Build extension, or not

Davesnave

robatwork wrote: »

This sounds like a total load of horse manure.

You can be bone idle in a house with stairs, or highly active in a bungalow. Bungalows also tend to have more gardens, which is a good way to keep active.

There are also much better ways for older people to keep fit - particularly in water where joints won't suffer so much.

Professional my eye.

It's true, but only in relation to the specific parts of the body exercised by stairs.

I'm 65 and live in a bungalow with over 5 acres of land around it to maintain, so mine is hardly a sedentary life.

Last week, I did a removal for my daughter which necessitated many trips up and down stairs. I was pretty shocked at how hard I found that to begin with, though by Day 3 I'd loosened up a lot.

So, some truth, but not the whole truth.

Oh, and we're gutting much of our place and spending our savings on it. It's a personal choice and depends entirely on personal circumstances. I think if we ever finish, we'll either be ready for our boxes, or we'll have to take on another! :rotfl:

Enterprise_1701C

It does sound pricey, I have a friend who is having a loft conversion done on a 5 bed 5 reception house, it is very large and in an expensive area. This includes all the steals (although they are actually aluminium due to the size of the house), moving various tanks in the loft, installing an en-suite bathroom and building two spare rooms in the loft. This only comes to £65K!

andrewf75

warehouse wrote: »

Obviously extending will add far more than that on to the value of the house, but that's out of reach until you sell.

Obviously?

In London, spend 50k on an extension and yes you'd probably add 100k to the value, elsewhere no.

We've just spend 50-odd grand on an extension and I'd guess it has put probably 30-40k max on the house value.

lindab15

You're right to take into account the 'pleasure' value you'll get from the more spacious kitchen/dining/social area. It's not solely about the potential resale value, although obviously that's an important factor.

Think you do need some more quotes, though.

We had a two-storey extension about 5 years ago - cost us less than £30k including a new fitted kitchen and bathroom. We ''squared off" the space at the back of the garage to make the kitchen much longer (twice the size) and also built a new bedroom and family bathroom above the extended ground floor/garage, as well as remodelling the layout upstairs and getting a small ensuite to our main bedroom.

We had been wanting to do it for ages, but had started having doubts because we started thinking; how long before DD1 goes to Uni/leaves home, do we really need it, can we really afford it etc etc. We had to add to the mortgage for it, so it's not the same issue as your dilemma, of course - I do understand your concern about eating into savings.

Anyway - bit the bullet and did it - yes, loads of hassle and dust, BUT not as much as I expected and really wished we'd done it earlier. And it's been brilliant. The kitchen/diner has become the main social area and I spend most of Sunday in there, chilling out and catching up with TV programmes or the radio while I cook ahead for the week and experiment with baking and new recipes. Hard to put into words how much I love this room now.

I know it'll have added something to the resale value, but to be honest I don't care how much - it's been the best thing we ever did and we get so much pleasure from having that extra space.

Good luck with your own decision, whatever it is.

Clive_Woody

Another vote for get more quotes.

Our extension is being built as I type (the joys of working from home). We are just having a 5 x 4m single height extension and quotes we got varied by more than £10,000 for exactly the same work.

Also as someone else mentioned be prepared for the noise, mess and hassle. If both of you are retired and at home full time this may become grating (.....he says as they start drilling again in my house....).

iglimpse

Thanks for all the opinions and advice. We have lived here 28yrs. I was probably being flippant about a bungalow. We both still work full time.

Interesting to note that adds instant value in London but less likely anywhere else but like has been said above, it is the social area of the house so it is not just about adding value.

Rendering and front patio also badly needed !!

jackyann

Late 50s / early 60s is when there are often big changes - if not retirement, then maybe part-time working, maybe grandchildren, children moving for work etc. etc.

So I wouldn't just think "extension or not". I would think "what do I want life to look like in 10 years' time?" "what is likely to affect that?" "how do I go about making life good for us / or family over the next 20 years/" and similar questions depending on your situation.

Then I would think about how your current house, and your savings, fit into this picture and how they can best be used.

We built our own house (now there's a project for retirement!). It is a "bungalow" for us, with guest rooms upstairs. It has all been built to see us through illness & disability if needed in the future; and to have plenty of room for family to stay over.
Not saying that would suit everybody - but an example of thinking for the future.
Some friends who live in a lively town have decided to downsize considerably - and will put visitors up in a local B&B!