[Closed] Best option for adding value to house for minimum cost?

"not shut away in their own private spaces" would rule out the loft conversion surely ?

I, personally, would not want to give up garage space. YMMV.

Which leaves #3. A nice garden room would fit the bill. Done as a proper extension, not a conservatory. I've obviously no idea how big the garden is, or how much you use it, but you'd probably use the room more.

adding another bedroom would far and away add the greatest value to your property. Turning it from a 4 bed to a 5 bedded house. The other 2 options wouldn't add another bedroom.

nice big shed/studio/summerhouse at the end of the garden, big windows, properly insulated and power etc.

edit: and do you want to add financial value or amenity value for your family. two very different things.

Why are you bothered about adding value, build what works for you best and it may or may not add value but at least it'll be what you want while you live there.

adding another bedroom would far and away add the greatest value to your property. Turning it from a 4 bed to a 5 bedded house.

only if the house/area can support it - ie 5 bedrooms and a single bathroom isnt going to sell well.or you wont end up being the only 5 bed house on a street of three beds and well above the streets ceiling price.

Id convert the attic for the use you describe. But if your sole aim is to "add value cheaply " then id convert one half of the garage like it or not most people dont put huge value on a garage and mostly use it to store junk.

Not helpful but do something dreadfully ghoulish in the back garden. Wait for the long prison sentence to "blow over" then clean up by selling out to a goth stockbroker.

Did say it wasn't helpful.

Ah, just realised I answered the question in the post, not the one in the title. They're not the same thing !

Just sell the kids into slavery. You'll be quids in then, and won't have any of the inconvenience of having hairy arsed builders sat around drinking tea all day, or kids making a mess. Result!

Hot tub, gym room come bar - movie room

So when the boyfriends start turning up to see your girls there will be somewhere to hang out and chill 😉

How about an S&M dungeon?

nice big shed/studio/summerhouse at the end of the garden, big windows, properly insulated and power etc.

I had considered that too, but it makes an entirely separate space and I think it would be a bit too much.

"not shut away in their own private spaces" would rule out the loft conversion surely ?

edit: and do you want to add financial value or amenity value for your family. two very different things.

Go for the self contained garden room type thingy. AIR BnB for pocket money too
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And further to other questions – the house is on a small development of houses ranging from 3 bed bungalows to 5 bed houses (all detached) so there isn't really a 'ceiling' as such as there are probably 6 or 8 property layouts and they don't come on the market very often. A five bed did sell for about £180k more than we paid for ours a couple of years ago – a similar sized plot but that property had all five beds on one floor (no houses have yet converted their lofts).

Kids may seem to be forever, but they move out.

Consider a caravan. I used a big camper van for much the same purpose with my kids. They loved it, and when they went we didn't have a house that was over-capitalised and we got our money back on the van.

Never own the most valuable house in the street...

epicyclo - see above, I have covered a couple of your points 🙂

Why are you bothered about adding value, build what works for you best and it may or may not add value but at least it'll be what you want while you live there.

Ditto.

Worrying about what it'll be worth 15+ years from now at the expense of enjoying it more during those 15 years is daft.

Cheapest option for us was a 14'x10' shed. Double skinned, insulated. Power, lighting. A kitchen counter along one side. Couch the other. PC, TV, games consloe.

A great hang out for the kids when I had 3 teenagers. Now used for bikes/tools.

It fitted in with the garden layout though. May not work with some gardens.

I'm considered a further garden brick outhouse irc, what sort of cost did you have for that construction?

Converting part of the garage will be cheapest and easiest. As for storage... sheds are cheap 😀

An extra room may well be worth a bit more than excess garage space .. or you could build it in a manner that allows you to relatively easily dismantle the room back into garage at a later stage ?? ...

If you like that idea I'd suggest converting back shortly after after the girls have left .... otherwise you may find the Mil moving into your "convenient" downstairs bedroom.

The above will be my plan and potential nightmare.... 😀

Whatever you do, make sure you add an additional bathroom/toilet somewhere too.

A sex swing.

Whatever you do, make sure you add an additional bathroom/toilet somewhere too.

I've looked round LOTS of houses recently when we were searching for a new place. "Improvements" done solely add value are always crap and it's obvious why they've been done. HOWEVER improvements done to make a house nicer/easier/bigger/useful to live in for the people living there always add value. I know that's a bit of an odd pair of statements but basically do what makes the house better for you family and as long as your requirements are fairly "normal" then value will be added naturally.

Things which don't add value are things that only a few people want. So a full workshop probably won't add much value unless it can obviously be used as a "normal" room too by a possible new owner- i.e. Windows, carpets, heating, normal access to the house.

Personally, and I think this is an increasingly popular opinion, conservatories don't add value as too many people have bad experiences of them. Adding a properly built extension with lots of windows and skylights is miles better and possibly not much more money. It feels part of the house too.

