Kitchen
renovation
in Highgate, N6
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A Highgate kitchen often means opening the back of the house to the garden, and the neighbourhood plan sets limits on how far that can go.
The neighbourhood plan values Highgate's rear gardens for their character, amenity and ecology, and asks that rear extensions do not encroach on them disproportionately.
We design the kitchen, any extension and the garden steps together, so the plan works inside and the extension sits properly in the garden.
Source: Highgate Neighbourhood Plan (adopted by Haringey in July 2017 and Camden in September 2017)
The garden-floor kitchen
Policy DH3 asks for a rear extension to stay subordinate to the house and leave a garden proportionate to the neighbours'.
Camden's appraisal adds that rear extensions will not be acceptable where they compromise the historic pattern of rear elevations in a street or group.
Where the back of the house cannot grow, a kitchen can often borrow space from a side passage or a disused scullery, or by moving the dining table into the garden room.
Sources: Highgate Neighbourhood Plan (adopted by Haringey in July 2017 and Camden in September 2017), Camden: Highgate Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted October 2007)
Beams, openings and chimney breasts
A new or wider opening in an external wall needs the wall above supported, usually on one or two beams, and steel is normally boxed in plasterboard for fire protection.
Taking out an internal chimney breast needs no planning permission but always needs building regulations approval, with an engineer's design advised.
Cutting into a party wall or digging near the neighbour's foundations is notifiable under the Party Wall Act.
Sources: Planning Portal: Extensions, Building Regulations: Structural Opening, Planning Portal Interactive House: Do I need permission to remove chimney breasts?, GOV.UK: Party walls and building work
Extraction
A new kitchen needs extract ventilation to deal with condensation and cooking smells.
Camden will consider where air-handling equipment is placed, particularly in sensitive views and close to homes.
We decide where the duct leaves the building before the hob is placed, and size the extractor for the room, not the catalogue.
Sources: Planning Portal: Extensions, Building Regulations: Ventilation, Camden: Highgate Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted October 2007)
Kitchens in Highgate flats
In a flat, the landlord's permission may be needed for alterations, and the floor finish can be limited by the lease.
Underfloor heating crossing the landlord's floors or ceilings needs the landlord's agreement too.
Moving a kitchen in a flat usually means new waste falls to the stack, so we check the floor depth before the plan is agreed.
Sources: LEASE: alterations and home improvements, LEASE: Alterations and home improvements
A kitchen in a period house
Original materials, finishes and decorative details are treated by the neighbourhood plan as essential to Highgate and to be kept.
In a Georgian or Victorian kitchen we fit cabinets to their own frames, standing just off old walls, and keep any surviving dresser, shutters or flagstones in the design.
In a listed house the interior is protected as well, so the design is checked for consent first.
Sources: Highgate Neighbourhood Plan (adopted by Haringey in July 2017 and Camden in September 2017), Camden Council: Listed buildings
Utility rooms, larders and storage
A separate utility room takes the washing machine, dryer and sink out of the kitchen. In a terrace it often fits in the old back addition or under the stair.
Walk-in larders suit Highgate's period houses, which often kept one off the kitchen. We line them with slate or stone shelves where the original survives.
For a family kitchen we plan the bins, recycling and a place for school bags and coats near the back door.
How a kitchen job runs
First the structure: openings, beams and any new floor are completed and inspected. Then the services are fixed from the cabinet drawings, the walls are plastered and the base units set out.
Worktops are templated once the units stand, and fitted after the tiling behind them is planned, so the joints and upstands line up.
Noisy stages are booked within the councils' hours: 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays.
Sources: Camden Council: noisy building works, Haringey Council: Noise complaints
A Highgate house we have modernised
Questions about kitchen renovation in Highgate
Can I extend my kitchen into the garden?
Often, within limits: Policy DH3 asks for extensions to stay subordinate and leave a garden proportionate to the neighbours'.
Do I need approval to remove a chimney breast?
Building regulations approval, always; planning permission, not for an internal breast.
Does a new kitchen need an extractor?
Yes, extract ventilation is needed to reduce condensation and smells.
Will my neighbour need a party wall notice?
If the work cuts into the party wall or digs near their foundations, yes.
Can I change the kitchen in my flat without asking?
Check the lease: the landlord's permission may be needed for alterations.
What does a kitchen renovation in Highgate cost?
Pricing: quoted after a feasibility visit.
Sources: Highgate Neighbourhood Plan (adopted by Haringey in July 2017 and Camden in September 2017), Planning Portal Interactive House: Do I need permission to remove chimney breasts?, Planning Portal: Extensions, Building Regulations: Ventilation, GOV.UK: Party walls and building work, LEASE: alterations and home improvements
Sources
- Highgate Neighbourhood Plan (adopted by Haringey in July 2017 and Camden in September 2017)
- Camden: Highgate Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Strategy (adopted October 2007)
- Planning Portal: Extensions, Building Regulations: Structural Opening
- Planning Portal Interactive House: Do I need permission to remove chimney breasts?
- GOV.UK: Party walls and building work
- Planning Portal: Extensions, Building Regulations: Ventilation
- LEASE: alterations and home improvements
- Camden Council: Listed buildings
- Camden Council: noisy building works
- Haringey Council: Noise complaints
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Completed kitchen project example
