What would you do with a large stone outbuilding?

Beckyy

I've put this topic here because I thought it would be most relevant with regards to house value and what a potential purchaser would want.

We have a small 1 bed cottage (terrace). We bought it for £69,000 2 years ago. The home report stated that after necessary repairs it would be worth £75,000. We have done those, and replaced the shower cubicle with a bath and installed a woodburning stove. So I would say it would be valued at around the £75,000 mark now.

We have a small shared garden (with 1 neighbour - they're nice), and a tiny coutyard of our own. Our courtyard is so small because the majority of it is taken up by a large stone outbuilding, approx 20ft x8ft. The outbuilding is just a stone shell with power but nothing else - bare stone walls and a concrete floor, with a chimney and an open fire.

We've always had the intentions of making it a proper 'room', with a utility area for the washing machine to go. (We have a tiny galley kitchen and the fridge is currenly sitting in the corner, and freezer in the outbuilding because the wide washing machine is taking up all the undercupboard space.) I know that to do this well and make it presentable would probably cost a few thousand pounds.

I want to know what you would do with it, and how you think it would affect the value of the house bearing in mind it is only a 1 bedroom? (Would it be worth the expense?)

If you were a potential purchaser what would you want to see?

Some have said to join it to the house, losing the only bit of courtyard we have, others have said to knock the whole thing down and have more garden (not practical as we need the extra space for washing machine)

Opinons would be much appreciated!

Plan:

Gromitt

Why not add a studded wall inside so you have a utility room for a washer/dryer (and maybe sink, always comes in useful) and seperate workshop/storage room (depending on your needs) ?

G_M

Make it a 2nd bedroom? 20 ft is quite long so if there's plumbing possible, add an ensuite shower/loo at one end?

Depending on the shared garden set up, lose the yard and join up to cottage.

Or make it a kitchen/diner and turn your kitchen into.... well, without seeing your total layout it's hard to say.

Alias_Omega

Usually you will find more of these properties in the area, which i would look for ideas.

You could walk down the street peering over the fences, or you could cheat using bing.com, google street view/maps.

tyllwyd

Is an attractive period feature, or is it something more recent and ugly?

poppysarah

Workshop for a potters wheel...

Owain_Moneysaver

An outhouse utility room won't add as much value as a proper room integrated into the house, and utlitlty space won't add as much value as a second bedroom or a kitchen/diner.

By the time you'd made an old stone outbuilding habitable to current building regulations, it will probably be not much more (maybe even less) to demolish it and rebuild a new extension in block or timberframe.

Is the cottage single or two storey?

Any chance of a sketch plan showing cottage and couryard/garden layout?

Also, what is access to the site like for building work?

lincroft1710

If you could tell us the exact internal dimensions, the exact distance from the cottage and whether it would be physically feasible to join the two, or even extend into the store, we could give you a better idea of your options.

BobQ

In general I do not think its a good idea to second guess a prospective buyer. Either do the minimum to the outhouse to make it presentable (as a utility room or store) and sell it as "having potential" ; or if you plan to live there do what suits your lifestyle.

Overall, I think its better to have a 1 bed cottage for 1-2 people with some potential flexible space than to have a 2 bed cottage which has insufficient room for say 3-4 people to reside. So my preference would be convert the outhouse to be an integral part of the cottage and use the extra space to provide a utility room and some flexible living space (a study with a sofabed for occasional visitors).

Could you convert the outhouse to be a kitchen with space to house the whitegoods? Then use the existing kitchen as an extra living room like a study?

Is planning permission likely to be an issue?

DVardysShadow

BobQ wrote: »

In general I do not think its a good idea to second guess a prospective buyer. Either do the minimum to the outhouse to make it presentable (as a utility room or store) and sell it as "having potential" ; or if you plan to live there do what suits your lifestyle.

Is planning permission likely to be an issue?

I agree. Leave the potential rather than do something you don't quite believe in for yourselves.

As for planning permission, I believe building regs will be a bigger issue.

Beckyy

Plan added to first post. Apologies for my MS paint skills!

Our house and our neighbours house used to be one house. At some point in time it was split in two, and is now two one bed houses. It's been like that YEARS as nobody local can remember it being 1 house. We only have the 1 door at the back. Our kitchen was added on as an extension but again, many years ago.


RE questions: It's quite an attractive period feature, not ugly at all. House is 2 storey. Driveway access but not much room, I can get my fiesta into the driveway but can't open the doors properly when it's there!

Thank you so much for all the posts so far - they're extremely helpful!