Conservatory or Extension?

louiseleeliv

I'm thinking of extending my home downstairs as I would like to become a childminder & think it would be better to have a 'separate' area to do this in, but I can't decide whether to go for a conservatory or single story extension.

Could anyone lend any advice on this?

Some people have suggested that the conservatory wouldn't be good enough as it would be too hot or cold & that they eventually rot so aren't a good investment. Others say an extension would be very expensive & would block light from the lounge.

Really can't decide please help!

Thanks!
Louise

Annabee

Hi Louise - I have been sort of thinking about doing this myself.

I think extensions are known to cost more than conservatories. Yes conservatories let in more light but they will definitely be colder than a normal room, even if you have heating put in (have one myself).

Are you thinking you would put in a hard floor and the children could do 'messy play' painting etc in there? How about converting the garage for this if you have one? Then the children could have story time and other non-messy play in your living room?

I don't think its feasible to confine the minded children to one room all the time, though. I mean, the parent might not think this was providing a 'home atmosphere' for the children. I used a childminder myself a few years ago and she used to keep the upstairs as for her family only and never took the minded kids up there. Of course this would only work in you have a downstairs loo!

cattie

An extension compared to a conservatory would be much more expensive. However, apart from adding a proper extra room to your home it will add real value if done well.

If you choose the doors or windows wisely then you shouldn't lose too much light from the lounge, by having full length double patio doors for instance.

I know if I had to chose between an extension or a conservatory, then the extension would win hands down every time.

dld2s

Extension, I have a conservatory, hardly use it except for to keep my beers cold in the winter and sometimes as a drying area in the summer

PaulLuke

Hi Louise

For my sins I'm already a registered childminder. It's hard work but can be interesting and certainly not dull.

From a practical perspective you will find it extremely hard to limit the childminding to a single area as you would need to covers off such matters as what would you do with the children whilst preparing food etc. Also bear in mind that if you limit the registration to a portion of your house you will not be allowed to let any children you look after into areas of the house not covered by the registration. This sounds OK but I suspect could prove to be extremely difficult in practice. As a result of these types of issue we had the whole of our house covered by the regestration to give us flexibility about allowing the children into the various rooms in the house.

On the matter of extension vs conservatory I would definately go for the extension as this would be more useable during the winter period (I've had a conservatory which was extermely hard to keep warm in the winter). Also, my understanding as a non accountant is that you might be able to claim some/all of the building costs against any profits you make as a childminder. This would be on the provison that you can persuade the tax inspector that the extension is being built purely to support your proposed childminding business. The downside would be that you would need to keep detailed accounts, whereas the default for childminders is that they keep simple accounts only.

Hope this helps....

Debt_Free_Chick

Rob_D wrote: »

Plus if you have an extension built - the amount spent on the extension should add at least that again onto the value of your property overall. PS - you know where to come if you need any drawings done for an extension.;)

I can see you're new, so you'll get a little leeway - but not much, as blatant "touting for business" like this is against the Forum's etiquette. Sorry - just pointing out the rules, I didn't write them.

But I hope you can see the point. The Forum is for public discussion. If every reply was along the lines of "I'm in this line of work, give me a call or send me a PM" then there wouldn't be any discussion.

Just tread carefully

Debt_Free_Chick

I usually think of a conservatory with mainly hard surfaces - the floor is usually tiled, yes? If so, then they don't look at all child-friendly.

In addition, I've yet to see an attractive convservatory which actually complemented the property's existing design. Most look like plastic wendy houses bolted on - unless you go for one of these.

Also, an extension is likely to offer more flexible living space, so if you give up childminding or sell, there are more options for using the space, than there are with a conservatory.

But then again, you have the expense to think of.

Badger_Lady

If you do want to do the extension, with the right permission maybe you could put a balcony on top of it with access from your bedroom (that's what I'm doing with mine) :-)

Would definitely add more value than a conservatory! And, by using the right foundations, you / buyers could build on top to extend the upstairs in future. Can't build on top of a conservatory.