Forum menu
We've finally just bought the house we've been renting for the past 4 years and we can finally do the things we've wanted.
However, we've come to a clash on which to do first and in the long term give the best return;
[b]Kitchen[/b] - dated, old and wooden. extractor fan is too low and has drawn blood many times. Holding back ripping it off the wall.
[b]Attic[/b] - potential storage only as there isnt space for a permanent staircase to go in to make it a fully usable bedroom. Could also sneakily use it as a zwift training room if the floor was strengthened or a workshop for my woodwork projects.
[b]Bathroom[/b] - not much we can do here other than re tile it all and put in some new appliances
[b]Conservatory[/b] - added on to increase the size of the kitchen. Would be a double barreled project with the kitchen so would increase the over all cost.
Nothing on the list is super important but with a new child running around the house soon and potential next dog. I'm thinking attic to reduce clutter but the Mrs wants the kitchen done.
Any advice?
I would say kitchen/conservatory, adds space/value, but more importantly pleases Mrs jolmes!!
Live there for a least a year before you decide. We had planned our kitchen dinner before we'd even had the offer accepted. Thankfully we didn't have enough money to do the work straight away as after a few months of living in the house we realised that it would have been a big compromise.
There's no big jobs there. Just get on with it. Only thing I wouldn't bother with is the conservatory. If the kitchen needs more space then plan for a proper extension at some point. Boarding out the loft and fitting a decent hatch is an easy job. I'd try and get that done before you clutter it up.
We've been here for nearly 5 years so we know the house inside and out.
Conservatory is a good compromise, slightly more pricey to do in one go but doable - gives us more scope to play with in the kitchen and most of the other houses in the street has got one so we know planning permission and building regs are easily attainable.
Proper extension is something i'd not thought of, will defo add that to the list. Thank you for that 🙂
Attic - potential storage only as there isnt space for a permanent staircase to go in to make it a fully usable bedroom. Could also sneakily use it as a zwift training room if the floor was strengthened or a workshop for my woodwork projects.
You'd want to know a lot about the strength of the existing joists before you started to consider the attic as anything other than an attic. If the access isn't really convenient then you'll never make more than occasional use of it. If it doesn't meet the regs you'll not see any return of the effort / investment when you come to sell. A workshop above everybodies heads sounds a lot like a recipe for divorce and a row with your neighbours - doesn't seem to be something that tallies with the notion of having a small child trying to sleep and a mother who'll be one last sleep-deprived straw away from stabbing you.
Mrs wants the kitchen done.
I think you have your answer ...
A workshop above everybodies heads sounds a lot like a recipe for divorce
That was my thoughts. Unless it's one of those ridiculously expensive "silent" turbos then a lots of noise is going to carry straight down in to the bedrooms and annoy everyone else in the house.
It could be a relatively easy job to just board it out for storage and decluttering before you start turning the house inside out doing the kitchen and other temporary messes.