Adding a 2nd bathroom into a 4 bedroom house

Henry_rees

Hi
We currently have a 4 bedroom 1 very small bathroom house, I would like to add a second larger bathroom to the house.

There are 2 opinions for doing this and I can't decide which will add more value to the house

1 Change one of the bedrooms into a second bathroom making it a 3 bed 2 upstairs bathroom house. Or 2 the more expensive option; add a bathroom downstairs- making it a 4 bedroom 1 bathroom upstairs 1 downstairs

Will losing the bedroom devalue the house more than adding a bathroom?will adding a 2nd bathroom downstairs make the house more saleable as drains ect will need to be dug so will be fairly pricey
Thanks
Henry

AnotherJoe

Do you actually mean a bathroom, or do you mean a toilet ?

Losing a bedroom is a massive no-no, that's a big losing proposition however you do it.

If you really mean a bathroom, then is there somewhere you can add a shower instead, easier, cheaper, less disruptive, possibly steal space from one or two bedrooms maybe, or under Stairs? Not necessarily any need to dig up drains, these days there are various pump systems you can put in to route waste.

AnotherJoe

AFF8879 wrote: »

Value is driven just as much by square footage as it is no of bedrooms, I.e two doubles and two box rooms are worth about the same as three doubles. So losing a bedroom might not detract any value at all if you are reconfiguring the space to be more suited to modern living, in fact you could even increase value.

Worth speaking to an EA in your area too, and compare demand levels in your area for 3 vs 4 bed houses.

I disagree with that, in my experience bedrooms is the driving factor, square footage well behind.

firebird082

It depends why you're doing it - our neighbours turned a 4 bed house into a lovely 3 bed house by converting a bedroom to a bathroom - previously the only bathroom was downstairs. They certainly haven't devalued it!

Owain_Moneysaver

Losing a bedroom will devalue the house and a 3-bed 2-bath house is not much more attractive to buyers than a 3-bed 1-bath house. Although an en-suite is nice to have your house will be a 3-bed not a 4-bed and in most cases priced accordingly. (Although as firebird says there are some cases where the change will work, I think they're a minority)

A ground floor bathroom (with no downstairs bedrooms) also isn't that attractive to buyers, and is disproportionately expensive to build compared to added value - you have foundations and roof for one storey, and aren't actually adding any living accommodation. A 2-storey extension (perhaps utility room downstairs and bathroom upstairs) wouldn't be double the cost.

If you could put a new master bedroom + ensuite in the loft, even if you lost a bedroom, you'd then have a 4-bed 2-bath house, which is a better balance of accommodation. If you can do it without completely losing a room (maybe reduce a double to a single) even better.

AnotherJoe

firebird082 wrote: »

It depends why you're doing it - our neighbours turned a 4 bed house into a lovely 3 bed house by converting a bedroom to a bathroom - previously the only bathroom was downstairs. They certainly haven't devalued it!

You and they won't know that until they try to sell it.

Hoploz

It's a tricky one. A 4 bed house ought to have 2 bathrooms really but in a 3 bed it's not as important.

Is one of the bedrooms big enough to steal a chunk to make a small ensuite shower room? Are the walls solid or stud - could they be moved to make better use of the space?

I always think a downstairs bathroom when there aren't any bedrooms on that level is pointless. Much more useful to make it a utility room instead! Likewise there should be a bathroom on each level where there's a bedroom so if you've a bedroom in the loft for example you should put a bathroom with it.

A floorplan would be helpful if you could find a way to show us, then more suggestions would definitely be made.

Thrugelmir

firebird082 wrote: »

It depends why you're doing it - our neighbours turned a 4 bed house into a lovely 3 bed house by converting a bedroom to a bathroom - previously the only bathroom was downstairs. They certainly haven't devalued it!

Who would want a 4 bed house with the only bathroom downstairs......

Henry_rees

Hi all thanks for your replys.
Unfortunately the bedrooms aren't big enough to divide so it's all or nothing upstairs. The main reason for doing it is that the bathroom upstairs is way to small and I can't fit in the bath, There is loads of space downstairs as the house had an extention so the previous owner could have a bar!-which to most people's horror has gone to landfill- leaving wasted space.
The loss of the bed room seems to be a no no in terms of resale then leaving the downstairs bath/shower room

Would people put off buying a house if it has a bathroom downstairs if there is one upstairs to? I get the utility/shower idea but I want to have a bath as well.

WibblyGirly

I'm in an old terrace house that has the only bathroom downstairs and I hate it! It's right at the back and my bedroom is at the front upstairs so have to trudge through the house in a towel.
You say downstairs has been extended for a bar? Could you make that into another bedroom so keeping 4 and convert a room upstairs to be the bathroom?

zagubov

Sounds like you could have a shower room upstairs and a bathroom downstairs. Might be a suitable compromise.

To be honest though, if you're thinking of resale, leaving the upstairs as a bathroom (even if its unusable for you) and also having a proper-sized one downstairs as well might be the best answer.

Wibblygirl has a point, but a family might still find a small upstairs bathroom worth keeping

I know it might seem a bit irrational but if you think about it, people may pay more for a house with a garage even though very often the garage size is usually unusably small for most modern cars. Having an upstairs bathroom (of whatever size) might be just enough to generate interest in potential buyers.

Creating an extra bedroom downstairs might be a waste if it brings together light sleepers and late TV viewers.