Building an ensuite

WYSPECIAL

House is currently 4 bed over three storeys with 1 bathroom. Due to teenage daughters would like to increase this!

Two of the bedrooms, one above the other, are much larger than average and could easily lose space to an ensuite shower room. Would mean taking waste water down side wall of house to soil stack. Hot and cold water supplies already adjacent to first floor room.

Can anyone give a guide price range to build from scratch?

Would it be better to do on first floor where current bathroom is or second floor. Would there be any economies of scale to do both or would this be OTT for size of house?

Plan is to sell or rent it out in about 6 years time when teenagers are gone. Would there be any return on the investment or would I just be paying for convenience for the next few years?

Who do you get to quote a builder or a plumber?

BOBS

We employed both builder and plumber separately - the plumber guy brought squad that did tiling etc, the builder put up the walls etc. Our ensuite backed onto our bathroom so we refurbished bathroom as it was dug up for pipework, plus added on ensuite . This cost us around £6k including all sanitary wear about 5 years ago.

Doozergirl

In terms of ease and cost, you want it near to the existing soil stack, so directly above the existing bathroom would be ideal if that can create a decent master ensuite.

It will make the property more saleable to have a master ensuite. Not sure if it adds value - it may do a little bit but value is only really added by increasing square footage.

Economy of scale? Not much. Two ensuites in a four bed probably won't add more value but it may be convenient for you. We're building our own house and each of us are getting an ensuite. Two will be back-to-back so people can make it into one larger bathroom in the future if they wanted.

martinsurrey

I have seen en-suits add value, but only where the house was screaming for it.

so for example a 4 bed with a massive master, adding an en-suite made the house so desirable that it pushed the price up.

I always work to the formula <#of ensuits> = <number of bedrooms -2>
That way the master gets one in a 3 bed, and a 4 bed gets 2 1 for the master and 1 for the guest room, with 2 childrens rooms.

But only if the rooms can handle them, carving a 2.5mX2.5m bedroom to fit in a en suit could hurt the property as the bedroom become cramped.

Wookey

You could also run into issues with hot water supply, adding 2 showers is all well and good but if you are on instant hot water is your boiler capable of the output needed, if you plan on thermostatic showers do you have enough stored hot water capability, if you go with electric showers does your consumer unit have the extra capability or require an upgrade and is it easy to route the cables to the rooms?

BOBS

Wookey wrote: »

You could also run into issues with hot water supply, adding 2 showers is all well and good but if you are on instant hot water is your boiler capable of the output needed, if you plan on thermostatic showers do you have enough stored hot water capability, if you go with electric showers does your consumer unit have the extra capability or require an upgrade and is it easy to route the cables to the rooms?

We have one of each and live in a bungalow. Electric shower in main bathroom and power shower off hot water system that is heated when oil burner on to heat house. Therefore gets more use during winter when water heated by default. When heat not on as much in summer we mostly use electric shower.
Live in a bungalow with poor water flow especially to bath which takes ages to fill - but showers seem to both cope ok.

FreeBear

martinsurrey wrote: »

carving a 2.5mX2.5m bedroom to fit in a en suit could hurt the property as the bedroom become cramped.

A 2.5mx2.5m room is barely large enough for a single bed. Many bathrooms are larger than that.

Doozergirl

FreeBear wrote: »

A 2.5mx2.5m room is barely large enough for a single bed. Many bathrooms are larger than that.

I think that was his point.

There was someone on here trying to do pretty much that. I told him it wouldn't fit but he went ahead and hired someone to do it for him. Unsurprisingly, it didn't fit. Surprisingly, he came back and told us that