We looked around a lot of houses with loft conversions. Some were brilliant, the stairs to them were in a place where no room was lost on the first floor (makibg a bedroom into a corridor by putting a staircase in it and calling it a study is a bit pointless!), the room upstairs was light and had decent headroom and you could easily see yourself using it. If it doesn't feel like a normal room then most people will just see it as a storage or play room and it won't add loads of value.

In my experience a garden room away from the house won't add value. It might make a property more attractive to sell but the same house next door would probably go for as much money without one unless the one you build is extremely impressive!!

If I were you I'd have a nice loft conversion done if you can fit an ensuite into it as it'll be good for you now and when you come to sell the house itll be seen as a "getaway" for the parents or more independence for an older teenager. The added bathroom would be the key if you already had 4 bedrooms though.

If you did this there would still be the possibility of an extension later on and you'd keep the garage space to use yourself.

Cheers newrobdob - that sounds very sensible considerations. However (there always are 'howevers') - although we have acres of room up there and I was imagining a full length dormer to maximise height / accessibility, the build of the house (1985) means we would be completely removing the roof and all the trusses and refabricating it in a new way (currently it is a warren of trusses up there) so I assume we'd need to have a huge steel put in place to support a new roof. And that would be ££££££s

It sounds like you have quite a few options and getting some solid quotes and design ideas would be the best way to choose?

Is the garage integral?

I'm not convinced about the bedroom thing. I think it would be true IF the added bedrooms were of a decent size and ideally with en-suite facilities. In fact I think in a lot of the current modern estate 4 bed houses (mine included) with 2 double rooms, one small single room and one box room, you'd probably add value by sacrificing the box room and creating an en-suite for one of the other bedrooms or increasing the size of your bathroom or something.

I wouldn't count on a loft conversion being cheaper than an extension. I got an 8m x 3.8m single story extension. Build cost, to get to empty shell of a space (including lighting, flooring, heating, plastering) ready for furnishing, came in at £30k (give or take a K or two). About the same I was quoted for a loft conversion. With modern houses with trussed roof's you're basically talking about re-roofing the house, so not a cheap option by any stretch.

Personally we've never looked back since having the extension. Its transformed the way we use the house and I wish we'd done it ten years ago. Personally I couldn't care less if its has been cost effective or not. A home is for living in at the end of the day. I don't think additional box bedrooms or large gardens are the draw they used to be - maybe for a limited market i.e. those that actually like gardening. Similarly converting the garage might be something that limits the appeal of the house. I think people still want a garage, even if they never intend to put a car in it. But it's a fickle market, so all the more reason to do what suits you irrespective of the potential value it adds.

You'd find a steel would be put in the roof anyway - spanning from end wall to end wall, as the dormer no longer adds structural (triangular support), regardless of the current roof arrangement.

I think another point you've struck on is 'making it right for the house' - i.e there's no point having 5 bedrooms and a tiny kitchen and one bathroom...

DrP

3 - add an extension off the back of the house (loses garden space and probably the most expensive route)

Dunno the configuration of your house, but perhaps add a single-storey extension with an extra living room and utility room (with drying cupboard, of course).

Depending on whether you overlook neighbours, you might get planning permission for a balcony on the roof too.

The extra living room could change from play room to second living room to gym or whatever as the kids get older.

Is the garage integral?

In fact I think in a lot of the current modern estate 4 bed houses (mine included) with 2 double rooms, one small single room and one box room

I think another point you've struck on is 'making it right for the house' - i.e there's no point having 5 bedrooms and a tiny kitchen and one bathroom...

Free grant loft insulation and wall cavity insulation. 😉

This pensioner moved into a caravan in his own front garden, just to let his darhlings run riot in the house.
Bless.

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Have you thought of tunnelling down and having a Bond Villain style lair?

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jekkyl - Member

I'm considered a further garden brick outhouse irc, what sort of cost did you have for that construction?

My costs were 15 or 18yrs ago. So out of date, even if I could remember. More than £1000 less than £2000? It was built adjoining existing garage. Flat roof to keep it at same roofline as garage. As it was only 1.5M from our access road we used a poured concrete base from a readymix truck over a DPC. Frame built up from 2x4s. Fibreboard interior skin, cladding outer skin.

My dad (retired civil engineer) and me built it and did the wiring. windows are oak framed made by my dad from local oak. So just the cost of materials.

Other points. Windows are frosted glass for security. Sills at chest height. Small enough to be awkward to climb though past broken glass. To small to fit bikes through.

Door faces houses with LED light above. Door is solid fire door. 3x heavy hinges. 5 lever mortice lock with frame re-enforced with metal strip.

we would rather they are part of family life, not shut away in their own private spaces.

Do what suits you best.

Children shouldn't have en-suites IMO

Everyone likes a nice garden room - and when they leave you'll have somewhere nice for working on your bikes

Hoovering.

option 4: just move house...

option 4: just move house...

option 5: Kill the neighbours and just use their house as well....