The Edcawber Principle

Suffolk_lass

Back for a New Year's catch up after visitors have nearly all gone (Mum back to Glasgow on LNER next Monday!) and I love this sort of discussion.

Can I just chip in on the house front to ask if you have a loft (that could potentially accommodate a master bedroom with Velux balcony and ensuite?

My DH popped a design for a half octagon ensuite shower room in the corner of a generous bedroom at a friend's house - it takes a full sized quadrant shower with a digestor thing in the pipes (meaning no soil stack to the toilet) and washbasin, large mirror and heated electric towel rail. With some proper planning that would get you your ensuite and then you are back to a light-filled simple rectangle extension for kitchen/diner/family room.

You could keep your one public room as a snug/sitting room and make the existing kitchen into utility and loo - with tumble drier on top of w/m you don't need a huge amount of space - Mine is a passage way off my kitchen with two full height cupboards, washing station and loo with the back door at the end. We just have a covered area out of the door for removing muddy boots out of the rain, and a spare drinks fridge-freezer (because we can), with a small table and chairs for breakfast coffee in the rain(!)

If you built the extension before remodelling your kitchen you have less disturbance... With all the costs of moving I would not do so until Miss E has left home but as I say, moving is horrible and you have lots more stuff than when you moved from your lovely flat. We moved to where we wanted to live in the country in early retirement - just 15 years earlier. Commuting costs a nightmare but otherwise we don't regret it. biglass has made a good poing about when children should move, and not (DS was bullied but he was nearly 13

edinburgher

SL, am PMSL at the thought of a Velux balcony on our house :rotfl:

We are at the bottom of a hill and the view from the balcony would be a row of pebbledash houses making their way up the hill towards DD's primary school Unfortunately the front of the house would be lovely for a balcony, but it's covered in solar panels. That aside, it's windy as hell where we are and I cannot see it getting used much. Love your vision though, grand! :T What I would like would be a wall of Veluxes if that's an option, lots of light and perhaps some stars on clear nights...

I suspect that a loft extension and a box extension would still cost in the region of £100k in our neck of woods. Boss recently got a loft extension with ensuite for £40k, albeit in a slightly grander house. Next door have had their loft converted, so might ask what they went for.

We could probably knock through the cupboard under the stairs (kitchen) into the cupboard next to the stairs (front hall) to make a compact utility/shower room, it already has services in or nearby and I'm sure they could figure something out re. waste water (other side of the house, but only round a corner, 10' pipe or summat?) A single story box with a sloped roof to double the size of the kitchen would be fairly affordable and would leave money for something a bit more radical with the garden (I'd like to level it, get rid of the garden and go for a walled garden or gabion surround, doesn't feel very private atm). Driveway could be moved to the front of the house, we only need room for one small car.

You forget (or maybe weren't aware) that I moved house 11 times in the decade to 2012 :eek: Yes, moving is pants (and expensive), but costs can be brought down. I think our best ever "large" move was basically my dad hiring a Luton van and three of us moving flat contents in one day.

Lots to think and dream about and no rush to do anything.

£95.61 paid off CC.

Suffolk_lass

Ah! I take your point re balcony - and no - I did not know you were a serial mover - you were in a lovely flat in the city before this house when I first started reading your last diary (johnnie-come-lately syndrome!). If you do decide to jump, just make sure you are not doing it out of minor irritation and it will really benefit you. I am shocked at the potential cost of a box. Newton Mearns is nice - my Sis lives in a nice bit of Kilmarnock, having moved from Stewarton which I did not like. Lots of the areas round there seem to be improving if not up and coming.

Warts and all I love living here but transport is limited and the road gets busier - I crave a quiet secluded property but as a newly (maybe) retired old girl this may not happen as our next move is more likely to be into a retirement-friendly town with shops and facilities close by, and will require a life-laundry of truly epic proportions as we reduce projects and hobbies and the associated paraphernalia

Cornish_mum

Hi just wanted to pop up with a thumbs up for bigger rooms. We upgraded to a 3 bed semi from 3 bed terrace. Went from 8 by 5 lounge (room size in feet) to 14 by 12, it cost us a lot of money to upsize and I originally I also wanted to renovate to make it a dream house extra bedroom and bathroom .. (but don’t now).

I absolutely love having big rooms (I don’t love having lots of rooms) and space in garden for outdoor eating/entertaining. So I completely understand why you want to upsize but would vote for increasing sq foot not room numbers in terms of life enhancement. (I secretly still want a downstairs loo and utility room though but not enough for the increased debt I would need to get them.). DH only requirement for our move was our bedroom view, he wanted to see something green out of our bedroom not just look into neighbors windows. He can see neighbors trees from our house.:p

We pay for relatives to stay at local hotel it’s much cheaper and frankly nicer for them than us paying 80k for a loft conversion...

edinburgher

@SL - I did not realise there were nice bits of Kilmarnock Colleague is raising a family of four, younger than me and will have their mortgage paid off in 7 years on one salary there!

@Cornish_mum - Definitely agree on the larger rooms thing, but think we might need a bit of both. The best aspect of doing a kitchen project and then a loft project would be that we could theoretically do the kitchen project quite quickly and then remortgage on the new and improved house, freeing up equity to do the loft or similar. I'm not in any particular rush to pay off the mortgage, can't spend my pension until 58 anyway :rotfl:

Mrs E and I have discussed adding a SIP extension for speed. She feigned disinterest, but couldn't get to sleep after I got her all excited about possibilities

[STRIKE]£94.66[/STRIKE] £96.66 paid off CC.

edinburgher

A rare cinema date with Mrs E, finally saw the new Star Wars

£93.69 paid off CC.

Suffolk_lass

ouch! - bits by golf courses with no traffic and nice neighbours, close enough to walk to main transport routes - there are nice bits in most towns - you just have to look for them.

I guess the interpretation depends what your priorities are. As you know, I add up all the money I am paying in interest on all my debt and add it all together, not making the distinction between long-term and short-term, only whether I pay interest or not and my objective now is minimising this. Total cost of debt is under £18 a month now and that is all on our mortgage.

edinburgher

I'm just kidding re. Kilmarnock

Well done on the low interest front, it must be very important in/near retirement. I do appreciate the fact that I'll have to pay my mortgage off at some point, honest

£92.75 paid off CC.

Suffolk_lass

:cool: I knew you were kidding - I also know savings earning more than debt offset it but if I am not paying the interest I can build my savings and they are all mine then. It just bugs me - actually, it goes back to the rogue builders going awol with our money. My money fretting started then and I am still obsessive about it I suppose.

We have just had a setback bit of news for our Son (not health). I might be a bit quiet as very worrying especially timing wise.

edinburgher

I hope everything works out ok for him SL, sending positive vibes his way