I can see this should not be too much trouble. There is no access to the sewer pipes on my property, which seem to run along the back of the houses in a line. the neighbour on either side appears to have a manhole cover though so thinking maybe access only every second house..... unless whomever put up the conservatory that is currently on my house put it over the access.

It may not be as simple as you think, it's not just the pipes running down the wall of the house, but it's what happens, and how they link up with the sewerage line, and / or the rainwater system, laying new pipes, getting the fall right, etc, what has to be moved, and to where.

oinkely wrote:

If needs must though we can put in an access where the line crosses our side passage.

You may not need to do this, if there is a manhole every 2nd house, but do you have any AJ's, small about 1' square plastic covers, used to rod the line if blocked.

oinkely wrote:

Back to the roof though, I see the point regarding the height of the wall for the lean to roof, how a gable would lead to lower wall height. I guess i was just looking for the cheaper option as I am pretty sure my ideas and our budget will be in serious disagreement ;-)

While you are fixated about the roof, there are issues a bit more cash consuming to be considered.

oinkely wrote:

A friend is an arch technician so next port of call might be to sit down with him for an hour or two.

Definately a good idea at this stage.

oinkely

thanks Martinn,

No, there's no AJ anwyhere behind my house. Had a blocked drain before and had to stick a rod down the little shore where the kitchen sink empties into. It did the trick at the time but is not ideal as it's right against the wall making access tough, skinned knuckles.....

It is possible that the previous owners built the conservatory over the AJ though!

I'm aware that the roof in the grand scheme will not be the biggest cost but was curious as to whether one was significantly cheaper than the other in general. I'm beginning to realise that there is no 'in general' when it comes to building though.

No doubt I'll be back with more questions as my plans take shape!

thanks again

kippy

oinkely wrote: »

thanks Martinn,

No, there's no AJ anwyhere behind my house. Had a blocked drain before and had to stick a rod down the little shore where the kitchen sink empties into. It did the trick at the time but is not ideal as it's right against the wall making access tough, skinned knuckles.....

It is possible that the previous owners built the conservatory over the AJ though!

I'm aware that the roof in the grand scheme will not be the biggest cost but was curious as to whether one was significantly cheaper than the other in general. I'm beginning to realise that there is no 'in general' when it comes to building though.

No doubt I'll be back with more questions as my plans take shape!

thanks again

Oinkely, How did you get on?

oinkely

Hi Kippy,

So far we have had a friend (arch tech who is not practicing in that area any more) draw up some plans for what we want. These plans have been snet to a number of builders for outline sort of quotes (ballpark figures) and also we are in discussions with an architect with a view to turning the outline plans that we have into a more detailed set of construction drawings so we can get accurate quotes and comoare easily.

Going for a lean to roof with a few skylights. Would like to build timber frame for it's additional warmth but the architect is keener to go traditional block build so as not to rule out builders who don't build timber. Not sure about this at the moment.

this is a slow process!

kippy

oinkely wrote: »

Hi Kippy,

So far we have had a friend (arch tech who is not practicing in that area any more) draw up some plans for what we want. These plans have been snet to a number of builders for outline sort of quotes (ballpark figures) and also we are in discussions with an architect with a view to turning the outline plans that we have into a more detailed set of construction drawings so we can get accurate quotes and comoare easily.

Going for a lean to roof with a few skylights. Would like to build timber frame for it's additional warmth but the architect is keener to go traditional block build so as not to rule out builders who don't build timber. Not sure about this at the moment.

this is a slow process!

In the initial phase of a similar process now (in Galway as well).
Getting some drawings/options put together at the moment as well.